Villagers (Tianjin) Manga Ltd., the first ever Chinese-foreign joint venture manga company, will be established on June 28th in Tianjin, China.

Villagers (Tianjin) Manga Ltd., a joint venture between China and Korea, aims to become one of the biggest original Chinese comics publisher, and help spread Chinese comics overseas.

Read More »

According to the latest Diamond Previews for July 2007, Yuu Asami's A.I Revolution, which was previously licensed by Studio Ironcat, has been acquired by Go! Comi.

Source: AoD & MangaCast

From Mainichi Daily News comes an article on Houbunsha's Comic Yell, a new magazine that will carry girl-oriented manga aimed at men:

The success of the girl-oriented manga amongst male manga fans prompted the release of Comic Yell, Japan's first girl's manga for men.

With men's manga like Shonen Jump attracting a 50 percent female readership, Comic Yell's publishers Hobunsha figured it was time to give guys an opening into the world of shojo, or girl's, manga.

More details on Honey and Clover creator Chika Umino's new manga The Lion of March (Sangetsu no Lion) have been made available by Hakusensha. According to Young Anime's official website, the new title will begin serialization in Young Animal issue 14, on sale 7/13.

On June 21st, manga publisher Asahi Sonorama announced on its website that due to ongoing financial difficulties, the manga publisher will be dissolved at the end of September.

According to the president of Asahi Sonorama, the decision was made due to Asahi Sonorama's ongoing financial difficulties, as well as their aging workforce, and it was decided that a corporate restructuring would be difficult. Instead, Asahi Sonorama will be dissolved at the end of September, and Asahi Newspaper (Asahi Shimbun), which owns 100% of Asahi Sonorama's stock, will take over the Sonorama's business operations. Asahi Shimbun will also find new positions for Sonorama employees who wish to stay on.

Read More »

According to the latest issue of Shounen Gangan, Fullmetal Alchemist mangaka Hiromu Arakawa's Juushin Enbu will be adapted into an anime.

Source: Ultimatum Chat

Frederik Schodt, author of Manga! Manga!, and Dark Horse manga editor Carl Horn were interviewed on Michael Krasny's radio show Forum. The two talked about Osamu Tezuka and the current state of manga in America. Same Hat! Same Hat! has a full report of the radio show.

Mainichi Shimbun reports that the preliminary round of the 16th annual Manga Koushien, also known as the National High School Manga Tournament, has begun on June 18th.

This year, Shogakukan and Kodansha will each send 3 representatives to scout for possible talents. Those scouted will received guidance from professional manga artists.

The Manga Koushien has been hosted by the city of Kouchi since 1992. This year 295 schools from 46 prefectures entered the competition.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun

According to a report from the market research and consulting company Seed Planning, Japan's e-book market experienced tremendous growth in 2006 as a result of the popularity of mobile manga. The report estimates that the e-manga market will continue to grow throughout 2007, and will reach 71 billion yen by 2012.

According to the report, Japan's e-book market tripled in 2006, reaching 28 billion yen. E-manga occupied over 2/3 of the e-book market at 19 billion yen, 5 times as much as 2005's 4 billion yen.

Read More »

From MangaCast comes the Diamond Previews for July 2007, which provides information on new U.S. releases for September/October 2007.