MangaCast points out a new license from CMX for its Flex Comix line. The new acquisition, a shounen/seinen manga called Fist Shoujo RIKU by Nishino Jyuutarou, will be released in June 2008.

Go! Comi today announced the official release of "Japan Ai: A tall girl's adventures in Japan," a manga journal of an otaku trip to Japan by animator Aimee Major Steinberger ("The Simpsons," "Futurama"). Packed with hundreds of color and black-and-white drawings, the book records Steinberger's trip through the various worlds of Japanese pop culture: anime, manga, maid cafes, cosplay, all-female Takarazuka reviews, ball-jointed dolls, as well as traditional culture such as hot springs resorts and ancient shrines and temples.

Read More »

From the blog Manly Manga and More... comes a list of manga that will be released in Germany in the first half of 2008. Also included in the list is are new titles that Tokyopop Germany has licensed.

Via: MangaBlog

Spanish publisher Norma Editorial has announced its 3rd Manga Competition for original manga. The deadline is August 31st 2008. It was not specified whether the entry has to be in Spanish. More information available in Spanish at Norma Editorial's Competition page (PDF). The winner of the competition will receive 2000 Euros.

Source: Papo de Budega

Amazon.co.jp as released its Best Book of 2007 list. Below is a list of the top 10 selling manga and light novels as well as their ranks:

Below are the top 10 Manga and top 10 Light Novel rankings:

Top 10 Manga

1. Nodame Cantabile Volume 17
2. Yotsuba&! Volume 6
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion Volume 11
4. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 17
5. Lucky Star Volume 1
6. Pluto Volume 4
7. Kodomo no Jikan Volume 3
8. Kimi Kiss -various heroines- Volume 1
9. One Piece Volume 45
10. Black Lagoon Volume 7

Read More »

Japanese video game company Koei has launched a new light novel label this month called Game City Bunko. Currently 6 volumes of light novels are scheduled to be released under this new label, three of which will be released in December, while the other 3 in January 2008. The first light novel, Haruka Naru Toki no Naka de 3: Kurenai no Tsuki, will be released on December 8th.

Source: LightNovel.org

Precocious Curmudgeon points out that the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has announced the final nominations for its 2008 Great Graphic Novels list:

Tokyopop leads the pack with 23 books nominated. [...] Del Rey took second place with 11, followed closely by Viz with 10, CMX and DC with 9 each, and Go! Comi with 8. First Second and Marvel each took 7 spots on the list.

Via: The Beat

According to this report, publisher Digima ceased operation after suspending its free manga magazine Comic Gumbo: "the first free weekly manga magazine in Japan. It reportedly sustained losses of 200 million yen (about US$2 million)."

ANN is reporting that Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga has created an informational manga to help search for the killer of their student, Daisaku Chiba. A few days later, the manga pamphlet appeared on the internet.

20-year-old Daisaku Chiba was a freshman in the department when he was found stabbed in the central Japanese city of Kyoto on the evening of January 15. He reportedly said, "I have no idea who stabbed me," before dying of his ten stab wounds at the hospital.

From Newsarama comes two interviews, one with Ruwan Jayatilleke, Marvel's Vice President of Development, regarding the recent deal between Marvel and Del Rey to adapt the Wolverine and X-Men series into manga. The second interview is with manga historian Frederik L. Schodt, author of the book The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution.

Via: MangaBlog