ANN interviews Fuyumi Ono, creator of the popular novel The Twelve Kingdoms. The Twelve Kingdomsis currently being published in the U.S. by Tokyopop.

From Sporadic Sequential comes a brief interview with manga artist Usamaru Furuya (Short Cuts, Happiness). The interview originally came from volume one of Usamaru Furuya's Short Cuts manga. In the interview Furuya talks about his experience as a manga artist, and what it's like to work with an editor.

"In Publishing Manga With Little Fanfare," Publishers Weekly's Kai-Ming Cha takes a in-depth look at manga publisher Fanfare, and talks about what to expect from the non-mainstream manga publisher in 2007.

Via: animeOnline

Japanese publisher Shinchosha will release a new digital magazine titled Com2 on March 23rd. The magazine is said to be Japan's first monthly digital subscription magazine that will be distributed through mobile phones. The monthly subscription fee is 350 yen. According to Shinchosha, English and Chinese versions of the magazine are also being planned for the future. The magazine can also be obtained online through eBookJapan.

According to Mainichi Daily News: "In Japan, several mobile phone Web sites already offer hundreds of novels -- classics, best sellers and works written especially for the mobile phone. Shinchosha's will be the first monthly comic book which is only available online, NHK said."

Source: BroadBand Watch

According to ICv2, both comics and graphic novels experienced a boost in sales in February, with "comics posting a healthy 15% year-over-year gain and graphic novels a solid 9% boost. The total dollars spent on both comics and graphic novels rose by 14% over February of 2006."

Japanese BL publisher Libre Publishing has posted a notice on its website claiming that Be Beautiful, CPM's yaoi imprint, has been illegally publishing its properties in the U.S. The notice encourages fans to refrain from buying Be Beautiful products.

An English version of the notice is available on Libre's website:

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MangaCast translates the weekly Doujinshi ranking (03/17) in Japan according to Toranoana, and the weekly BL Doujinshi ranking (03/17) in Japan according to Toranoana's BL specialty store Princess Side.

Bang Gyeong-su, writter of the story for the Korean comic Bbongjjak, has filed a lawsuit against Lee Hyon-se, chairman of the Korean Cartoonists Association. Lee Hyon-se claims that he was the writor for the story of Bbongjjak, but Lee took all the credits for making the comic and went on to make profits off of the work. According to the report, Bang is supported by an association of other comics story writers.

Source: The Hankyoreh

Comics Worth Reading's Johanna Draper Carlson has announced a new site called Manga Worth Reading, which will feature manga reviews and news headlines posted on Comics Worth Reading.

According to JBC Publishing, the release of Fruits Basket volume 21 will be delayed in Brazil. The reason is to keep up with the Japanese release. Fruits Basket volume 23 arrived this week in the Japanese market. According to JBC, "edition 21 arrived here 2 weeks ago, and now the manga team is working on its production". There is currently no release date for volume 21, 22 and 23. JBC said it plans to release Fruits Basket until the very end.

Source: Papo de Budega