ANN is reporting that Shogakukan and Kodansha are collaborating on a new bi-weekly magazine titled Conan & Kindaichi to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Weekly Shonen Sunday and Weekly Shonen Magazine:

As the name implies, the new magazine will feature Gosho Aoyama's Detective Conan (Case Closed) manga from Weekly Shonen Sunday and Yōzaburō Kanari and Fumiya Sato's Kindaichi Case Files from Weekly Shonen Magazine. The official announcement will be made on March 18.

Kodansha's 3rd Morning International Manga Competition is now accepting submissions. The deadline for the third competition is September 30th, 2008:

Submissions for the 3rd Morning International Manga Competition are now being accepted.

The deadline is September 30th,2008.

Professional artists are also welcome to this competition.

Besides manga, we accept all types of comics, including superhero comics, cartoons, and bandes dessine'es and so on.

The grand prize winner will receive $5,000, as well as having their work featured in Morning or Morning 2.

Kodansha's 2nd Morning International Manga Competition (M.I.M.C.) has announced the results of its initial screening, 31 works are selected, the final results will be announced in April.

From About.com:Manga comes an interview with Katsushi Ota, editor of Kodansha's Faust magazine, who appeared as Del Rey Manga's featured guest at the 2007 New York Anime Festival:

Q: So how did it happen that you and Del Rey Manga decided to bring Faust to America? Did you approach them or did they approach you?

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The first issue of a new Kodansha Box magazine titled Pandora will be released on February 4th. The new literary magazine, which will be published twice a year, is described by Kodansha as a "symphony magazine that lives in the adolescent's self-consciousness."

Source: Ultimatum

From Comix Talk comes an interview with rem, winner of Kodansha's 1st International Manga Competition, and Eijiro Shimada, the editor of the Morning 2 magazine.

Also, The Star Online also talks to rem and Eijiro Shimada, as well as runner-up Lim Hwei Lin.

Source: MangaBlog

Kodansha's Kiss editorial department will be launching a special issue of Kiss titled Kiss PLUS. The first issue of the new magazine will be released on February 8th, 2008, and will be published on a bi-monthly basis. Kiss PLUS, like Kiss, will aim at female readers in their twenties and thirties.

Sources: Kiss News and Comitia

ANN reports that Kodansha has announced its plan to to print 300,000 copies of its upcoming magazine Monthly Shonen Rival, and has spent over 250 million yen ($2.3 million) on advertising for the magazine's April 4th debut.

Also announced are the winners of the 1st Shonen Rival Comic Grand Prix:

the aspiring artist Amadori won the top prize of 3 million yen (about US$28,000). Amadori also received an offer to have the winning Mukō ga Wa no Masaka entry published in the new magazine. [...] The second place winners each won 1 million yen (US$9,400) and a chance to have the winning entry or new manga work serialized.

Kodansha's josei manga magazine Beth will cease publication as of issue 8, on sale 1/8.

A notice from the editorial department was posted on Beth's homepage, thanking its readers, writers, and saying goodbye.

Beth was launched by Kodansha in November 2006. The magazine was originally focused on romance, but later began to concentrate more on single adult women.

Source: Ultimatum

Kouji Kumeta is known for the manga Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, which was adapted into an anime last year and is currently serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shounen Magazine.

In chapter 118 of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Kumeta wrote:

"if Jump SQ shows intention to collaborate, I may consider creating a new fantasy manga for it."

Since then, rumors and discussions about a new Kumeta manga on Shueisha's Jump SQ have been steadily heating up.

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