A round up of the new comic release list for the week of October 3rd 2007:

• ComicList: ComicList for 10/03/2007
• MangaCast: New Manga Release List ~ October 3, 2007
• Manga Recon: Weekly Recon, 10/3/07
• Comicsnob: Watch List: Manga et al. for the week of 30 September
• theOtaku: New Manga Releases

TreeHugger reports that Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed) has inspired scientists from Japan's Nara Institute of Science and Technology to develop an ultra-thin, protein-Based memory chip:

It may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new computer memory technology, but "Detective Conan" (otherwise known as "Case Closed") - a popular anime and manga series about a young detective who uses high-tech gadgets to help him solve cases - could have provided the creative spark that led to the development of a protein-based ultrathin memory.

Via: MangaBlog

Seven Seas has launched the "Are You An Otaku?" contest, where participants send in pictures of their collection to see who has the most "otaku" collection. Grand prize winner will receive "a one of a kind original full color I, Otaku illustration, drawn and signed by series creator Jiro Suzuki; Plus ten (10) of the latest Seven Seas manga, including I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara Vol. 1," while 10 runner-ups will received volume 1 of I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara.

Journalista reports that The Comics Journal's Andrew Farrago has interviewed author Jason Thompson:

Andrew Farrago's interview with cartoonist, editor and the author of Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson, who provides an insider's look at Viz Media, discusses his online graphic novel The Stiff, and describes going out of his mind trying to read and review every English-language manga ever released in preparation for his new book.

TOKYO, Oct 01, 2007 -- Manganovel Corporation and Toshiba Corporation today announced that they will bring the universe of Japanese manga to the global market with the launch of "Manganovel," an on-line service that allows readers not only to download and read manga in Japanese but to post and offer for sale their own translations of content. The service started beta testing in June this year, and is now officially ready to take manga characters to anime lovers around the world. The site can be accessed at: URL: https://www.manganovel.com .

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Active Anime reports that eFrontier's Manga Studio & Anime Studio Bundle and Manga Studio 3.0 EX Full Version are both on sale:

Manga Studio Debut & Anime Studio is only for $69.99 (over $99 if purchase separately), and Manga Studio EX is only $149.99 (50% off). The special prining will only last until December 15.

NARUTO Maintains Strong Lead While A Total Of 33 Of The Top 50 Listings Go To VIZ Media Manga Titles

San Francisco, CA, October 1, 2007 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that NARUTO manga volumes 16, 17 and 18 occupied the first, second and third positions on Nielsen BookScan's noted Top 50 Graphic Novel list for the week ending September 23, 2007. The trio of latest volumes from the popular ninja action series has remained in the top three spots on the BookScan Graphic Novel list for four consecutive weeks. More than 2.3 million NARUTO manga volumes have been sold domestically since the series launched.

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San Diego, California, Monday, October 1, 2007 -- JAST USA affiliate brand G-Collections, the leading publisher of Japanese PC dating sim games in English, today announced the golden master status and planned October release of Bazooka Cafe, the brand's latest adult bishoujo ("beautiful girl") dating simulation game.

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Kids' Day Among First of New Initiatives; "Kids Love Comics" a Key Contributor to Programming Events and Ideas

Norwalk, CT, October 1: New York Comic Con (NYCC) has announced that it has appointed senior staff member Jay Williams to the post of Manager of Programming & Education. The role is considered critical as much of NYCC's activity and opportunity is generated by the special events and panel discussions which supplement the excitement of the show floor. Organizers are pleased to have both a trade show professional and veteran, as well as a huge comics fan to fill the role. Williams is expected to bring an intuitive grasp of creativity and management skills to the function.

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(October 1, 2007--New York, NY) ??? Steve Rotterdam, formerly the Chief Creative Officer of Eastwest Marketing Group, joins the DC Comics staff as Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, it was announced today by Paul Levitz, President & Publisher of DC Comics. In this position, Rotterdam will run both the direct sales and the book trade sales divisions of the company, supervise the marketing and publicity efforts of DC Comics' publishing and oversee the company's advertising sales and custom publishing department. Rotterdam will report directly to Levitz.

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