On the USA Today Booklist Top 150 (PDF) for the week ending March 18, VIZ Media's Naruto volume 13 ranks at #30, and Fullmetal Alchemist volume 12 ranks at #130.

According to Yaoi Suki, in response to Libre Publishing's recent copyright infringement accusation, CPM's Managing Director John O'Donnell is currently heading to Japan to sort things out with Libre:

I spoke with Matt Geller, who works for Marketing Director David Hair. He did not have any comment yet, but promised to get back to me as soon as he did. He was, um, unaware of the situation. So, I gave him the link to the Libre site and showed him the notice.

MangaCast posts the latest newsletter from 801 Media, which contains information on two of its newly licensed titled:

• Sensitive Pornograph by Ashika Sakura - October
• I'm Not Your Stepping Stone by Shiuko Kano - November

Also, Maybe I Am Your Steppin' Stone, sequal to I'm Not Your Stepping Stone, will be released in 2008.

The new comic release list for March 14 2007 from ComicList, compiled by MangaCast.

San Francisco, CA, March 21, 2007 ??? VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media LLC, the leading U.S. publisher of Japanese animation and comics that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, continues to expand its catalog of acclaimed titles set for special North American theatrical screenings with the release of PING PONG, the comedic sports film by director Fumihiko Sori.

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HERNDON, VA - March 21, 2007 - DLSite.com today announced the release of a fully localized, English version of full 3D combat action game "Street Fucker".

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

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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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.