Manga News and Information
BusinessIn the latest issue of PWCW, Kai-Ming Cha takes a look at the return of ADV Manga to the manga market in "ADV Manga Wakes Up." Also reported is that Trans World Entertainment Corp. and wholesaler Bookazine will "develop and manage a manga section in each of its more than 900 stores. TWE comprises nine brands in mall and freestanding locations, including F.Y.E., Coconuts, Sam Goody, Suncoast and Planet Music." Kadokawa Group Holdings has revealed plans (PDF) for the consolidation of 2 of its affiliates, ASCII and MediaWorks. The merger is slated for April 1st, 2008. No details have been decided yet, but the merged company will be called "ASCII Media Works Inc." The reason cited for the merger is to "consolidate resources, streamline the management structure and to become competitive." Also, it was mentioned that Kadokawa GHD decided to not include Enterbrain (another entertainment magazine publisher under Kadokawa who put out Comic Beam) in the merger with MediaWorks.
Lucky Star is a 4-koma by Kagami Yoshimizu serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comptiq magazine (and later appeared in Shonen Ace). The manga was originally created as a filler comic, but the series soon became popular among fans, and was adapted into an anime in early 2007. Suspenseful Mystery To Debut On October 20 San Francisco, CA, September 26, 2007 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has licensed the Shonen Jump DEATH NOTE anime series to Adult Swim for domestic broadcast beginning Saturday, October 20 at midnight (EST) on the network's popular Adult Swim block of programming. New episodes will follow each week thereafter. Feature Film Based On Popular Anime And Manga Series Debuts At Number 25 On Nielsen VideoScan San Francisco, CA, September 25, 2007 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that impressive DVD sales of NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW have placed the title at Number 25 on Nielsen's VideoScan list of the Top 100 DVD titles for the week ending September 9, 2007. VIZ Media debuted the DVD across North America on September 4. NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW is a theatrical side story based on the continuity of the massively popular NARUTO animated TV series. Sepetmber 24th, 2007 - New York, NY --John Nee has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Business Development, DC Comics. It was announced today by Paul Levitz, DC Comics President & Publisher. Nee will continue to report directly to Levitz. Nee, who joined DC Comics in 1998 as VP, General Manager WildStorm, oversees Business Development, the WildStorm studio, and the CMX manga imprint. In his new role, Nee will continue to provide leadership for DC Comics in potential opportunities for expanding the company's core businesses areas, including in international publishing, videogame production and new media initiatives with sister divisions Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros Digital Distribution. Publishers Weekly is reporting that Borders is expanding its relationship with Sony by offering Sony's e-book reader in over 500 of its physical store locations:
Source: ANN On 9/14, JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) published its March 2007 report on the state of the content market in Hong Kong. Compared to past reports, this report is more concise, contains more information, and makes many references to the Japanese market. According to the report, around 60 to 70 percent of comics published in Hong Kong are Japanese manga, and Japanese manga makes up almost 100% of trade paperback sales. The report goes on to mention how various other Japanese medias, such as anime and films, have also made great progress in Hong Kong's content market. Source: Anime! Anime! Oxford and Cambridge, UK, 5 September 2007 - Oxford indie Infinite Ideas will launch self-help books in manga format in a groundbreaking new venture with the UK's leading manga collective Sweatdrop Studios. Set to hit the shelves in April 2008, manga versions of Be creative and Find true love will marry manga images with tried and tested expert ideas in a stunning mixture of art and advice that takes self-improvement to a new level and is guaranteed to win a new generation of readers. Two further titles will follow in June 2008. On the 17th of this month, a maid cafe in Thailand called "Akiba" closed permanently after being investigated by Thai officials a few months ago. Thai officials arrested the shop owner and another man for offering pornographic manga books in the shop, and also confiscated 200 volumes of manga. After the incident, the cafe's business experienced a rapid decline. |
Manga Zombie
Finale: Panelosophy
An ongoing conversation about the philosophy behind manga both in the U.S. and abroad. Manga Ranking
Monthly charts of comparative manga rankings based on aggregate online sales listings from Matt Blind. |
According to Kodokawa Shoten, thanks to the anime adaptation of Lucky ☆ Star, various Lucky Star-related items have been enjoying a big boost in sales.
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
