In January 2007, rumors began circulating that PEACH-PIT, the duo behind hit titles such as DearS and Zombie-Loan, is having a dispute with the editorial team of Gentosha's Comic BIRZ over the serialization of Rozen Maiden. When the March issue of Comic BIRZ was released on January 30th, instead of a new chapter of Rozen Maiden, fans were greeted with the announcement of Rozen Maiden's suspension.

However, the announcement can only be found inside the magazine, so to fans who buy BIRZ just for Rozen Maiden, it was not clear that the March issue of BIRZ didn't carry their favorite manga. A Japanese law blog called Ahowota Law Student News explores this interesting situation, and goes on to ask the question: "Can a person legally claim fallacy and assert that the contract is invalid (Meaning he can return the magazine and get his money back)?"

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Simon Jones of Icarus Publishing talks about the current state of the comics market and its effect on small publishers and artists in the article "Ramblings from a shameful publisher". The article touches on the recent CPM/Libre incident, doujinshi artists, as well as some inside information on Icarus Publishing itself.

Reuters.jp has published an article on the popularity of manga in the U.K. Following the success of manga in France, Germany and the U.S., more and more people in the U.K. are starting to have a better understanding of Japanese manga.

Manga such as Fruits Basket and Astro Boy are experiencing positive salesin the U.K., and works such as the Bible and Shakespearean plays are being adapted into manga.

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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."

In the article "A List Your Manga Should not Be On," MangaCast looks at the recent trend of manga in the U.S. being postponed indefinitely, and how titles being cancelled/put on hiatus is something that should happen in what is considered a mature market today.

According to a report filed by The Research Institute for Publications, the total sales of domestic manga in Japan last year (2006) were 481 billion yen, a 4.2% decline from 2005. This is the first time ever sales of the manga market dropped below 500 billion yen.

The report says that tankoubon sales have been decreasing for the past two years, and that manga magazine sales have been decreasing 11 years in a row. The decline of manga magazine sales was especially noticeable, which indicates that the readers are moving away from the magazine field.

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According to the ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference at this year's New York Comic-Con, graphic novels are outselling the traditional comic periodical format. "Based on our latest analysis, graphic novels passed comic periodicals in 2005 and held that lead in 2006," said ICv2 President Milton Griepp.

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Washington Post as published an article titled "Manga's Powerful Feminine Mystique," which looks at shojo manga and the "Girl Power! Girls' Comics From Japan" exhibition at the Japan Information and Culture Center in Northwest Washington.

In "Weekend Beat/ Shakespeare meets Shibuya girl," Asahi Shimbun looks at how manga went from a niche product available only in specialty shops to mainstream in Britain. The article also looks at the Shakespearean manga from the U.K. publisher SelfMadeHero.

The Harvard University Asia Center has announced the publication of a new book: Manga from the Floating World: Comicbook Culture and the Kibyoshi of Edo Japan by Adam L. Kern.

Based on extensive research using primary sources in their original editions, "Manga from the Floating World" is the first full-length study in English of the kibyoshi, a vastly popular genre of humorous pictorial fiction for adults.

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