Manga News and Information
June, 2007
Some titles will continue their serialization on Avarus, and some will be moved to other magazines. More information will become available on the September issue of Comic Blade, on sale July 30th. The 7th International Manga Conference held by the Japan Society for Cartoon and Comics Studies will take place in Kyoto on June 16th and 17th at Kyoto Seika University and the Kyoto International Manga Museum respectively. Guests from the U.S. include Matt Thorn, Viz Media Executive Vice President Hyoe Narita and Tokyopop General Manager Masashi Matsuhashi. Source: Anime! Anime!
New installments of Official Another Story Clannad: Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de will appear in Broccoli's Comi-Digi Plus (Comi-Digi+) Vol.8 (6/21) A new manga titled Zo no Senaka by Kujiraiikuko, based on the novel of the same name (which will also be adapted into a movie), will begin serialization in Coamix's Comic Bunch No. 30 (6/22). Moe + Military mook (magazine + book) MC☆Axis has announced that as of volume 5, it will become an independent magazine. A few new manga series will debut in Akita Shoten's Champion Red: Champion Red August issue (6/19) Champion Red September issue (7/19) Source: Ultimatum Chat
In 2002, Motonori Kishi and the adult mangaka Beauty Hair were arrested for distributing 20,000 copies of the overly obscene Misshitsu (Honey Room) to 16 stores. In January 2004, Motonori Kishi was found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison. However, the sentence was reduced to a 1.5 million yen fine in June 2005. Source: Asahi Shimbun Gardena, CA, June 15, 2007 – Wanna know what the deal with Robot is? Curious as to what the folks on the DMP side of Digital Manga Publishing have been up to? Want to hear about DMP's new imprint, DMP Platinum? Be sure to check out the Digital Manga Publishing panel at Anime Expo on Saturday, June 30. We will be unveiling our new line of books and our flagship title. Gardena, CA, June 15, 2007 – Juné by Digital Manga Publishing, one of the industry's most innovative manga licensing and publishing companies, is pleased to present Satoru Kannagi as our industry guest for Anime Expo 2007 (www.anime-expo.org). Satoru Kannagi is most widely known in the United States as the author of the bestselling manga and 5 volume novel series Only the Ring Finger Knows. Only the Ring Finger Knows was Digital Manga Inc.'s first yaoi manga and Juné is happy to celebrate the success and growth of this genre with Kannagi-sensei this summer at Anime Expo. MangaCast reports that the culture magazine Monocle is currently serializing a new manga from Yasaka Takanori called Kita Koga:
On June 22nd, Gentosha Comics will launch a new manga bunko called... Manga Bunko. Manga published under this bunko include Masatsu Note Taimashin by Kikuchi Hideyuki (story) / Saito Misaki (art), Seimaden by You Higuri, Kodoku Experiment by Yukinobu Hoshino, Koibito Purei by Benkyo Tamaoki, and more. NETCOMICS, a New Jersey-based online/offline graphic novel publisher, will provide manga titles from Yaoi Press, an Original English Language (OEL) publisher of yaoi manga, through its website NETCOMICS.com starting June 15th. The website allows subscribers to sample opening chapters for free and to read entire volumes for about US$1.00 each. The Yaoi Press blog reports that Yaoi Press' manga has finally appeared on NETCOMICS' online website. The first chapter of the manga, Winter Demon by Studio Kosaru (art) and Yamila Abraham (story) can be viewed for free, while the remaining chapters are available for $0.25 per chapter. Via: Manga Maniac Cafe Comics Worth Reading reports that a manga musical called "Astra: The Super Heroine Manga Musical", a joint effort between Jerry Robinson and the Washington Women in Theatre, will take place at the Warehouse Theatre in Washington, D.C. from July 7th to July 14th. The original Astra manga was written and drawn by Kenichi Oishi and Shojin Tanaka and, and was published by Central Park Media in 1999. PWCW reports that DC Comics has announced its plan to invest in Flex Comics, a "manga production company that will create original manga for the web, mobile phones and print collections for worldwide distribution":
Source: Publishers Weekly Shogakukan released a new magazine under the Flower Comics imprint titled Rinka on 6/14. The new magazine serializes manga from popular shoujo mangaka such as Yuu Watase (creator of Fushigi Yuugi), Yumi Tamura (creator of Basara) and Chiho Saito (creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena). Source: Ultimatum Chat A few new manga listings have appeared on Amazon.com that could mean new Tokyopop titles in January 2008: - V. B. Rose by Banri Hidaka Source: AoD From Seven Seas' Adventures of a Manga Publisher blog comes an article titled "The Art Of Licensing, Part 1." In the article Jason DeAngelis talks about the manga licensing scene in the U.S., and how a small publisher like Seven Seas has managed to survive and compete in the presence of bigger publishers:
Series About A Nerdy Boy Transformed Into A Hero Also A Popular Manga And A Staple Of Toonami Jetstream San Francisco, CA, June 13, 2007 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the launch of the anime series MÄR™ on DVD. The first volume, Gateway To MÄR, contains four episodes, is rated "T" for Teens and debuts this week for $19.98. Special foil packaging and a limited edition double-sided poster are also featured as special premiums. MangaCast and Same Hat! Same Hat! report a few new manga titles and releases announced during this year's BookExpo America: Drawn & Quarterly: Last Gasp: Vertical: The new comic release list for June 13th 2007 from ComicList, compiled by MangaCast. Three new series will start in the upcoming issues of Shueisha's Super Jump: Super Jump issue 14 (6/27): Super Jump issue 16: Super Jump issue 17: Also, a new series titled doubt by Yoshiki Tonogai (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Himatsubushi-hen) will begin serialization in the August issue of Square Enix's Monthly Shonen Gangan (7/12). Source: Ultimatum Chat Top 10 manga (6/06) according to Tohan.
Additional Rankings: A new yuri magazine from Ichijinsha titled Comic Yuri Hime S (880 yen) will debut on June 18th. Yuri Hime S (Yuri Hime's sister magazine) is different from Yuri Hime Selections, a special issue of Yuri Hime that carries series from Ichijinsha's most popular yuri artists. Tokyograph reports that a 2-part television drama of Kenji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen will be aired on August 10-11 in Japan:
Via: animeOnline From PWCW's Billy Aguiar comes an interview with Jason Thompson, author of Del Rey's Manga: The Complete Guide. The interview focuses on Manga: The Complete Guide, which will be released in August. After 40 chapters, Welcome to the N.H.K. (NHK ni Youkoso!) finally came to an ended in the July issue of Shonen Ace. The manga, drawn by Kendi Oiwa, is based on the light novel of the same name from Tatsuhiko Takimoto.
The fact that manga containing excessive sexual content can be accessed by juvenile at common bookstores and convenience stores is regarded as a social problem in Japan. As a result, the Kyoto local government has decided to label manga containing inappropriate content involving elementary school girls, also there will be a meeting with the Juveniles Growth Planning Committee on the 15th to further discuss this matter. |
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 Mag Garden's 
A new manga titled 
Motonori Kishi, the president of 
On June 7th, the Kyoto Prefecture's local government 
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
