Manga News and Information
February, 2008According to the AoD forum, fliers distributed at Shueisha's Jump Festa 08 indicate Shueisha's plan to release Shaman King Perfect Edition, a re-release of Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King that will feature a never before seen ending. ANN has more: A round up of the new comic release list and views for the week of February 6th 2008: From Del Rey's Editorial Associate Tricia Narwani comes an article talking about his experience with comics:
Broccoli Books has relaunched its blog with a new theme:
February comics top 10 in the U.S. according to PWCW.
From Kajiwara Ikki Part 1: The Dangerous Charm of a Dark World
Let's get straight into Kajiwara Ikki's Lunatic Period (late seventies). This started when he shifted his focus to seinen-shi magazines aimed at young male readers. From this platform, he launched a series of ultra-violent karate-themed gekiga, including 'Karate: Hell Version' (Karate Jigoku-hen), 'New Karate: Hell Version' (Shin Karate Jigoku-hen) and 'Human Lethal Weapon' (Ningen Kyōki). These works didn't enjoy a warm reception by any means from the average gekiga fans of the time. Comments ranged from "He just recycles the same characters and plots over and over." to "It's too sadistic, and there's too much porn content." Granted, these gekiga never achieved the immense popularity of his earlier works written for more juvenile readers, like 'Star of the Giants' (Kyōjin no Hoshi) and 'Tomorrow's Joe' (Ashita no Joe). And I have to admit that the storylines are basically all reheated. But, when you really think about it, this later body of work has a special significance precisely because it never sold well. Here, Kajiwara was truly able to express aspects of himself that he'd never done before. Incredibly Strange Manga part 4 Dark Side of Gekiga: Decade of Gekiga Top 10 manga (2/06) according to Tohan:
Additional Rankings: Rumiko Takahashi will publish a new chapter of her Rumic Theater series titled Shiawase List (Happiness List) (高橋留美子劇場 しあわせリスト) in Shogakukan's Big Comic Original No.5 (2/20). An one-shot from Masakazu Katsura (mangaka of Video Girl Ai and I''s) and Akira Toriyama (mangaka of Dragon Ball) will appear in the May issue of Shueisha's Jump SQ (4/4). Visitors Invited To The VIZ Media Manga Café And Lounge To Sample An Array Of Animation And Manga San Francisco, CA, February 5, 2008 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced its participation in JAPAN! CULTURE+ HYPER CULTURE, an exhibit taking place February 5-17 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The dynamic exhibit brings together more than 450 artists, 40 performances, and more than a dozen free events to showcase the best in Japanese theater and dance, music and fashion, architecture and sculpture, poetry and literature, photography and film. Nation's Largest Convention Announces January Winners Anaheim, California (February 4, 2008) ‹ Anime fans can win fantastic prizes the month of February from such amazing companies like Gaia Online by just registering for the nation¹s largest Anime/Manga convention! Anime Expo® 2007 will be held from July 3-6, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. More information can be found on the website www.anime-expo.org. ZUDACOMICS.COM CONGRATULATES SHELDON VELLA'S SUPERTRON AS WINNER OF JANUARY 2008 COMPETITION AND ANNOUNCES FEBRURARY 2008 COMPETITION (FEBRUARY 4, 2008- New York, NY) —Zuda extends congratulations to Sheldon Vella’s SUPERTRON, the winner of the first www.Zudacomics.com competition of 2008. About SUPERTRON: In the future, robots rule the land. In this harsh mechanical wasteland lives Supertron, a robot of unprecedented power and wit. His only equal is Spinbot, a maniacal robot of unrivaled style and speed. SUPERTRON is a unique blend of humor and science fiction and will continue as a regularly updating web comic at www.Zudacomics.com. I’ve posted three comics on the web aside from all the Indy and freelance stuff I’ve done. Now I would very much like to share with you my new comic project, available for free download to every one here at You can check out few sample pages there before downloading the entire comic. I can really use all the help I can get getting the world out and I want as many people out there to see this. I hope you enjoy the read and pass it on. Later… Canned Dogs is reporting that issue 10 of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday (2/6) will offer its readers a chance to obtain an alarm clock featuring Sanzenin Nagi, the heroine from Hayate the Combat Butler:
A special chapter of Death Note, written by Tsugumi Ohba and drawn by Takeshi Obata, will appear in issue 11 of Weekly Shonen Jump, on sale February 9th. Source: Weekly Jump Readers' Journal The first issue of a new Kodansha Box magazine titled Pandora will be released on February 4th. The new literary magazine, which will be published twice a year, is described by Kodansha as a "symphony magazine that lives in the adolescent's self-consciousness." Source: Ultimatum According to his latest LiveJournal post, Jason Thompson is currently looking for "a manga-influenced artist who would be interested in drawing a graphic novel (or series of graphic novels) with [him] as the writer." Also, from The Star talks to Keiko Tobe about her manga With the Light and autism. Via: MangaBlog A Fujiko F. Fujio exhibition called "The Infinite Dream - Fujio F. Fujiko" will take place at the Suginami Animation Museum from February 26th to May 25th. The exhibition will include photos, original manuscripts and panels of explanation. Source: MJ
An interview with Takehiko Inoue was recently published in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine. Below is a brief translation of the interview: Ultimatum is reporting that Japanese publisher Poplar has released a new josei manga magazine titled Pianissimo on 1/25. Tsukiji Toshihiko (author) and Senmu (illustrator)'s romance comedy/action light novel series Kenpufer will be adapted into a manga. The manga, drawn by Tachibana Yu, will begin serialization during the April issue of Media Facotyr's Comic Alive (2/27). Source: LightNovel.net Manga Jouhou lists some of Tokyopop's contests that are taking place in early 2008: From Tokyopop comes an interview with Tachibana Higuchi, mangaka of Gakuen Alice:
From BdZoom comes the top 15 "Bandes Dessinées" (French-style comic books) for the week ending 1/20:
Romantic High School Comedy Inspired By Award Winning Shojo Manga San Francisco, CA, February 1, 2008 – VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced the DVD release of the romantic live-action comedy, LOVE*COM THE MOVIE, on February 19, 2008. The release features English subtitles and will be distributed by VIZ Media with an anticipated retail price of $24.98. A dedicated web site, with a trailer, plot summary and other information is viewable at www.lovecomthemovie.com. |
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. |
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
