File this under Weird Twitter Kerfuffles: on Monday, manga-ka Kentaro Sato tweeted that “CEO Elon Musk has been posting my drawings without permission, so I’d like a usage fee of one billion. In dollars.” Musk had apparently re-tweeted a meme that used imagery from Sato’s Magical Girl Site, which is currently running in Weekly Shonen Champion. Though it’s not clear from context if the post was tongue-in-cheek, a number of Twitter users rallied to Sato’s cause, urging him to take action against Musk:
Get that money Sensei lmao
— CicadasnSeagulls (@VaporwaveOctop1) November 7, 2022
\\
Do it, DMCA the CEO of twitter.
— Future Podcaster (@SpyGuy_) November 7, 2022
There’s been no response from Musk so far.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Jocelyne Allen explains why she soldiered through the rocky first chapter of Kemutai Ane to Zuro Imoto. “I almost had to annoyance-quit reading this title,” she confesses. “But you know I love Battan’s sharp-nosed ladies with their cat eyes and strands of hair everywhere, so I kept pushing forward and found a lot more to like, including a much-needed window into Ran’s side of this story.” [Brain vs. Book]
Over at Shonen Flop, David and Jordan dissect the first chapter of Super Smartphone, a new Shonen Jump series. [Shonen Flop]
Artists Sally Madden and Katie Skelly devote the latest episode of the Thick Lines Podcast to Moyocco Anno’s In Clothes Called Fat.[Thick Lines Podcast]
ICYMI: Joe McCulloch dropped by the Thick Lines Podcast a few weeks ago to discuss Kazuo Umezz’s Orochi: Blood. [Thick Lines Podcast]
In the latest installment of Screentone Club, Andy and Elliot go to extremes–tonal extremes, that is, as they discuss Days on Fes and Franken Fran. [Screentone Club]
Erica Friedman praises Eike Exner’s Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History, which won the 2022 Eisner Award for Best Academic Work. “You’re probably familiar with orthodox manga history, tracing today’s modern sequential narrative art from Japan from early scrolls, through sketches of the Ukiyo-e period to (time jump) modern manga,” she notes. Exner’s book, however, “stops the story and asks us to look – really look – at that time jump, and at one of the factors that shaped Japanese comicking into what we know today as manga… Exner’s voice is readable and friendly, with a sense of genuine conviction, rather than an argument that was made to be made.” [Okazu]
REVIEWS
Johanna Draper Carlson gives a mixed review to Blue Box, characterizing the artwork as “adequate but not inspiring,” while praising the series for flipping the script. “What I liked most about this book was a boy developing a crush on a girl because of her determination and accomplishments,” she notes. “A lot of shojo has the girl being aggressively normal, even shy, with no reason to stand out, unless it’s due to her cuteness.”
New and Noteworthy
- Avant-Garde Yumeko (MrAJCosplay, Anime News Network)
- Black Paradox (Brandon Danial, The Fandom Post)
- Blue Box, Vol. 1 (Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho?)
- Cats and Sugar Bowls (Erica Friedman, Okazu)
- Chained Soldier, Vol. 1 (Harry, Honey’s Anime)
- Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as My Gag Character?!, Vol. 1 (Grant Jones, Anime News Network)
- The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, Vol. 1 (Harry, Honey’s Anime)
- The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend, Vol. 1 (Kevin T. Rodriguez, The Fandom Post)
- Monotone Blue (Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho?)
- MonsTABOO, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Peach Boy Riverside, Vol. 1 (SKJAM, SKJAM! Reviews)
- Rainbow Days, Vol. 1 (Brett Michael Orr, Honey’s Anime)
- Shojo Fight, Vols. 1-2 (Krystallina, Daiyamanga)
- Skygrazer (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Tokyo Aliens, Vol. 1 (Grant Jones, Anime News Network)
- Tsubaki-Chou Lonely Planet, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Unnamed Memory, Vol. 1 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- Usotoki Rhetoric, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic: The Manga Companion, Vol. 1 (Krystallina, The OASG)
Complete and Ongoing Series
- Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, Vol. 2 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Crazy Food Truck, Vol. 2 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- FANGS, Vol. 2 (Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho?)
- I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School, Vol. 5 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Kaiju Girl Carmelise, Vol. 6 (Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho?)
- The King’s Beast, Vol. 8 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Vols. 3-4 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- A Man and His Cat, Vol. 7 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World!, Vol. 3 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- RADIANT, Vol. 15 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Skull-faced Bookseller Honda-san, Vols. 3-4 (Helen, The OASG)
- Spy x Family, Vol. 8 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- The Vision of Escaflowne (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)