Brigid Alverson

I interviewed Aya Kanno, creator of Otomen and Requiem of the Rose King, for the Barnes & Noble blog. Although her work is published in shoujo and josei magazines, Kanno originally wanted to do seinen manga, and she apprenticed with a shonen artist. But the first manga she ever drew was a shoujo manga:

What is the first comic you ever made? Not the first comic that was published, the first comic you made for yourself.
It was probably when I was in elementary school, grade three maybe—I was about eight or nine years old. I don’t even know why I wrote this, but the usual shoujo—the way things played out with shoujo—I was really kind of in opposition to, I was like “Ah, I hate this,!” but the details were very shoujo: This girl falls in love with her senpai [an older student], but he is moving away, so she knits him a scarf. That is the first thing I drew.

Dark Horse announced some new licenses at its Anime Central panel: Giganto Maxia, by Berserk creator Kentarou Miura; RG Veda, by CLAMP (originally licensed by Tokyopop back in the day); Danganronpa: The Animation, by Spike Chunsoft and Takashi Tsukimi; and I Am a Hero, by Kengo Hanazawa. Lori Henderson covers the panel, which was apparently a surprise appearance.

Want some free digital manga? Viz is offering the first chapters of All You Need is Kill, Bleach, Food Wars, Naruto, and One Piece on their vizmanga.com platform.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new releases.

Lori Henderson looks at the latest manga best-seller lists from the New York Times and Amazon.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date with the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Reviews: Ash Brown reports in on the week in manga at Experiments in Manga.

Matthew Warner on vol. 15 of 07-Ghost (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of Attack on Titan (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on the May issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Anna N on His Virgin Mistress and Night of Love (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 4 of Little Battlers Experience (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 15 and 16 of Ranma 1/2 (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Warner on vol. 17 of Rin-ne (The Fandom Post)
Ken H on vol. 1 of A Silent Voice (Sequential Ink)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Your Lie in April (Manga Xanadu)

Lots of fantasy, gaming and supernatural series are launching in May, starting with Shotaro Ishinomori’s Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which was originally drawn for Nintendo Power magazine back in the 1990s; I rounded up some of the most promising May releases at the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog.

Also at the B&N blog, I celebrate the return of Vinland Saga with a look at what sets it apart from your average Viking story.

This blog has been a bit quiet because I went to TCAF last week, where I interviewed both Aya Kanno, the creator of Otomen and Requiem of the Rose King, and Gurihiru, the two-woman team that illustrates Dark Horse’s Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels. I’ll have more to say about that later, but for now, it’s worth taking a few minutes to read Jocelyne Allen’s essay on Aya Kanno and the importance of Otomen. Jocelyne was Kanno’s translator at TCAF and she did a superb job; she’s also the translator of Requiem of the Rose King, but this post is about why Otomen matters. I have to admit I had only glanced at Otomen before TCAF, but I prepped for the interviews (one individual and one onstage) by reading not only Otomen and Requiem but also Kanno’s earlier series, Blank Slate. Taken together, they are a remarkable body of work. Kanno is versatile, working in a number of styles, but also very smart, and as Jocelyne points out, Otomen gets really interesting after the first few volumes.

Seven Seas has announced three new manga licenses: The high school zombie series Hour of the Zombie (a.k.a. Igai—The Play Dead/Alive); a fanservice-y shonen title, The Testament of Sister New Devil, which is based on a light novel series; and an action comedy, My Monster Secret.

Yen Press announced two new licenses last week: School-Live! (Gakkō Gurashi!), by Sadoru Chiba and Norimitsu Kaihō (Nitroplus), and Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi (Aka ya Akashi ya Ayakashi no), by HaccaWorks* and Nanao

Meanwhile, Viz has some license rescues, all digital: Eureka Seven, formerly published by Bandai; two vintage Tokyopop titles, Glass Wings and Flower of Deep Sleep; and Cheeky Angel, a Viz title that’s out of print.

And Crunchyroll has the digital release of Inuyashiki, by Gantz creator Hiroya Oku. Kodansha comics will start releasing it in print in August.

Big convention news:

• Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto will be coming to New York Comic Con in October;
• Yu-Gi-Oh! manga-ka Kazuki Takahashi will be at Comic-Con International in San Diego in July;
• And Julietta Suzuki, creator of Kamisama Kiss and Karakuri Odette (remember that one?) will make her first U.S. appearance at Anime Expo, also in July.

The Manga Bookshelf team discuss their Pick of the Week and take a look at the coming week’s new releases.

Justin Stroman has another one of his excellent insider posts up at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses; this time he interviews four manga translators about their work. He also investigates why he can’t read mature manga in the Viz apps.

Also, Ryan Holmberg has a longish but fascinating piece at The Comics Journal about blood banks and selling blood and why that pops up so often in manga.

In preparation for Kishimoto’s visit, Vernieda Vergara answers all your questions about Naruto. Well, some of them, anyway.

Shonen Jump is bringing back Jump Start, running a couple of chapters of new manga from the Japanese magazine; Lori Henderson takes a look at two new series.

Least surprising news item of the week: Shotaro Ishinomori’s Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past tops this week’s New York Times best-seller list.

Here’s a preview of Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga #46.

News from Japan

• Kodansha has announced the winners of the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards. The Seven Deadly Sins and Yowamushi Pedal (recently licensed by Yen Press) tied for best shonen manga, Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu got the nod for best shojo title, and Knights of Sidonia was named Best General Manga. Tochi Ueyama’s long-running series Cooking Papa got a special award as well.
• The monthly magazine Zero-Sum Ward is shutting down, but several series, including Wild Adapter, are being farmed out to other publications or online.
• Do you like Magi? So do lots of other people: A recent issue of Shonen Sunday reports that there are 18 million volumes in print.
• Kadokawa is launching Comic Walker GLOBAL, a companion to its Comic Walker digital manga site that features non-Japanese titles (mostly translated into Japanese).
• Shueisha will be selling a full-size reproduction of Masashi Kishimoto’s original art for the first chapter of Naruto.

Reviews

Kristin on The Angel of Elhamburg (Comic Attack)
John Rose on vol. 18 of Black Butler (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Blade of the Immortal, vol. 31: Final Curtain (Experiments in Manga)
John Rose on vol. 5 of Blood Lad (The Fandom Post)
Day on vol. 2 of Citrus (Okazu)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 1 of D-Frag (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Evergreen (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
John Rose on vol. 38 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 43 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
Ken H on vols. 2 and 3 of The Heroic Legend of Arslan (Sequential Ink)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of High School DxD (The Fandom Post)
AJ Adejare on vol. 1 of Kagerou Daze (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Kampfer (Okazu)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Let’s Dance a Waltz (Manga Xanadu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of Let’s Dance a Waltz (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 13 of Library Wars (The Fandom Post)
Anna N on vols. 1-3 of Magi (Manga Report)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Maria the Virgin Witch (Comics and More)
Erica Friedman on Murcielago (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of Mushishi (Experiments in Manga)
John Rose on vol. 1 of No. 6 (The Fandom Post)
Laura on No. 6 (Heart of Manga)
Jessica Uelmen on Ouran High School Host Club (The Mary Sue)
Lori Henderson on vols. 12-20 of Pandora Hearts (Manga Xanadu)
Chris Beveridge on Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Priapus (Experiments in Manga)
Rebecca Henely on Puella Magi Oriko Magica: Extra Story and vol. 1 of Puella Magi Tart Magica (Women Write About Comics)
Nick Smith on Puella Magi Tart Magica, vol. 1: The Legend of Jeanne (ICv2)
Erica Friedman on Renai Manga (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of A Silent Voice (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
John Rose on vol. 3 of Soul Eater NOT! (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Starlight Melody (Okazu)
Kristin on vols. 2 and 3 of Terra Formars (Comic Attack)
Justin Stroman on vol. 1 of Tokyo Ghoul (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 8 of Triage X (The Fandom Post)
Scott Cederlund on Uzumaki (Panel Patter)
Ken H on vol. 6 of Wolfsmund (Sequential Ink)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 1 of Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches (The Fandom Post)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Your Lie in April (The Fandom Post)

At the Barnes and Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy blog, I rounded up this year’s Eisner nominees in the manga category and threw in a few titles that I would have advocated for, had I been in the room. I also took a look at the best new series and graphic novel lists.

ANN posts a list of seven manga banned around the world, including Death Note, Barefoot Gen, and Dragon Ball. Even Pokemon, surely the most innocuous of all manga, fell afoul of the authorities in Saudi Arabia for promoting gambling (because trading cards) and containing “Zionist” and Christian symbols.

Yen Press takes the top three spots in this week’s New York Times manga best-seller list, with vol. 2 of Akame Ga Kill!, vol. 1 of Log Horizon, and vol. 1 of Big Hero 6 in the top three spots. The first volume of Akame Ga Kill also makes the list, as do two volumes of Attack on Titan, all three volumes of Assassination Classroom, and vol. 2 of Citrus.

Seven Seas has announced another new license: The time-travel shoujo manga orange:

Everyone has regrets in life. So who wouldn’t take the chance to change the past if given the opportunity? When sixteen-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a mysterious letter, claiming to be from her twenty-seven-year-old self, her life is suddenly thrown into flux. The letter tells her that a new transfer student by the name of Naruse Kakeru will be joining her class, and to keep her eye on him. But why? Naho must decide what to make of the letter and its cryptic warning, and what it means not only for her future, but for Kakeru’s as well.

Why did Seven Seas decide to license Franken Fran? Justin Stroman asks the questions, and Lissa Pattillo of Seven Seas answers them.

Justin also talks to Hope Donovan, who joined Tokyopop as the manga wave was cresting and is now a managing editor at Viz, directly overseeing Seraph of the End and Toriko.

The Manga Bookshelf team rounds up this week’s new manga.

In this week’s edition of Yuri Network News, Erica Friedman looks at some new announcements and concludes that the yuri market has grown and matured enough that publishers are now going back and taking a second look at some good early manga. Of course, that’s happening in Japan, and the bad news is that many of these works are unlikely to be licensed for English-language readers.

Shaenon Garrity writes about Jiro Taniguchi’s A Zoo in Winter, which she sees as a good follow-up read to Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s A Drifting Life, for the House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

So, you’re in the mood for manga but you want to read a complete story all at once? Jessica Uelman has got you covered over at The Mary Sue, with a look at xxxHOLiC, part of an ongoing series about manga series that are already complete.

Don’t freak out if your preorder for vol. 3 of The World’s Greatest First Love is canceled; SuBLime editor Jennifer LeBlanc explains on their blog that due to delays in getting approvals from the mangaka, the release schedule has changed.

Reviews

Ash Brown on The Angel of Elhamburg (Experiments in Manga)
Sarah on vol. 15 of Attack on Titan (nagareboshi reviews)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Big Hero 6 (Girls Like Comics)
Alice Vernon on vol. 1 of Demon From Afar (Girls Like Comics)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 2 of Durarara!! Yellow Scarves Arc (The Fandom Post)
Laura on Dengeki Daisy (Heart of Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Devil Is a Part-Timer (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sakura Eries on vol. 17 of Goong (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 10 of Happy Marriage?! (The Fandom Post)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Comics-and-More)
Rebecca Silverman on Karneval (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Log Horizon (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N on vol. 2 of Master Keaton (Manga Report)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Meteor Prince (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)
Kristin on vol. 2 of Meteor Prince and vol. 4 of My Love Story (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Orange Junk (Manga Xanadu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Puella Magi Tart Magica (Okazu)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of xxxHolic Rei (The Fandom Post)
Ken H on vol. 1 of Your Lie in April (Sequential Ink)
Laura on vols. 1 and 2 of Yukarism (Heart of Manga)

Manga artist Kou Kojima, creator of the adult manga Sennin Buraku (Hermit Village) has died at the age of 87. Kojima was the uncle of manga-ka Moyoco Anno.

There will be no Bleach or One Piece in this week’s Shonen Jump, as both creators are taking the week off due to illness. This article refers to the Japanese magazine but as the North American SJ publishes simultaneously with Japan, they will presumably be missing from the English-language edition as well. Also the Japanese SJ is launching three new series in May, plus the Naruto spinoff at the end of this month; it will be interesting to see how much of this makes it into the American SJ.

Manga expert and game fanatic Jason Thompson (author of King of RPGs) has launched a Kickstarter to fund his game Mangaka: The Fast and Furious Game of Drawing Comics, which sounds like a lot of fun.

I wrote about Ultraman for my latest post at the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog, giving some background on the show as Viz has picked up the latest manga.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss this week’s new releases.

Erica Friedman posts a new episode of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Have you seen Jiro Kuwata’s Batmanga? 13th Dimension has a preview of the latest chapter.

Volume 12 of Chi’s Sweet Home will be the final volume.

The latest volume of One Piece, the first volume of Big Hero 6, and vol. 15 of Attack on Titan top this week’s New York Times manga best-seller list.

News from Japan: Gotcha! Police in Saitama Prefecture arrested a 33-year-old man on charges of uploading the final volume of Kuroko’s Basketball to the web. Police say the suspect, who teaches high school part-time, has already admitted to doing it, and they suspect he has been uploading other material as well. CLAMP’s xxxHoLIC: rei, which went on hiatus in July, will be back Neon Genesis Evangelion, Oh My Goddess, and Moyashimon were among the manga nominees for the Seiun science fiction awards. Log Horizon author Mamare Touno says he has filed and paid his back taxes, ending an investigation into possible tax evasion.

Reviews

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of 12 Beast (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 3 of After School Nightmare (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 of Black Lagoon (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 16 of Dengeki Daisy (ANN)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of Food Wars (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna N on vols. 4 and 5 of Gangsta (Manga Report)
Lori Henderson on The Garden of Words (Manga Xanadu)
Nick Creamer on vol. 5 of Genshiken: Second Season (ANN)
Kristin on vols. 1 and 2 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Comic Attack)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of My Neighbor Seki (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 74 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Legends (Experiments in Manga)

Cocoa Fujiwara, the creator of Inu x Boku SS, has died. Although she was only 31 years old, she had a number of manga credits: The short story “Calling,” which was published when she was just 15, Stray Doll, Watashi no Ookami-san, dear, Ojousama to Youkai Shitsuji, Inu x Boku SS, and her current series, Katsute Mahō Shōjo to Aku wa Tekitai Shiteita, which ran in Young Gangan, as did Inu x Boku SS. According to her Wikipedia page, she was friends with fellow Square Enix artists Jun Mochizuki (Pandora Hearts) and Yana Toboso (Black Butler).

Seven Seas announced yesterday that it has licensed A Certain Scientific Accelerator, one of the many manga spinoffs of the light novel series A Certain Magical Index (which has been licensed by Yen Press).

Aya Kanno, creator of Otomen, Blank Slate, and Requiem of the Rose King, will be a guest at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) in May.

I wrote about the life and work of the late Yoshihiro Tatsumi at the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog.

At The Guardian, Jennifer Allan writes about what she learned from Tatsumi’s works.

Justin talks to Ken Niimura, author of Henshin, at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their pick of a very good week and what we can expect next week. Lori Henderson looks at this week’s manga at Manga Xanadu.

Hiroya Oku says his Inuyashiki manga, which Kodansha will start publishing in the U.S. in August, will run to 10 volumes.

The Japanese anti-piracy project Manga-Anime Guardians reports some results:

In the five month period between August and January, MAG deleted 447,096 manga files and 264,601 anime files from various video sharing, online reading, torrent and other sites. For manga, that represents a 60% delete rate, while for anime, that’s a 89% delete rate, though it’s not clear whether these results include English-language sites.

I don’t go to scanlation sites, but I haven’t noticed any decrease in the frequency with which they show up in Google results, but maybe MAG is hitting Japanese-language sites harder. They also note that 12% of Japanese readers and 50% of U.S. readers use bootleg sites.

Crafty Lori Henderson looks at some sewing manga. I didn’t even know that was a thing!

13th Dimension has a preview of Jiro Kuwata’s Batmanga #38.

News from Japan: The Naruto spinoff mini-series Naruto Gaiden: Nanadaime Hokage to Akairo no Hanatsuzuki will start running in Shonen Jump with the April 27 issue. Shigeru Mizuki is bringing his autobiographical manga Watashi no Hibi to an end in the next issue of Big Comic. Princess Jellyfish creator Akiko Higashimura has won the Manga Taisho award for her series Kakukaku Shikajika. Children of the Sea manga-ka Daisuke Higarashi has a new series in the works, titled Designs. ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files their report on some recent releases in the latest edition of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown recaps the week’s reading at Experiments in Manga.

Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Akame ga KILL! (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 14 of Attack on Titan (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 15 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1 and 2 of Captain Ken (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Toshi Nakamura on Inuyashiki (Kotaku)
Steve Bennett on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (ICv2)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Kokoro Connect (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on Kono yo ni tada Hitori (Okazu)
Justin on Maria the Virgin Witch (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Master Keaton (Manga Xanadu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Master Keaton (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alice Vernon on Milkyway Hitchhiking (Girls Like Comics)
Kristin on vol. 3 of My Love Story (Comic Attack)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of My Neighbor Seki (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 47 of Oh My Goddess (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Drew McCabe on Our Reason for Living (Comic Attack)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Requiem of the Rose King (Manga Report)
Helen on Spirit Circle (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ash Brown on vol. 6 of What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Experiments in Manga)

At Robot 6, I interviewed Lianne Sentar of Chromatic Press, who is serious about publishing manga-influenced comics for a female audience. Their flagship publication is Sparkler Monthly, and if you’re curious, check it out now, because the archives are available for free. And Melinda Beasi breaks another bit of Sparkler Monthly news at Manga Bookshelf: They have just picked up the series Orange Junk, which formerly ran on Inkblazers.

Yen Press announced that it has licensed the Irregular at Magic High School (Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei) light novels and the spinoff manga Mahōka Kōkō no Yūtōsei (The Honour at Magic High School).

Sean Gaffney rounds up all the recent license announcements and tells us a bit about each title.

ICv2 declared last week Manga Week, and their coverage included interviews with Mike Richardson, Carl Horn, and Mike Gombos of Dark Horse, who said their manga line is doing well and they have plans to expand this year with more titles and omnibus editions of older works; Kevin Hamric of Viz, who also says sales are good and notes that sales of shoujo manga have gone up in comics shops; and Matt Lehman, owner of Boston’s Comicopia, who talks about selling manga in the direct market. ICv2 also analyzes last year’s manga sales, which appear to be up for the second year in a row.

A treasure trove of manhwa in an abandoned storage locker has been donated to the University of Washington, where librarian Yi Hyo-kyoung is organizing then, putting together a symposium featuring Misaeng creator Yoon Tae-ho—and reminiscing about reading manhwa on the sly when she was a child.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new manga and their picks of the week.

Erica Friedman updates us on all things yuri at Okazu and at Manga Bookshelf, she looks at Mangatime Kirara ☆ Magica, a Japanese magazine dedicated entirely to the Puella Magi Madoka Magica franchise.

At Heart of Manga, Laura looks at the shoujo manga that have been licensed over the past two years, notes some recent trends, and shares her own list of series she would like to see licensed. And then explains the shoujo trope of kate don.

News from Japan: The Japanese government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs has awarded Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto their Rookie of the Year award; apparently he qualifies because Naruto is his first series, although it ran for 15 years. Attack on Titan took the top slot in the manga category of the Sugoi Japan Grand Prix, in which readers voted on the manga and anime they thought should be shared with readers outside Japan. The mayor of Yokote, in Akita Prefecture, is planning to beef up the collection of the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum to turn it into a “manga mecca” with a collection of over 100,000 works of art. A new Cardfight!! Vanguard series is in the works.

Reviews: Khursten Santos reviews Sayonara, Sorcier, a manga about Theo Van Gogh (Vincent’s younger brother) which, sadly, has not been translated. Somebody grab this one! Ash Brown rounds up the week’s manga news and offers some quick takes on new titles at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team check in with some short reviews of recent releases in their latest edition of Bookshelf Briefs.

Laura on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan: No Regrets (Heart of Manga)
Kristin on vols. 2 and 3 of Black Rose Alice (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-5 of Bloody Cross (Manga Xanadu)
Ollie Barder on Gundam: The Origin (Forbes)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 25 of Hayate the Combat Butler (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Maria the Virgin Witch (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Meteor Prince (Comics-and-More)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Mushishi (Experiments in Manga)
Helen on Orange (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 18 of Oresama Teacher (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Prophecy (Comics Worth Reading)
Ken H. on vol. 2 of Prophecy (Sequential Ink)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Requiem of the Rose King (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Servamp (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Laura on Strobe Edge (Heart of Manga)
Erica Friedman on Wakemonaku Kurushikunaruno (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Whispered Words (Okazu)
Ken H. on vols. 1 and 2 of xxxHolic Rei (Sequential Ink)
Justin on Zone-00 (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

Manga-ka Yoshihiro Tatsumi has died at the age of 79. Paul Gravett broke the news on his blog, saying that he got an e-mail from director Eric Khoo, who directed a documentary about the artist, saying simply, “Sensei is dead.”

Tatsumi was a pioneer of manga for adults, which he called “gekiga,” or “dramatic pictures,” as opposed to “manga,” which means “whimsical pictures.” During the course of his long career he won numerous awards, including the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize (Japan), the Angouleme Prix Regards Sur le Monde (France), and numerous Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz awards (U.S.). Drawn and Quarterly has published six of his works in English: The Push Man and Other Stories, Abandon the Old in Tokyo, Good-Bye, Black Blizzard, A Drifting Life, and Fallen Words.

As word of his death spread, several people shared their stories of meeting Tatsumi.

Peggy Burns of Drawn & Quarterly, Tatsumi’s publisher:

I was lucky enough to spend two weeks with him and his wife on his two trips to North America, two of the most fulfilling times of my career. He was gentle, sweet and kind and would always get me to tell him stories about my kids. Anne Ishii and I spent two days with him stock signing in NYC, where he would do the most ornate drawings in each books, over hundred of books received this special treatment. We kept trying to get him to speed up, and tried to tell him he didn’t have to do such ornate drawings. He told us: If when in his twenties, when he was broke and trying to make it as an artist that in his 70s, he and his wife would be flown to the USA, the very least he can do, is a drawing for each of the people who will buy the books.

Alex Cox remembers meeting Tatsumi and his wife when they visited his Brooklyn comics shop. At that time, Tatsumi was only beginning to realize how popular his early works were in this country:

As Tatsumi left, I had no idea how to address him, unaccustomed as I am to Japanese etiquette. I bowed and said “Arigato, Tatsumi-Sensei,” hopefully using the correct honorific (and pronunciation) to address a master of his craft. He stalled momentarily before shaking my hand warmly.

Closing in on age 70, he was still getting used to the idea that he was considered Sensei by thousands of people on the other side of the world.

Adrian Tomine, Tatsumi’s editor at Drawn and Quarterly:

It didn’t take long for me to discover that, despite differences of age, geography, history, etc., Tatsumi-sensei reminded me very much of all the other great cartoonists I’ve had the fortune of becoming friends with. He could be taciturn and occasionally inscrutable, but in the right circumstances, he’d open up with humor, inquisitiveness, and an unflagging excitement about the process of making comics. I’d studied and learned from his work since I was a teenager, but I think Tatsumi’s humility, generosity, and artistic determination were as inspirational to me as any of his stories. I had several occasions–usually when one of us was dashing off to catch a plane–to offer my best attempt at a bow and to say “thank you,” but I always felt that I hadn’t been clear or emphatic enough, and that he was too modest to fully accept all that I was thanking him for.

Here’s a handful of other links about Tatsumi; post your favorites in the comments and I’ll add them here.

Deb Aoki’s 2009 interview with Tatsumi
Ryan Sands covers Tatsumi’s 2009 appearance at TCAF
The Toronto Star’s 2009 interview with Tatsumi
Dwight Garner’s review of A Drifting Life in the New York Times

Update: Here are some more posts and tributes that have appeared in the week after Tatsumi’s death:

Jocelyne Allen, who was Tatsumi’s translator at TCAF and also the translator of Fallen Words, shares some memories and discusses his short story collection Kessakusen
Ryan Holmberg’s obituary at The Comics Journal, a detailed account of Tatsumi’s life that also puts his accomplishments in context
Gary Groth’s very in-depth interview with Tatsumi, first published in 2007
Bruce Weber’s obituary in the New York Times
Elaine Woo’s obituary in the Los Angeles Times

Hey you guys! I have a new gig, writing about manga for the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog! Check out my picks for the best February releases and my Valentines Day post about manga romances. Keep an eye out for more; this is a different type of writing for me, and I’m really digging it!

Everything old is new again: Dark Horse is reissuing Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy in omnibus format, with the first volume clocking in at 700 pages!

Lori Henderson has more info on those three new licenses Vertical announced at Katsucon.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers go gaga over JoJo as they discuss their Pick of the Week.

The 14th and final volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion tops the New York Times manga best-seller list, followed by vol. 2 of Assassination Classroom, Unofficial Hatsune Mix, and vol. 1 of Attack on Titan.

The nominees for the Tezuka prize have been announced, and they include Naruto, Assassination Classroom, and A Silent Voice, which Kodansha will start publishing here this spring (it’s already available digitally on Crunchyroll).

News from Japan: At Heart of Manga, Laura looks at the shoujo manga currently being serialized in Wings magazine. The Sacred Blacksmith will come to an end with volume 10. Drops of God is also going into its final arc.

Reviews: Ash Brown takes us through a week of manga reading with quick takes on several volumes at Experiments in Manga.

Julia Smith on vol. 1 of Assassination Classroom (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan: No Regrets (Sequential Ink)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Assassination Classroom (The Comic Book Bin)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 7 of Deadman Wonderland (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Doukyonin no Bishoujo ga Lesbian Datta Ken (Okazu)
Matthew Warner on vol. 11 of Flowers of Evil (The Fandom Post)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of Give to the Heart (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 3 and 4 of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Magi (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Meteor Prince (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Laura on Mugen Spiral (Heart of Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 7 of Nisekoi (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 25 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (I Reads You)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Oresama Teacher (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Secret (ANN)
Erica Friedman on Yu-Ribon (Okazu)

Vertical announced three new licenses at Katsucon this weekend: A manga, Ninja Slayer; a light novel, Kizumonogatari; and a light novel series, Seraph of the End. If that last one sounds familiar, it should: Viz has been publishing the manga. Kizumonogatari is by the novelist NisiOisin, and it’s the third volume in his Monogatari series that includes Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, and Monogatari Series Second Season. Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez said that they chose the third volume because “NisiOisin’s editor suggested we start there. His team is very involved in this project.”

Erica Friedman updates us with a new Yuri Network News post at Okazu.

The Manga Bookshelf team aren’t too excited about their Pick of the Week.

Bruno Meyerfield of World Crunch takes a look at the African manga scene, where fans who grew up reading Japanese manga are now making their own, uniquely African creations.

Arina Tanemura will be a guest at Anime Fest in Dallas, Texas, next September.

News from Japan: The LEGO Ninjago animated series (based on the LEGO playsets in which the characters are ninjas) is coming to Japan in April, and there’s going to be a manga series, too: LEGO LEGO Let’s LEGO Ninjago will launch in the March issue of Shogakukan’s CoroCoro Comic (out on February 28). The Jump Square spinoff Jump SQ. 19 is coming to an end this week, but Shueisha will launch a new spinoff in July. A manga version of the Koran is coming out this week.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team checks out some new releases in their Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown recounts another week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ken H. on vol. 14 of Attack on Titan (Sequential Ink)
Connie on vol. 1 of Black Rose Alice (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 24 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 2 of Crimson Spell (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 6 of Deadman Wonderland (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 8 of Dogs (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 44 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Kristin on vols. 2 and 3 of Gangsta (Comic Attack)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Happy Marriage?! (I Reads You)
Connie on vol. 5 of Honey Hunt (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 20 of Hoshin Engi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Insufficient Direction (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on Jaco the Galactic Patrolman (ANN)
Rob McMonigal on vol. 1 of Master Keaton (Panel Patter)
Julia Smith on vol. 9 of No. 6 (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Noragami (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffey on vol. 25 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on One Is Enough (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate O’Neil on Pandora Hearts: Odds & Ends (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 20 of Pokemon Black and White (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Connie on vol. 11 of Sakura Hime (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Sweet Rein (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 3 of UQ Holder (The Fandom Post)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-10 of Wild Ones (Manga Xanadu)

Big news! Viz is publishing a new, full-color edition of Shotaro Ishinomori’s Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past manga in its Perfect Square imprint. The story was originally published in Game Power magazine in 1992, and a trade was published the following year.

More Viz news: They will be publishing Yu-Gi-Oh! in 3-in-1 omnibus format.

Also riding the omnibus: Dark Horse, which will re-release the earlier volumes of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service in as 2-in-1 omnibuses.

Crunchyroll is launching a new line of original manga, and they are starting with HYPERSONIC music club, a collaboration between Patrick Macias and Hiroyuki Takahashi. I talked to Macias about the book, and the new line, at Robot 6, and Takahashi did an interview with Crunchyroll.

Shonen Jump is offering the latest issues for free through February 15; if you haven’t been following it and are thinking of jumping in during this trial period, check out my quick guide to SJ series at Robot 6.

Shonen Jump has also added a new series to the lineup: My Hero Academia, which will run simultaneously with the Japanese releases.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Erica Friedman has the latest from the world of yuri in this week’s Yuri Network News post at Okazu.

Ash Brown takes a look at the work of Mitsukazu Mihara as part of the Female Goth Mangaka Carnival.

Two cosplayers learned the hard way that it’s better to put on your costume when you get to the con, at least if you’re wearing camouflage and carrying what looks like a gun. This incident occurred in Gatineau, Quebec, which is quite near the capital of Ottawa, where last year a lone gunman attacked the national parliament. The two cosplayers were arrested but not held; they were also fined $270 and their replica weapons were taken away.

Reviews: Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith post some short takes on recent releases in the latest edition of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown takes us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Akame Ga Kill! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesey Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Attack on Titan (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Citrus (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 14 of Dengeki Daisy (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 24 of D.Gray-Man (The Comic Book Bin)
Chris Kirby on vol. 3 of Durarara!! Saika Arc (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 4 of Gangsta (The Fandom Post)
Erin on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Gagging on Sexism)
Ken H on vol. 12 of Knights of Sidonia (Sequential Ink)
Chris Kirby on vol. 16 of Tegami Bachi (The Fandom Post)
Alice Vernon on Ubel Blatt (Girls Like Comics)
Matthew Warner on vol. 3 of World Trigger (The Fandom Post)
Jocelyne Allen on Yoru Mata Yoru No Fukai Yoru (Brain Vs. Book)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Yuri Kuma Arashi (Okazu)

Big news! Marvel will offer the Marvel/Attack on Titan crossover as part of its Free Comic Book Day comic Secret Wars #0. The crossover, which was a one-shot story in Brutus magazine, was plotted by Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama, with dialogue in English, and features the Avengers fighting the Female Titan, the Colossal Titan, and others.

More big news: Weekly Shonen Jump is free through February 15.

At Okazu, Erica Friedman interviews Helen McCarthy, author of The Anime Encyclopedia. Erica also updates us on some new and upcoming yuri releases in her latest Yuri Network News post at Okazu.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week, with a significant skew toward manhwa.

Laura looks at what’s running in the josei magazine Kiss—and which of those series she would like to see in English—at Heart of Manga.

The first round of nominations for the Manga Taisho awards has been announced; only one of the 14 titles, The Ancient Magus’s Bride, has been licensed in North America.

News from Japan: Writer Kazumasa Hirai, creator of Genma Taisen, 8 Man, Zombie Hunter, and Wolf Guy, and a contributor to the Spider-Man manga, has died. Nakaba Suzuki, creator of The Seven Deadly Sins, told Entermix magazine that Chapter 100 is the end of the first of three planned story arcs; the magazine also noted that sales of the series, which is up to volume 12 in Japan, have reached 10 million volumes. Linebarrels of Iron has entered its final arc. The Kuroko’s Basketball -Replace- novel series will be adapted into manga for the digital Shonen Jump+ magazine.

Reviews: At Brain Vs. Book, Jocelyne Allen reads Ever After, a book of BL-ified fairy tales by est em (only one of which is available in English). Ash Brown’s Week of Manga includes quick takes on vol. 1 of Ane-Imo, vol. 2 of Manga Dogs, and vols. 1 and 2 of Witchcraft Works, as well as links to longer reviews.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Afterschool Charisma (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 43 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 5 of Genshiken: Second Season (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Helen on Joshi Kausei (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Master Keaton (Manga Report)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 9 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 11 and 12 of Ranma 1/2 (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ken H. on vol. 3 of The Seven Deadly Sins (Sequential Ink)
Drew McCabe on vol. 1 of Sgt. Frog (Comic Attack)
Drew McCabe on Shion of the Dead (Comic Attack)
Erica Friedman on vol. 10 of Usotsuki Lily (Okazu)
Sarah on vol. 3 of Voice Over! Seiyu Academy (nagareboshi reviews)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Whispered Words (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Yukarism (The Fandom Post)

We’re launching a new feature here at MangaBlog: An annotated monthly roundup of upcoming releases, based on the Previews catalog. That means the dates are release dates to comic shops and digital media; if you buy your manga in a bookstore, your mileage may vary.

January 7

Vertical

What Did You Eat Yesterday? vol. 6
Fumi Yoshinaga’s slice-of-life tale has gotten a lot of blogger love both for the food and for the nuanced interaction of the central couple. It got plenty of upvotes in our food manga roundtable, and Johanna Draper Carlson said “I adore Fumi Yoshinaga’s art, and her combination of recipe how-tos and small moments of daily life for a gay couple works well,” although Kate Dacey admitted to being “mildly disappointed” in the series in that same post.

Viz

Bleach, vol. 10 (3 in 1)
Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, vol. 1: New series from Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball Z.
Kiss of the Rose Princess, vol. 2
Meteor Prince, vol. 1: New shoujo series from the creator of Omukae Desu and Pearl Pink.
My Love Story, vol. 3: A MangaBlog favorite!!
Naruto, vol. 10 (3 in 1)
Nisekoi: False Love, vol. 7: High school comedy about the son and daughter of two warring Yakuza families who must pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend, even though they can’t stand each other… or maybe not.
One Piece, vol. 73

January 14

Kodansha

Noragami: Stray God, vol. 3: This started out in the first volume as sort of a slapstick comedy about a homeless god who is at the very bottom of the totem pole and is picking up odd jobs in order to earn enough to get a place to live and work his way up the ladder. It’s a good premise and I’ll be interested to see how the story develops.
The Seven Deadly Sins, vol. 6

Vertical

My Neighbor Seki, vol. 1: A new comedy about a schoolgirl who cannot ignore her classmate’s elaborate games and projects. The anime, Tonari no Seki-kun, is available on Crunchyroll.

Viz

07-Ghost, vol. 14
Case Closed, vol. 53
Ranma 1/2, vol. 6 (2 in 1)

January 21

Kodansha

Missions of Love, vol. 10
My Little Monster, vol. 6

Viz

Monster, vol. 3 (Perfect Edition)
Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, vol. 2
Terra Formars, vol. 4

Yen Press

Akame ga Kill!, vol. 1: A new series for the new year. Here’s the blurb:

Teenage country bumpkin Tatsumi dreams of earning enough money for his impoverished village by working in the Capital— but his short-lived plans go awry when he’s robbed by a buxom beauty upon arrival! Penniless, Tatsumi is taken in by the lovely Lady Aria, but just when his Capital dreams seem in reach yet again, Lady Aria’s mansion is besieged by Night Raid—a team of ruthless assassins who targets high-ranking members of the upper class! As Tatsumi is quick to learn, appearances can be deceiving in the Capital, and this team of assassins just might be…the good guys?!

Black Butler, vol. 19: Everyone’s favorite butler, Sebastian, is kickin’ ass and pourin’ tea in this latest volume, which kicks off a new adventure for him and his boss, Ciel Phantomhive.
Goong, vol. 17: A Shocking Secret is revealed in the latest volume of the long-running manhwa.
Inu x Boku SS, vol. 6: This is a weird ensemble story filled with light and dark moments; watch for a review of the first five volumes soon.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, vol. 5: The final volume in this series.
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-Chan, vol. 9: More 4-koma Haruhi-ness. Can there be such a thing as too much Haruhi? Apparently not.
Milkyway Hitchhiking, vol. 2
No Matter How You Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, vol. 6
Secret, vol. 1: Like Yoshiki Tonogai’s other manga, Judge and Doubt, this one features schoolchildren in giant animal heads involved in some sort of cat-and-mouse game, this one involving three murderers who are in their midst. This is a two-volume series, with the second one out in June.
Sword Art Online Progressive, vol. 1
Ubel Blatt, vol. 1
Uminkeo When They Cry, Episode 4: Alliance of the Golden Witch
Until Death Do Us Part, vol. 8

January 28

Kodansha

Fairy Tail, vol. 46

Vertical

Prophecy, vol. 1: Another new series. Here’s the blurb:

A newspaper-masked vigilante who broadcasts his acts of vengeance before committing them. A newly-formed police division tackling the new frontier of internet-based crime. As the sun rises on the Era of Information, can a group of people who found themselves at the bottom of the food chain rattle society through the web and avenge a fallen friend?

Yen Press

Soul Eater, vol. 24: If you have fallen away, it’s time to get back on board, as it’s the beginning of the end—the final showdown begins, and it all comes to a head in volume 25, the last volume in the series.

Digital Manga’s Kickstarter campaign to publish Osamu Tezuka’s Ludwig has surpassed its goal by $1,000. This was Digital’s comeback round after the failure of its ambitious Tezuka’s World Kickstarter, which would have raised over $500,000 to publish 31 volumes of Tezuka’s work.

The first volume of Attack on Titan tops this week’s New York Times best-seller list. Vol. 68 of Naruto is the number two seller, and the first volume of Assassination Classroom takes the number three slot.

World Trigger, which is carried in both the Japanese and North American versions of Shonen Jump, will skip an issue because of manga-ka Daisuke Ashihara’s health problems.

Erica Friedman posts her final edition of Yuri News Network for 2014.

The Manga bookshelf team discusses this week’s new manga, including digital releases.

Meanwhile, at Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson looks back at the past week’s new releases.

Ash Brown looks back at the most notable manga of the year at Experiments in Manga.

News from Japan: CLAMP will draw new covers for Cardcaptor Sakura, to celebrate Nakayoshi magazine’s 60th anniversary. Your Lie in April, which Kodansha Comics will start publishing in North America in the spring, is coming to an end. GTO creator Tohru Fujisawa has a new series in the works, Soul Reviver South. MPD-Psycho will end with volume 22, not volume 21, as was originally announced.

Reviews

Anna N on vol. 1 of Assassination Classroom (Manga Report)
Sarah on vol. 14 of Attack on Titan (nagareboshi reviews)
Erica Friedman on the November issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 25 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Erica Friedman on Hakkou Snowflake (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of He’s My Only Vampire (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2, and Tale 0, of Honey Blood (Comics Worth Reading)
Khursten Santos on In Clothes Called Fat (Otaku Champloo)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Little Battlers Experience (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Master Keaton (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vol. 4 of Millennium Snow (Comic Attack)
Erica Friedman on MURCIÉLAGO (Okazu)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Nisekoi: False Love (Manga Xanadu)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Yukarism (Manga Report)

Bad news for Vinland Saga fans: The sixth volume has been removed from sales listings, and Kodansha Comics says the series has been “temporarily suspended.” In case you aren’t already reading the series, Johanna Draper Carlson explains why this is bad.

Good news for Shonen Jump readers: This week’s issue will include the one-shot story RKD-EK9 by Medaka Box writer NisiOisin and Death Note artist Takeshi Obata.

The Manga Bookshelf team look back at the most important manga of 2014.

Also at Manga Bookshelf, Erica Friedman has a nice introduction to the Japanese magazine Dengeki Daioh.

Twenty-five years after his death, Osamu Tezuka lives on in Japan, celebrated by murals, subway chimes, inventors, and the merchants in his old neighborhood, who trade Astro Money for civic-minded acts and serve up his favorite dish.

Erica Friedman posts a fresh edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Happy blogiversary to Organization Anti-Social Geniuses, which turned four years old last week; if you haven’t checked it out from the links here, go take a look now!

News from Japan: Naoki Urasawa is taking a break from Billy Bat; the series, which has already had several interruptions, will go on hiatus until April. Library Wars: Love & War may just have ended in Japan, but artist Kiiro Yumi already has a new series, Toshokan Sensō: Love & War Bessatsu-hen, in the works. Plans are in the work for a Kabuki play based on Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team posts another round of quick reviews in their latest Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown looks back at The Week in Manga at Experiments in Manga.

Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Afterschool Nightmare (Experiments in Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Food Wars (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna N. on vols. 1 and 2 of Honey Blood (Manga Report)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Mail (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Manga Dogs (Comics Worth Reading)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Noragami (Manga Xanadu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Say I Love You (Comics Worth Reading)
Erica Freidman on Stretch (Okazu)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Sweet Rein (Good Comics for Kids)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Tsuki to Sekai to Etoile (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 8 of Umineko: When They Cry (ANN)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Comics Worth Reading)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Yukarism (ANN)