Brigid Alverson

I was totally fascinated that the upstart publisher Kansai Club (which is basically two people) was able to license an Osamu Tezuka manga, The Crater, for their first publication, so I was happy that KC’s Andrew Nevo was able to talk to me about it for my Kickstand column at CBR.

Paul Gravett interviews Junko Mizuno and posts a new two-page comic as well.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week, and Lissa Pattillo picks the best of this week’s new releases in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

Jeffrey Gustafson has been writing a series of essays about different themes in Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto at his blog, The Comic Pusher.

Tony Yao shares some of his favorite quotes from Paradise Kiss at Manga Therapy.

News from Japan: Ryoko Ikeda is bringing back the classic shoujo manga Rose of Versailles for a one-shot story in Margaret next October.

Reviews: Justin did one final roundup of JManga series, just before their servers shut down, at Organization ASG. Ash Brown takes us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team has a new set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Are You Alice? (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sakura Eries on vol. 19 of Bakuman (The Fandom Post)
Justin on vol. 19 of Bakuman (Organization ASG)
Erica Friedman on the May issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Alex Hoffman on Doubt (Manga Widget)
Ken H on vols. 10 and 11 of Erementar Gerade (Comics Should Be Good)
Lori Henderson on Hanagatari Tenshion Atsuhime (Manga Xanadu)
Shannon Fay on vol. 2 of Higurashi When They Cry: Massacre Arc (Kuriousity)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Koetama (Manga Xanadu)
Chris Beveridge on vols. 3, 4, and 5 of Limit (The Fandom Post)
Victoria K. Martin on Punishment (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Sacred Blacksmith (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration (I Reads You)
Naru on Silent Voice (Organization ASG)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Sunny (Manga Report)
Kristin on vol. 10 of Tenjho Tenge: Full Contact Edition (Comic Attack)

Lissa Pattillo looks over the past week’s new releases in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

The Manga Bookshelf team discuss their Pick of the Week.

Here’s a bit of news I missed last week: Seven Seas has announced three new licenses, Devils and Realist, by Madoka Takadono and Utako Yukihiro; Dragonar Academy, by Shiki Mizuchi and Ran; and Strike Witches: Maidens in the Sky, by Yuuki Tanaka. As Lissa notes in the linked article, Seven Seas plans to publish more of the Strike Witches manga after this.

Lori Henderson rounds up the latest convention news and says farewell to JManga in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date in the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu. Erica also has a nice interview with yuri artist Takemiya Jin.

Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss Sunny and Lone Wolf and Cub in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Meanwhile, Mely (coffeeandink) and Oyceter are discussing Heart of Thomas on Story Talk.

Jocelyne Allen explains why Maison Ikkoku is so wonderful at Brain Vs. Book.

Yaoi-Con is coming back!

Manga Bookshelf is doing a reader survey. Drop in and tell ’em what you think!

News from Japan: The Asahi Shimbun profiles newcomer Hiroaki Komura, who quit his job as a truck mechanic and holed up for an entire year to pursue his dream of becoming a manga-ka. Yet another Kuroko’s Basketball doujinshi event has been canceled. Although the organizers did not say they had received any threats, they did refer to the string of threatening letters that has plagued venues who planned to hold Kuroko’s Basketball themed events.

Reviews

Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Btooom! (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Cross Game (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Warner on vol. 8 of Dawn of the Arcana (The Fandom Post)
Anna N. on vol. 3 of Demon Love Spell (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Blogcritics)
Matthew Warner on vol. 7 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on Kira Kira no Natsu (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Lone Wolf and Cub (omnibus edition) (Blogcritics)
Helen on Olympos (Narrative Investigations)
Victoria Erica on vol. 11 of Sailor Moon (Inside AX)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 11 of Sailor Moon (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Sankarea: Undying Love (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Derek Bown on this week’s issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Erica Friedman on Space Pirates of the Minusuka (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Tegami Bachi (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Cycyk on vol. 2 of Thermae Romae (Matt Talks About Manga)
Josh Begley on vol. 1 of Tokyo Babylon (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Lori Henderson on Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (Manga Xanadu)
Alex Hoffman on Unico (Manga Widget)

Here’s my con report on last week’s Anime Boston.

Digital Manga announced three new BL titles in its Fanime panel this past weekend: Apple and Honey (Ringo ni Hachimitsu) and Apple and Honey: His Rose Colored Life (Kare no Barairo no Jinsei) manga, by Hideyoshico, and Natsuki Zippo’s Wolf Magic (Ōkami wa Mahō o). All three titles will be released in print; Digital has resumed print publication, and in fact some of their books are ahead of schedule.

Connie C. looks at the Viz Spectrum editions, an early manga format from the early 90s.

News from Japan: Nobuhiro Watsuki is bringing Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration to a close on Tuesday. The Jump Square series Binbō-gami ga! will be winding up in July.

Reviews: Ash Brown posts another episode of My Week in Manga at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of 07-Ghost (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Are You Alice? (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna N. on vols. 13-16 of Basara (Manga Report)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 8 of Bunny Drop (Comics Worth Reading)
Ash Brown on Chicago, vol. 2: The Book of Justice (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Jormungand (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 4 and 5 of Limit (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of Saturn Apartments (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (Comics Worth Reading)
Matthew Cycyk on vol. 1 of Sunny (Matt Talks About Manga)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Sunny (Comic Attack)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Thermae Romae (Comics Worth Reading)

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Lissa Pattillo files her con report on TCAF:

The event had two manga guests – Taiyo Matsumoto and Gengoroh Tagame. I didn’t have much personal interest in Taiyo Matsumoto’s work, but I was thrilled that Tagame Gengoroh – a pioneer in the bara genre – was being flown in to help promote his new book, The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame. I attended his panel and signings and enjoyed what a friendly and out-going individual he was, and how much fun he seemed to have talking about his work.

On the floor, it was exciting to see Chromatic Press‘s booth set-up with lots of goodies promoting their current and upcoming projects. Plus the staff are all completely charming and hard-working individuals who I have nothing less than well wishes for! I was sad that both rem and Jen Lee Quick – who work with the new publisher, and happen to be two artists whose work I adore – were unable to attend the event despite initial plans. Maybe next year?

And Scott Green takes a look at a new book I first saw in the wild at TCAF: Suehiro Maruo’s The Strange Tale of Panorama Island, which was announced four years ago and is finally being published by Last Gasp.

With the Yumi Tamura Manga Moveable Feast in the offing, Anna N. rounds up her reviews of Tamura’s work, Chicago and Basara.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks back on a week in manga at Experiments in Manga.

Sakura Eries on vol. 12 of Dengeki Daisy (The Fandom Post)
Lori Henderson on King’s Moon: The Life of Akechi Mitsuhide (Manga Xanadu)
Erin on vols. 4-6 of Otomen (Gagging on Sexism)
Erica Friedman on vol. 10 of Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari (Okazu)

Over at MTV Geek I took a look at the past week’s new manga and other happenings, and I wrote a short review of Mario, the one-shot gangster manga by Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto that ran in last week’s Shonen Jump.

The Manga Bookshelf team takes an advance look at this week’s new manga.

Guest blogger Shaenon Garrity writes about Moto Hagio’s A,A’ for this week’s House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Erica Friedman has the latest yuri update in this week’s edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

At Manga Therapy, Tony Yao explains why he is thankful for fujoshi.

Lori Henderson discusses the digital-only title Japan Sinks in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu, and she brings in some related books as well.

Lissa Pattillo catches up with last month’s announcement from PictureBox of two new manga: Seiichi Hayashi’s Gold Pollen and Other Stories and Yuichi Yokoyama’s World Map Room.

Melinda Beasi is thrilled at the news that manga-ka Kayuza Minekura is back at work on Wild Adapter after a three-year hiatus due to health reasond.

After many delays, the English edition of Suehiro Maru’s The Strange Tale of Panorama Island is now available from Last Gasp. It’s true—I saw a copy on Ryan Sands’ table at TCAF. And so did Deb Aoki, who had the presence of mind to take pictures.

Viz’s yaoi imprint SuBLime has launched a new series, Blue Morning, “an intriguing new series about aristocratic drama and the intricate relationship between the loyal butler of a noble family and a young heir he is duty-bound to look after.”

News from Japan: Galaxy Express 999 manga-ka Leiji Matsumoto has revealed nine pages of Osamu Tezuka’s unpublished work, drafts for Metropolis and other manga. The pages will go on display at Tokyo’s Museum of Contemporary Art this summer. Kami Minai’s “bishojo x violence” manga Needless is coming to an end. Black Bird creator Kanoko Sakurakoji has a new series in the works.

Reviews

Mark Thomas on vols. 13 and 14 of Arata: The Legend (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 19 of Bakuman (Comics Worth Reading)
Mark Thomas on vol. 17 of Battle Angel Alita: The Last Order (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love (I Reads You)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 7 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Erica Friedman on Cirque Arachne (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Blogcritics)
Jocelyne Allen on Kami no Kodomo (Brain Vs. Book)
Anna N. on vols. 1-6 of Kare First Love (Manga Report)
Sakura Eries on vol. 17 of La Corda d’Oro (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Lone Wolf and Cub, Gunslinger Girl, and Golgo 13 (Comics Should Be Good)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 61 of Naruto (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 7-9 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sweetpea on Nobody Can Hear Me But You (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Helen on vol. 1 of Off*Beat (Narrative Investigations)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Otomen (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Psyren (The Comic Book Bin)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration (ICv2)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Strobe Edge (Comics Worth Reading)

Lissa Pattillo looks over last week’s new manga in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

Lori Henderson talks about Kodansha’s publication of some older Del Rey titles and reviews the manhwa 13th Boy in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Erica Friedman, who was my roommate at TCAF, files her con report, which is filled with manga encounters of various kinds, including going to the Chromatic Press event on Friday night. Erica also has a fresh edition of Yuri Network News for us.

Also at TCAF, PictureBox announced plans to publish an anthology titled Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It. The book is scheduled for a spring 2014 release.

How do we manage to laugh even in the worst of times? Tony Yao looks at humor in darkness in Attack on Titan at Manga Therapy.

The Digital Manga folks announce their plans for Fanime.

News from Japan: Lots of manga are winding up: The yuri series Aoi Hana is coming to an end in July.

Reviews

Connie on vol. 12 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Hearts (Slightly Biased Manga)
Justin on Alive (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ken H on Atomcat (Comics Should Be Good)
Justin and Manjiorin on vol. 4 of Attack on Titan (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Ash Brown on vol. 21 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Connie on vol. 22 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
John Rose on vol. 9 of Cage of Eden (The Fandom Post)
Justin on chapter 31 of Cross Manage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Blogcritics)
John Rose on vol. 3 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 2 of Excel Saga (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on Fu~Fu (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1 and 2 of Happy-Go-Lucky Days (Comics Worth Reading)
Erica Friedman on Heart of Thomas (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Hoshikawa Ginza 4-Chome (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Ichigo Mashimaro (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vols. 3 and 4 of Loveless (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Sweetpea on Memories of Emanon (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 8 of Sailor Moon (ANN)
Kristin on vols. 26-28 of Slam Dunk (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 6 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Tokyo Zombie, Grand Guignol Orchestra, and Reiko the Zombie Shop (Comics Should Be Good)
Justin on chapter 12 of World Trigger (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

Here’s my look at the past week’s new manga at MTV Geek.

And here’s a manga-Sabrina hat trick: A preview of vol. 2 of the collected edition of Tania Del Rio’s manga-style comic (now rendered in beautiful black and white), an exclusive peek at the cover of vol. 3, and the five things you need to know to get started with this series.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss this week’s new manga and their Pick of the Week.

Lissa Pattillo notes that SuBLime is bringing back Crimson Spell and also that RightStuf is warning purchasers that Bond of Dream, Bond of Love may be seized by Canadian customs.

M. Alice LeGrow, creator of Bizenghast, has a new graphic novel out, and Crunchyroll gets a peek.

News from Japan: The Asahi Shimbun has a detailed rundown on the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Awards, including interviews with the judges and a look at the winners and competitors in each category. And the Kodansha Awards have also been announced; Makoto Raiku’s Animal Land won the prize for Best Children’s Manga. We had some hints of this and now it’s official: Gantz will come to an end after the next two chapters.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks back on a week in manga at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf bloggers keep it concise in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs.

John Rose on vol. 27 of Air Gear (The Fandom Post)
Jocelyne Allen on Bara Hiro no Ho no Koro (Brain Vs. Book)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Black Bird (The Comic Book Bin)
John Rose on vol. 13 of Black Butler (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 22 of Claymore (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna N. on vol. 12 of Dengeki Daisy (Manga Report)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Gakuen Polizi (Yuri no Boke)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 30 of Hunter x Hunter (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 30 of Hunter x Hunter (The Fandom Post)
Angela Eastman on vol. 4 of Jiu Jiu (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of La Corda d’Oro (The Comic Book Bin)
Bob Temuka on Lone Wolf and Cub (Tearoom of Despair)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on Negiho: Mahora Little Girls (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Oresama Teacher (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: The Master of Gay Erotic Manga (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresssaux on Pepito: Takehiko Inoue Meets Gaudi (I Reads You)
Matthew Warner on vol. 9 of Sailor Moon</a> (The Fandom Post)
Derek Bown on this week’s issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (Comics Should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of We Were There (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 16 of We Were There (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1-3 of Zero’s Familiar (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

New license news: SuBLime Manga kicked off the week with the news that they have licensed the first four volumes of Ayano Yamane’s Crimson Spell. And Vertical will announce a new title at Anime Central.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new manga and their Pick of the Week. Melinda Beasi looks at the physical side of relationships in Loveless, and Michelle Smith joins her for a discussion of some recent releases in their latest Off the Shelf column. And Justin Stroman asks the readers: What’s your favorite Weekly Shonen Jump title?

Erica Friedman has the latest Yuri news at Okazu.

News from Japan: Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) is drawing an adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka’s novel series The Heroic Legend of Arslan. Give My Regards to Black Jack creator Shuho Sato will release his newest manga series, Secure Samba wo Yoroshiku, for free next week as part of Japan IT Week.

Reviews: Carlo Santos takes on recent volumes of 21st Century Boys, Knights of Sidonia, and Tokyo Babylon in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. The Manga Bookshelf team checks in with a new set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Rebecca Silverman on vols. 8 and 9 of Dawn of the Arcana (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 5 of The Flowers of Evil (ANN)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Golondrina (Yuri no Boke)
Michael Buntag on vol. 10 of Honey and Clover (NonSensical Words)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Ichigo Mashimaro (Okazu)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on vol. 4 of Kizuna (All About Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
Anna N. on Pepita: Inoue Meets Gaudi (Manga Report)
Mark Thomas on vol. 28 of Skip Beat (The Fandom Post)
Anna N on vol. 4 of Strobe Edge (Manga Report)
Matthew Cycyk on vols. 1-3 of Summit of the Gods (Matt Talks About Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on Sunny (Brain Vs. Book)
Manjiorin on Unico (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 15 and 16 of Vampire Knight (ANN)

Busted! When one of SuBLime’s PDFs showed up on an aggregator site, fans were quick to denounce it—and report the transgression to the publisher, which took swift action.

Jason Thompson writes about the body-horror manga Franken Fran in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Reviews

Mark Thomas on vol. 12 of Arata: The Legend (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Beauty Pop (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
Naru on The Cat in the Box (Organization ASG)
Justin on chapter 30 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Demon Love Spell (Organization ASG)
Connie C. on Dragon Head, Limit, and The Drifting Classroom (Comics Should Be Good)
John Rose on vol. 24 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
L.B. Bryant on Hiroaki Samura’s Emerald and Other Stories (ICv2)
Mark Thomas on vol. 35 of Kekkaishi (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Mega Man Gigamix (Comics Should Be Good)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (The Fandom Post)
Mark Thomas on vol. 60 of Naruto (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of The Prince of Tennis (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Skip Beat! (Blogcritics)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Tiger and Bunny (Comic Attack)
Ken H. on Unico (Comics Should Be Good)
Connie C. on What’s Michael?, Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, and Stargazing Dog (Comics Should Be Good)

This used to be heresy, but I actually think it makes sense: Japanese manga critic Kentaro Takekuma makes the argument for creating manga that reads left to right, to make it more accessible to English and Chinese readers.

The Kaori Yuki Manga Moveable Feast has wound up, but Foxy Lady Ayame has an archive page up so you can check out any posts you missed.

The Manga Bookshelf team has a digital Pick of the Week this week.

Michelle Smith and Karen Peck have undertaken The CMX Project—that’s right, they are reading all those classic manga that CMX published back in the day. The latest selection: Minako Narita’s Cipher.

News from Japan: The historical manga Kingdom has won the 17th annual Osamu Tezuka Award; it’s just the latest in a string of historical manga to take the honor. Both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gantz will be wrapping up soon.

Reviews: Three Steps Over Japan reviews Sekai no Hatedomo Mangakaki, a travel manga by Thermae Romae creator Mari Yamazaki. The Manga Bookshelf team takes a quick look at some recent releases in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown closes the books on another week’s worth of manga reading.

Victoria Erica on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Anime Expo)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Bleach (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Bunny Drop (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Cycyk on vols. 1-5 of The Flowers of Evil (Matt Talks About Manga)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Gamerz Heaven (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Grand Guignol Orchestra (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Kamisama Kiss (Blogcritics)
TSOTE on vol. 12 of Moyashimon (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 38 of Negima (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
TSOTE on vol. 1 of Sanshiro^2 (Three Steps Over Japan)
Derek Bown on the April 29 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Helen on vol. 1 of Sugar Sugar Rune (Narrative Investigations)
TSOTE on vols. 5 and 6 of Tamashin (Three Steps Over Japan)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Tsubasa (Blogcritics)

Square Enix is shutting down its U.S. and French digital manga sites; they were so loaded down with DRM and bad design that it’s doubtful anyone will miss them. In case you did succeed in buying manga from them, here’s a page describing how to continue reading your purchased books; unfortunately, it’s only for Windows users. The good news is that Yen Press will start distributing Square Enix manga digitally sometime this year, so a better system will soon be in place.

Lissa Pattillo picks the best of this week’s new manga in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA, and at Manga Bookshelf, the team looks over next week’s new releases.

Reviews: Carlo Santos gives us a quick rundown of recent releases in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown looks back on a week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Connie on vol. 1 of 07-Ghost (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 11 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 2 of 21st Century Boys (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Angelic Layer (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Angel Sanctuary (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 7 of Animal Land (Matt Talks About Manga)
Connie on vol. 16 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vol. 1 of Crimson Empire (Manga Report)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Dorohedoro (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 9 of Dorohedoro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 9 of Dorohedoro (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on The Drops of God: New World (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 25 of Excel Saga (The Fandom Post)
Traci on vol. 1 of The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel (Experiments in Manga)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of Knights of Sidonia (Matt Talks About Manga)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Love Makes Everything Right (All About Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Mixed Vegetables (Blogcritics)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Matt Talks About Manga)
Matt Cycyk on NonNonBa (Matt Talks About Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Oh My Goddess (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 5 of Pokemon Adventures (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 11 of Rosario + Vampire: Season II (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 7 of Sailor Moon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Helen on vols. 9 and 10 of Sailor Moon (Narrative Investigations)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 9 of Sakura Hime (Slightly Biased Manga)
Derek Bown on this week’s issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Victoria K. Martin on vol. 11 of Soul Eater (Kuriousity)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Strobe Edge (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Strobe Edge (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 11 of Toriko (Slightly Biased Manga)
Drew McCabe on Unico (Comic Attack)
Matthew Warner on vol. 16 of Vampire Knight (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 3 of X (Slightly Biased Manga)

Sorry about the radio silence—I live just north of Boston, so it has been a very strange week. I’m looking forward to things getting back to normal and to heading out to Chicago later this week for C2E2.

Back in the heyday of global manga, Tania Del Rio was one of its more articulate practitioners, and I was happy to have the chance to interview her for MTV Geek about Archie’s re-release of her manga-style Sabrina comics in a black-and-white tankoubon format.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks over this week’s new releases and discusses their Pick of the Week. And in her 3 Things Thursday column, Melinda Beasi names three series she wishes she could like—but doesn’t.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast, featuring Kaori Yuki, kicks off at host blog The Beautiful World; Katan writes about Yuki’s art, and at Manga Bookshelf, Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith devote their Off the Shelf column to Angel Sanctuary.

Erica Friedman has a new edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Lori Henderson looks at manga that is available digitally and reviews the first volume of Knights of Sidonia in her Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Tony Yao looks at critical thinking in Naruto at Manga Therapy.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team kicks off the week with some short reviews of recent releases in their Bookshelf Briefs column. Ash Brown looks at another week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of 21st Century Boys (I Reads You)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 55 of Bleach (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 56 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on Dolce Due (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on Hiroaki Samura’s Emerald and Other Stories (ANN)
Victoria K. Martin on vols. 2 and 3 of Is This a Zombie? (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on vols. 1 and 2 of I’ve Seen It All (All About Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1 and 2 of Kanokon (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Love Circumstances (All About Manga)
Connie on Picnic (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 9 of Psyren (The Fandom Post)
Philip Anthony on vol. 7 of Sailor Moon (Manga Bookshelf)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Derek Bown on the April 15 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of The Story of Saiunkoku (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna N. on vol. 9 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Strobe Edge (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Umesato the Third! (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on Unico (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

More PW stories about manga! I interviewed Seven Seas founder Jason DeAngelis and I also wrote a short piece about Dark Horse’s 25 years of publishing manga.

Lissa Pattillo checks out the past week’s new manga in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks forward to this week’s new manga, and Melinda Beasi files a first-quarter report on her three favorite manga of the year (so far).

Erica Friedman posts the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Lissa Pattillo has word of a new manga publisher, the fledgling Kansai Club, and she’s guardedly optimistic about them despite some reservations; their first project will be a Kickstarter drive to fund a limited edition of Osamu Tezuka’s Crater.

Jason Thompson Shaenon Garrity looks at some classic shoujo manga, Love Song and Four Shojo Stories, in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Caitlin McGurk spotlights Jiji Manga, a newspaper supplement published in 1921 that is the first publication anyone can find that used the word “manga” in its title. And the cover feature is about women’s liberation!

I’m really late to the party with this, but Matt Brady is doing an amazing series on why Eiichiro Oda’s art in One Piece is so awesome at his blog, Warren Peace Sings the Blues. He has lots of analysis and examples—Matt takes his One Piece seriously! Here’s the first post, if you like to start at the beginning.

Lori Henderson debuts her Manga Dome podcast, which covers a wide variety of manga topics, at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: The March issue of Nakayoshi came with a bonus: The Super Saikyo Manga-ka Set, a manga kit containing drawing tools and a guide to drawing like a pro. The editors seem to be serious about encouraging would-be manga-ka, as they are running a drawing contest and plan to have more special supplements in the future. Rocket24 pays a visit to the new manga park in Tachikawa City, where you can read manga from their 30,000-volume library for just 400 yen per day. Kazune Kawahara and Kimi ni Todoke creator Karuho Shiina are working together on a one-shot manga for the 50th anniversary issue of Shueisha’s Betsuma Margaret magazine. Dragon Ball manga-ka Akira Toriyama has created a short stand-alone comic to promote environmental awareness among children. And while it looked like the threat letters to anyone associated with Kuroko’s Basketball had stopped for a while, the latest doujinshi event, scheduled for Shizuoka next week, has been cancelled after a new threat was received.

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Barrage (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 20 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 55 of Bleach (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 4 of A Bride’s Story (Blogcritics)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Btooom! (Manga Village)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Crimson Empire (Comic Attack)
Seth T. Hahne on vols. 1 and 2 of Cross Game (Good OK Bad)
Ken H on vol. 1 of Cyborg 009 (Comics Should Be Good)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Blogcritics)
Sweetpea on Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President (Organization ASG)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 25 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Victoria Martin on vol. 11 of Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Kuriousity)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Good Morning (All About Manga)
Justin on vol. 7 of GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (Organization ASG)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 20 of Higurashi When They Cry (The Fandom Post)
Infinite Speech on vol. 8 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Comic Attack)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 7 of Jack Frost (The Fandom Post)
Brian Gardes on vol. 1 of Knights of Sidonia (Stumptown Trade Review)
Connie C. on Lychee Light Club, No Longer Human, and Genkaku Picasso (Comics Should Be Good)
Victoria Erica on vol. 1 of Magic Knight Rayearth (omnibus edition) (Inside AX)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Oh My Goddess! (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Punch Up! (I Reads You)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Manjiorin on Trigun: Multiple Bullets (Organization ASG)

Christopher Butcher, who is the manager of the Toronto comics shop The Beguiling in addition to marketing director of Udon, talks about manga from a retailer’s point of view, looking both at who is buying manga these days and what manga can do for retailers who are willing to invest a bit of time and money. This should have been part of my big manga story at PW, and it’s definitely a worthy addendum.

At Manga Bookshelf, the team discusses their Pick of the Week, and Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss Library Wars, The Dark-Hunters: Infinity, and Tiger & Bunny in their latest Off the Shelf column.

Rocket News takes a look at Japanese Shonen Jump‘s best-selling manga, the 20 series that have survived years of reader surveys, and at Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson looks at the ones that have not been licensed in North America.

News from Japan: The messaging platform LINE has added a digital manga service that carries over 30,000 titles from top publishers such as Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf bloggers post their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Connie on vol. 1 of 21st Century Boys (Slightly Biased Manga)
TSOTE on Afternoon Dinosaur (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Blood Lad (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Crimson Empire: Circumstances to Serve a Noble (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on Drops of Desire (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Expecting the Boss’s Baby (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on Gakuen Polizi (Okazu)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Manga Report)
TSOTE on vols. 1 and 2 of Monju (Three Steps Over Japan)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 13 of Nabari no Ou (The Fandom Post)
Connie on Not for a Student (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 53 of One Piece (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michael May on Pokemon the Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice (Good Comics for Kids)
Erica Friedman on Sabegu! (Okazu)
Derek Bown on this week’s issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Connie on vol. 9 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition)

It’s been a busy time: I took a comprehensive look at the manga market at Publishers Weekly, including interviews with large and small publishers. I did a lot of number-crunching, too. Overall, the market is smaller but the remaining publishers believe it’s sustainable, and several are actually seeing growth.

Big news at Yen Press: They will release the next chapter of Highschool of the Dead simultaneously with Japan.

Chromatic Press has launched their Kickstarter for the new editions of the first two volumes of Off*Beat. I covered it in my Kickstand column at CBR.

Reviews: Ash Brown chronicles another week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 46 of Case Closed (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Blogcritics)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Gamerz Heaven (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Laura on The Infernal Devices (Heart of Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
Jocelyne Allen on No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) (Brain Vs. Book)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Strobe Edge (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Summit of the Gods (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Tiger and Bunny (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (The Comic Book Bin)