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Neon Genesis Evangelion

The Manga Review, 6/3/22

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Two weeks ago, Seven Seas’ employees formed the United Workers of Seven Seas (UW7S). Their goal? To negotiate a standard benefits package that includes health insurance, retirement plans, parental leave, and paid time off. UW7S is also pushing for higher wages and better working conditions; in particular, the union’s mission statement emphasizes the importance of ending “both at-will employment and unnecessary ‘permalancing.'” On May 29th, management declined to voluntarily recognize the new union. In a press release, Seven Seas stated:

We respect the rights of our employees to choose or not choose union representation. While we have been requested by a number of employees to voluntarily recognize the Communications Workers of America as their legal representative—without a National Labor Relations Board conducted election—we have decided to respect the right of all eligible employees to vote on this issue. Since unionization would affect more members of staff than those who have already come forward, an election will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn about their rights and the details of this process before they cast their vote through a governed process.

We have notified the [National Labor Relations Board] that we are prepared to move forward with an election among an appropriate unit of employees, and we will, of course, abide by the outcome of the election.

The company’s next move was to hire the law firm of Ogletree Deakins, which has represented clients such as Boeing, Duke University, and IKEA in labor disputes. (Adding insult to injury: Ogletree Deakins counts former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio among its clients.) I’m not sure what’s next for UW7S, but as someone who belongs to a union, I fully support all of the staff at Seven Seas in their fight for a better, more secure workplace. For updates, follow UW7S on Twitter.

NEWS

Diamond Comic Distributors just released its Top 400 Graphic Novels list for April 2022. Manga made a strong showing in comic book stores, with three titles–Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Kaiju No. 8–among the month’s best sellers. (For a little perspective, these three books sold between 3,369 and 5,944 copies each.) Scanning the top 100 titles, there were another 37 manga on the list, ranging from the final volume of The Rose of Versailles to the new edition of Apollo’s Song. [ICv2]

J-Novel Club unveiled five new manga licenses at its Anime Boston panel, including Tearmoon Empire and Oversummoned, Overpowered, and Over It! [Anime News Network]

Dark Horse will be publishing the sixth and final installment of Neon Genesis Evangelion-The Shinji Ikari Raising Project Omnibus this December. [AiPT!]

After social media users criticized the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) for inviting artist Pink Cat (Saba Moeel) to appear at this year’s event, TCAF withdrew the invitation. In a statement posted to its website on May 31st, organizers explained that “TCAF initially extended a programming invitation to Moeel on the basis of their daily digital comics work on Instagram, and the personal importance that work had to one of our team members. At the time of this invitation, the organization was unaware of Moeel’s online conduct, plagiarism, or allegations of tracing. We apologize for programming and promoting this artist.” [Toronto Comics Art Festival]

Heidi MacDonald has the full scoop on the TCAF/Pink Cat controversy. [The Beat]

FEATURES, PODCASTS, AND INTERVIEWS

Erica Friedman files a report on this year’s Anime Boston convention, where she was a featured panelist and author. [Okazu]

Deb Aoki explores the secret history of Unico, Osamu Tezuka’s lonely little unicorn. [Mangasplaining]

Elias Rosner previews August’s best new manga, from Rooster Fighter to The Poe Clan. [Multiversity Comics]

BuzzFeed shares a list of 15 LGBTQ+ Comics, Graphic Novels And Manga To Read After Watching Heartstopper. [BuzzFeed]

It’s that time of the month again: Walt Richardson and Emily Meyers do a cover-to-cover roundup of Shonen Jump‘s May issue. [Multiversity Manga Club Podcast]

The Manga Mavericks assemble an all-star team to discuss Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater. [Manga Mavericks]

On the latest installment of Shojo & Tell, Ashley and husband Asher Sofman jump in the WABAC machine to look at one of the weirder shojo titles Tokyopop published: Yuri Narushima’s Planet Ladder. Beware the giant chicken! [Shojo & Tell]

Claire explains why you should be reading Kageki Shojo!! The setting “is fascinating, with copious details about Japanese traditional arts interspersed with contemporary (otaku) cultural references that will delight manga and anime fans,” she notes. The author “gives her story and the girls room to breath and develop at an organic (and thus, often hesitant) pace. There is substance to each of these girls, and I for one am delighted that the series survived the dissolution of its original publisher so that we get to see what happens next. These girls are going places.” [Beneath the Tangles]

REVIEWS

Looking for a good beach read? The staff at Beneath the Tangles just posted brief reviews of the latest releases, from Ghost Reaper Girl to Summertime Rendering.

Also of note: Kate Sánchez declares I Want to Be a Wall “one of the most beautiful takes on a relationship I have ever read,” while Helen recommends Summertime Rendering for manga lovers “who want a read that they can’t put down late into the night.”

Pick of the Week: Blue Morning, Evangelion, 07-Ghost

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potw5-13-13MJ: The shipping list is light this week, and though I do have some interest in the latest volume of 07-Ghost, I’m going to surprise myself (and probably others) this week by choosing a SuBLime debut, Blue Morning, as my pick. I read an early copy yesterday, and though it’s provided more questions than answers in this angsty, intense first volume, I have to admit it got under my skin. Fortunately, it’s actually nothing at all like Black Butler. I’m officially intrigued.

SEAN: Given I’m only getting one thing this week, I suppose that is the pick. The re-release of Neon Genesis Evangelion as a deluxe omnibus has reminded me why I’m still fascinated by the series, and why I still prefer the manga to the anime. This third volume should introduce Kaworu, and things will go even further to hell. Good times!

MICHELLE: Blue Morning looks intriguing, and the fact that MJlikes it goes a long way. But I’m still gonna have to go with 07-Ghost. I can’t believe it’s up to four volumes already, and I can’t believe I’m already behind! Must remedy at the next opportunity!

ANNA: There aren’t a whole lot of options, so I’m going to have to agree with Michelle and cast my vote for 07-Ghost. The storylines might not always be coherent, but there’s plenty of stylish angst to distract the reader. I also find the world building aspects of the series interesting. The reincarnation elements, action scenes, fighting priests, and warring states combined with the mystery surrounding the protagonist make me still want to read the next volume.

What looks good to you this week?