Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! Among the many publishers participating in this year’s event are ABLAZE, Kodansha, Tokyopop, and VIZ, all of which are offering samplers of kid- and teen-friendly manga, from Animal Crossing to Choujin X. For a complete list of titles, click here; to find a comic shop near you, click here. Remember to show your support for your LCS by buying something, too; Free Comic Book Day isn’t free for store owners, who pay to participate in this event.
AROUND THE WEB
Deb Aoki interviews Jun Mayuzuki about After the Rain, Kowloon Generic Romance, and the manga that inspired her to become an artist. [MSX: Mangasplaining Extra]
And speaking of Deb Aoki, she joined Calvin Reid, Heidi MacDonald, and Kate Fitzsimmons for a roundtable about the current manga market. [Publishers Weekly]
Congratulations to Shojo & Tell, which just released its 100th episode! To mark the occasion, Ashley McDonnell and Anne LaRose discuss one of the most influential shojo manga of the last 50 years: Sailor Moon. [Shojo & Tell]
Get your shonen on with the Manga Machinations crew, who host a lively discussion about Dandadan, Choujin X, and Hell’s Paradise. [Manga Machinations]
Gee and Ray dedicate their latest podcast to Keiko Takemiya’s sci-fi epic To Terra. [Read Right to Left]
Robert Adams has some thoughts about Oshi no Ko. [Dad Needs to Talk]
On the most recent episode of Screen Tone Club, Elliot and Andy “get all emotional” as they discuss Monotone Blue and Insomniacs After School. [Screen Tone Club]
What will you find at your local comic shop this month? Bill Curtis shares a comprehensive list of May’s manga and light novel releases. [Yatta-Tachi]
Megan, Tayla, and Shannan compile a list of great comics from around the world, from Taiyo Matsumoto’s Cats of the Louvre to Deena Mohamed’s Shubeik Lubeik. [No Flying No Tights]
File this under You and Me Both, Kid: Junji Ito is wary of AI technology. [Kotaku]
Samantha Ferreira shares her impressions of “Sniffing Glue: The Punk Energy of Early British Anime Fanzines,” Helen McCarthy’s panel at Anime Boston 2023. I’m sorry I missed it, because it sounds fascinating! [Anime Herald]
REVIEWS
Over at ANN, Andrew Osmond reviews Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History, a meditation on “Ghibli as a workplace, and as a company in the business of manufacturing fantasy”… Carrie McClain weighs in on three new series from Seven Seas… Megan D. kicks off a month-long celebration of shojo manga with reviews of Skip Beat!, Canon, and Karakuri Odette… and the latest Reader’s Corner has the low-down on The Boxer, Way of the Househusband, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince.
New and Noteworthy
- Ayashimon, Vol. 1 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Boy’s Abyss, Vol. 1 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- The Boxer, Vol. 1 (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
- A Condition Called Love, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- A Condition Called Love, Vols. 1-2 (Jaime, Yuri Stargirl)
- Crescent Moon Marching, Vol. 1 (Krystallina, Daiyamanga)
- The Fiancée Chosen by the Ring, Vol. 1 (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)
- Parallel World Pharmacy, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Parallel World Pharmacy, Vol. 1 (John, Anime Nation)
- Parallel World Pharmacy, Vol. 1 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices, Vol. 1 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- Quality Assurance in Another World, Vol. 1 (Onosume, Anime UK News)
- Tephlon Funk, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 1 (Kaley Connell, Yatta-Tachi)
Complete and Ongoing Series
- Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie, Vol. 3 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, Vol. 4 (Jaime, Yuri Stargirl)
- The Holy Grail of Eris, Vol. 3 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- Last Gender: When We Are Nameless, Vol. 2 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Love and Heart, Vol. 7 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Vol. 11 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Otherside Picnic, Vol. 4 (Sandy F., Okazu)
- Show-ha Shoten!, Vol. 2 (MrAJCosplay, ANN)
- Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 22 (Krystallina, The OASG)