Pour one out for Comic Book Resources: on Wednesday, a staff member hijacked CBR’s official Twitter feed to decry parent company Valnet for firing editorial staff and abandoning the site’s commitment to in-depth reporting and thoughtful criticism. Heidi MacDonald has the details. In other news, Kadakowa’s recent efforts to remove pirate manga apps from Apple and Google went unheeded, so the publisher is taking steps to find out who created those apps… the production of Susumu Higa’s Okinawa was delayed after the original printer demanded editorial changes to the book… the live-action version of Rohan at the Louvre arrives on Amazon Prime next month… Titan Manga has rescued Speed Grapher from publishing limbo… ABLAZE announced its fall 2023 publishing plans… Harta will publish the final chapter of Delicious in Dungeon next month… Yuki Kaku has collaborated with Givenchy on a one-shot story for UOMO magazine… and Nami Sano, the creator of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto passed away at age 36.
AROUND THE WEB
Marion Pena sits down with former NBA player Johnny O’Bryant to discuss his latest venture: Noir Caesar. The company just released two news series, XOGENASYS and Primus7, and has several other projects in development, including an adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s Alabaster and a live-action version of Me and the Devil Blues. [The Beat]
In the latest installment of My Fave Is Problematic, Rebecca Fleeman puts JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure under the microscope, noting the degree to which the series often conflates queerness with villainy. [Anime Feminist]
Anime Feminist polls its readers for the best beginner yuri manga. [Anime Feminist]
Jon Holt and Saki Hirozane translate manga scholar’s Hiroshi Miyamoto’s essay on Happy Mania. [The Comics Journal]
Job alert: VIZ Media is hiring two manga editors. N.B. to prospective job seekers: you must be willing to relocate to the Bay Area. [VIZ MEDIA]
Cat nip for translators—that’s how Jocelyne Allen describes Smoke Blue, a “a bewildering and yet entirely satisfying mix of translation tips and hot guys getting hot and heavy.” [Brain vs. Book]
Masha Zhdanova weighs in on three recent VIZ releases: My Special One, Akane-banashi, and Cat-Eyed Boy. [WWAC]
Kara Dennison offers a helpful list of swoon-worthy shojo manga you can read on the VIZ app. [Otaku USA]
Trevor Van As explains what why Junji Ito is a “master of the genre,” capable of producing “imaginative, visceral” stories filled with “shocking concepts” that stay with you long after you finish reading. [How to Love Comics]
That Manga Hunter sifts through the VIZ Signature catalog in search of good manga for older readers. “If you’re looking for alternative manga, mature non-smut manga, and manga intended for adults, then Viz Signature isn’t a bad place to start,” they opine. “The imprint contains series from a wide range of manga of various art styles and genres. If you’re coming from American comics and graphic novels, of superhero origin or otherwise, this is also the imprint for you.” [That Manga Hunter]
LISTENING IN
Join the Mangasplainers for an in-depth conversation about Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, Naoki Urasawa’s re-telling of the classic Astro Boy story “The Greatest Robot on Earth.” [Mangasplaining]
The Manga Machinations gang just finished a three-part series on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s breakthrough series Fire Punch. [Manga Machinations]
For spoiler-free commentary on Kyoko Okazaki’s River’s Edge, tune in to the Spiraken Review. [Spiraken Review Podcast]
Alain and Kate highlight Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand in their first-ever Manga of the Month podcast. [Reverse Thieves]
Gee and Ray unpack Moto Hagio’s groundbreaking boys’ love saga The Heart of Thomas. [Read Right to Left]
Which manga did Andy and Elliot dub “Salaryman Cardcaptor Sakura“? Find out on the most recent episode of Screentone Club! [Screentone Club]
In the latest installment of Manga In Your Ears, Kory, Apryll, and Helen compare notes on Mizuno and Chayama and What Did You Eat Yesterday? [Taiiku Podcast]
REVIEWS
Paging Mushishi fans! This week’s must-read review comes from OASG contributor Helen, who shines a light on When a Cat Faces West, an overlooked gem from Yuki Urushibara. “When a Cat Faces West is a lovely, quiet series about supernatural happenings and the myriad ways that they can be both harmless and deeply unsettling,” Helen notes. “I never felt like the series crossed the line into soft horror but it’s definitely ‘softly unsettling’ at points… a difficult mood to pull off well but it does so splendidly.”
Shall we gather at the river? TCJ posts two reviews of Kyoko Okazaki’s River’s Edge: one by Helen Chazan, and one by Brian Nicholson, while WWAC contributor Kathryn Hemmann offers their own insight into the story’s “gritty millennial malaise”… Johanna Draper Carlson sings the praises of Why I Adopted My Husband… Megan D. revisits Kia Asamiya’sSilent Möbius… and Rebecca Silverman reviews Nazuna Saito’s Offshore Lightning, calling it “one of those books that you find yourself thinking about long after you’ve finished reading it.”
New and Noteworthy
- Appare-Ranman! (Caitlin Moore, ANN)
- Associate Professor Takatsuki’s Conjecture, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Boy’s Abyss, Vol. 1 (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Dark Gathering, Vol. 1 (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses, Vols. 1-4 (MrAJCosplay, ANN)
- Haruki Murakami Manga Stories (Publisher’s Weekly)
- Heart Gear, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- I Don’t Need a Happy Ending (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Like a Butterfly, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- Manner of Death, Vol. 1 (Matt, No Flying No Tights)
- Mieruko-chan Official Comic Anthology (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Vol. 1 (darkstorm, Anime UK News)
- Mr. Villain’s Day Off, Vol. 1 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- Mr. Villain’s Day Off, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Mr. Villain’s Day Off, Vol. 1 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Mr. Villain’s Day Off, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Offshore Lightning (Ian Keogh, Slings & Arrows)
- Okinawa (Timothy O’Neil, AiPT!)
- Okinawa (Elias Rosner, Multiversity Comics)
- Okinawa (Karen Gellender, The Fandom Post)
- Okinawa (Jeff Provine, *blogcritics)
- Plaza (Woodrow Phoenix, Slings & Arrows)
- Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer!, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Sating the Wolf (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
- Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Villainess Level 99, Vol. 1 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Villainess Level 99, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Villainess Level 99, Vol. 1 (Kaley Connell, Yatta-Tachi)
Complete, OOP, and Ongoing Series
- Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 4 (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- Blue Period, Vol. 13 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Vol. 17 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Call of the Night, Vol. 12 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, Vol. 8 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
- Choujin X, Vols. 2-3 (MrAJCosplay, ANN)
- Choujin X, Vol. 3 (Arpad Okay)
- Dead Mount Death Play, Vol. 9 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 12 (Kate O’Neil, The Fandom Post)
- Honey Lemon Soda, Vol. 3 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 9 (Matt Marcus, Okazu)
- In the Land of Leadale, Vol. 4 (Kate O’Neil, The Fandom Post)
- Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Vol. 12 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- A Monologue Woven for You, Vol. 3 (Matt Marcus, Okazu)
- My Happy Marriage, Vol. 3 (Sara Smith, The Graphic Library)
- My Special One, Vol. 3 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Vols. 13-14 (SKJAM! Reviews)
- Pandora Seven, Vol. 2 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Rainbow Days, Vol. 5 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 6 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Snow White with the Red Hair, Vols. 22-23 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 12 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- The Splendid Work of a Monster Maid, Vol. 5 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Vol. 9 (Sara Smith, The Graphic Library)
- Why Raelina Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion, Vol. 4 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)