MangaBlog

Wow! The first volume of Sailor Moon Short Stories tops the New York Times manga best seller list, and four volumes of Attack on Titan make the top ten as well.

There were two new license announcements at the Vertical panel at Anime Weekend Atlanta this past weekend, and one is a manga: They will publish Tetsuya Tsutui’s Prophecy (Yokokuhan), a story about the Tokyo police department’s cyber crime unit pursuing an arsonist. The other announcement was Shinobu Hashimoto’s novel Compound Cinematics: Akira Kurosawa and I.

Here’s another new license, from the small independent manga publisher One Peace Books: Takashi Ikeda’s yuri manga Whispered Words.

Erica Friedman rounds up the week’s yuri news in the latest edition of Yuri News Network at Okazu.

Lori Henderson discusses this week’s new print and digital releases and the first two volumes of Cross Manage in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Ryan Holmberg explores the origins of the name “Garo,” which was the title of an indy manga magazine in the 1960s.

News from Japan: Honey and Clover creator Chika Umino is putting her current series, March comes in like a lion, on hiatus while she undergoes hospitalization and surgery for an undisclosed condition. Fight Ippatsu! Jūden-chan!! is coming to an end. And is this something we should be watching? Miki Yoshikawa’s body-swapping manga Yamadakun to Nananin no Majo has sold 2 million copies.

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 10 of Blue Exorcist (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Dawn of the Arcana (The Comic Book Bin)
Michael Buntag on vols. 1-3 of Give My Regards to Black Jack (NonSensical Words)
Kristin on vols. 1 and 2 of Happy Marriage?! (Comic Attack)
Justin on vol. 1 of Magi (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Matthew Warner on vol. 68 of One Piece (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vols. 13 and 14 of Oresama Teacher (Comic Attack)
Erin on Please Save My Earth (Gagging on Sexism)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice (The Fandom Post)
TSOTE on vol. 33 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Richard Bruton on vol. 4 of Summit of the Gods (Forbidden Planet)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Vinland Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Digital Manga announced two new Makoto Tateno licenses this week: A Waltz in the Clinic (Kenshūi wa Koakuma to Odoru) and A Murmur of the Heart (Toaru Gekai to Naikai no). Both will be released in both digital and print format.

Good news for Tiger & Bunny fans: Viz will release the movie Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning on October 1 and the manga on October 8.

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

Lori Henderson looks at this week’s new releases, eManga’s September Switch promotion, and Backstage Prince in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama says the series will end after 20 volumes. Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei creator Kôji Kumeta has a new series in the works. Peacemaker Kurogane will be back in December. Sakamoto desu ga?, by Nami Sano, has won the Comic Natalie Grand Prize. ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: Carlo Santos checks out the latest releases in his newest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown looks back on a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team review all that’s new (well, most of it anyway) in their Bookshelf Briefs column.

Carlo Santos on vol. 6 of 07-Ghost (ANN)
Ken H. on vol. 5 of Attack on Titan (Comics Should Be Good)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 7 of Attack on Titan (The Fandom Post)
Daniel Briscoe on vol. 1 of Berserk (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Black Bird (The Comic Book Bin)
Chris Kirby on vol. 1 of Durarara Saika Arc (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 30 of Fairy Tail (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 22 of Hayate the Combat Butler (The Comic Book Bin)
Sakura Eries on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Ikigami (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 9 of Loveless (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 68 of One Piece (The Comic Book Bin)
David Brothers on One-Punch Man (4thletter!)
TSOTE on vol. 28 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Derek Bown on the September 16 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Chris Kirby on vol. 1 of Sunny (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on Tropic of the Sea (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Voice Over! Seiyuu Academy (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (Blogcritics)

MTV Geek has posted my picks for the most anticipated manga of the fall, and to go along with ’em we have some special content:
A preview of a short story from the first volume of Sailor Moon Short Stories
A preview of Satoshi Kon’s Tropic of the Sea, definitely one of the outstanding manga of the year
An interview with Charles Brownstein of the CBLDF about their guide to manga
An interview with Pancha Diaz, the editor of Voice Over: Seiyuu Academy
A interview with Nancy Thistlethwaite, editor of the Christmas-themed manga Sweet Rein
Everything you need to know to jump in to Attack on Titan with volume 6

This is pretty cool: Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama was interviewed on Nihon TV’s Zip! and explained how he got the idea for the Titans (an inebriated customer in the internet cafe where he worked) and how he draws them so well (with the help of a reference book of facial expressions).

Fanfare/Ponent Mon will publish Jiro Taniguchi’s Furari, which sounds like an Edo-era version of The Walking Man.

Planning on going to New York Comic Con? Sean Gaffney has pulled out the manga panels and a few others that may be of interest.

Helen McCarthy gives us the rundown on Daiji Kazumine, who drew manga versions of popular television shows such as Ultraman.

Here’s a look at the Original Algerian Manga scene, where homegrown manga in French, Algerian, and soon, Berber, are selling briskly, but not so well that creators can make a living from comics alone.

News from Japan: Eight years after it was originally announced, Hideo Azuma’s sequel to Disappearance Diary will be published next month; the title is Shissō Nikki 2: Al-Chū Byōtō (Disappearance Diary 2: The Ward for Alcoholics).

Reviews

Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Helen on vol. 1 of Eat For Your Life (Narrative Investigations)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of Midnight Secretary (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Midori Days, Pretty Face, and Genkaku Picasso (Comics Should Be Good)
TSOTE on vol. 29 of QED (Three Steps Over Japan)
Erica Friedman on Rira to Shion (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Sherlock Bones (Experiments in Manga)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Takasugi-san’s Obento (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

Good news for fans of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Viz is going to release part 3 digitally, and if that catches on, there may be more…

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

Lissa Pattillo looks at three series that were recently announced in Japan that she hopes will make it over here: You Higuri’s Princess Ledalia: The Rose Pirate, Makoto Tateno’s Vampire Romanshiki, and the Attack on Titan spinoff.

Derek Bown catches us up on the past few weeks’ worth of Shonen Jump.

Erica Friedman rounds up the latest yuri news at Okazu.

Justin chats with freelance manga letterer Annaliese Christman, who works on a lot of Viz titles, including Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan and Psyren.

Lori Henderson looks at the BookScan best-seller list, what’s up at Vizmanga.com, and Kodansha Comics’ digital samplers in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Reviews: Ash Brown leads us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of 07-Ghost (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 20 of Bakuman (Kuriousity)
Ash Brown on vol. 25 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Chris Kirby on vol. 2 of Btooom! (The Fandom Post)
Mark Thomas on vols. 1-3 of Dragonball (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Eden no Higashitotsuka (Okazu)
Ken H. on vols. 1 and 2 of Happy-Go-Lucky Days (Comics Should Be Good)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Happy Marriage?! (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 22 of Hayate the Combat Butler (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Angela Sylvia on vol. 13 of Kamisama Kiss (The Fandom Post)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 21 of Kaze Hikaru (Kuriousity)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Kingdom Hearts II (The Fandom Post)
Dana Lynch on Knights of Sidonia (Culture, whatnot, etc.)
Michael Buntag on K-ON! College (NonSensical Words)
Kate O’Neil on vols. 7-8 of Loveless (omnibus edition)
Dana Lynch on Me and the Devil Blues (Culture, whatnot, etc.)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Midnight Secretary (Comic Attack)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Nightschool (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Omoi no Kakera (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on Onna no ko Awase (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 68 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook, vol. 1: The Phoenix Wright Files (Manga Xanadu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of Pokemon Black and White (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on Pokemon Adventures HeartGold and SoulSilver (Blogcritics)
Matthew Warner on vol. 11 of Psyren (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 12 of Psyren (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Kazuma Magica: The Innocent Malice (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 12 of Rin-ne (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Saikano: The Last Love Song on this Little Planet, X, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Comics Should Be Good)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 12 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Sailor Moon Short Stories (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of Soul Eater (The Fandom Post)
Anna N. on vols. 5 and 6 of Strobe Edge (Manga Report)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Strobe Edge (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Justin on Tropic of the Sea (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Nick Smith on Tropic of the Sea (ICv2)
Dave Ferraro on Unico (Comics-and-More)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 4 of Until Death Do Us Part (The Fandom Post)

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week, and they also look ahead to this week’s new manga releases. Also at Manga Bookshelf, MJ and Michelle Smith discuss some josei romances in their latest Off the Shelf column and Erica Friedman takes a peek at Young Gangan magazine.

Erica Friedman has plenty of news, including some about herself, in the latest edition of Yuri Network News.

Paul Gravett looks at the works of Katsuhiro Otomo, with lots of samples of Marvel’s colorized version of Akira.

Lori Henderson discusses Vizmanga.com, the Manga Reborn Kickstarter, and the last two volumes of Alice in the Country of Hearts in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Reviews: It’s time for a new set of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown takes us through a week’s worth of manga at Experiments in Manga.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Attack on Titan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sakura Eries on vol. 20 of Bakuman (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 57 of Bleach (The Fandom Post)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Eat For Your Life (Manga Report)
Ken H on vols. 15 and 16 of Erementar Gerade (Comics Should Be Good)
Connie C. on Heart of Thomas, To Terra, and From Eroica With Love (Comics Should Be Good)
Sean Gaffney on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ken H. on vol. 5 of Heroman (Comics Should Be Good)
Matthew Warner on vol. 5 of Is This a Zombie? (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of Judge (The Fandom Post)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Judge (ICv2)
Ash Brown on Kitaro (Experiments in Manga)
Ash Brown on Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices (Experiments in Manga)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Midnight Secretary (Manga Report)
Ash Brown on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Volume 2: Garma (Experiments in Manga)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of Monster Musume (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 10-12 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Detective Diary (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
TSOTE on vol. 25 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 1 of The Sacred Blacksmith (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Strange Babies (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (Blogcritics)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology (ICv2)
Connie C. on Tiger & Bunny, Heroes Are Extinct, and Ratman (Comics Should Be Good)
Justin on vol. 1 of Wolfsmund (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 5-7 of Young Miss Holmes Casebook (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Drew McCabe on vol. 3 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (Comic Attack)

This weekend was the first ever Japan Expo in the U.S. and it was a big deal. Several of the major manga publishers were there, and they had announcements to make: Yen Press is licensing two Sword Art Online manga and Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story, as well as the Accel World and Sword Art Online light novels. Viz had two new licenses to announce as well: Tomu Ohmi’s Spell of Desire and Arina Tanemura’s Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, which was originally released in North America by CMX; the Viz edition will have a new translation and will use the English title Phantom Thief Jeanne.

Check out ANN’s convention coverage, or if you’re in a hurry, Sean Gaffney’s roundup of the new licenses and what they mean.

Special guest Shaenon Garrity explains what’s so awesome about Cyborg 009 in the latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Here’s a preview of the French edition of Puella Magi Madoka Magica: A Different Story.

Blogging about blogging: Welcome to Manga Bookshelf, Ash Brown! We’re delighted to have you aboard.

News from Japan: The Matsue City school board has lifted its restrictions on Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen: Once again, elementary school children can check it out of the school library. Meanwhile, the controversy has spurred sales of the book, and the publisher has gotten messages of support from the public. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya manga series will end next month, as will Code Geass: Renya of the Darkness.

Reviews: Here’s another account of a week’s worth of manga reading from Ash Brown, at Experiments in Manga. Sean, MJ, and Michelle give their short takes on recent releases in the Bookshelf Briefs column at Manga Bookshelf.

Matthew Warner on vol. 5 of 07-Ghost (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 6 of Attack on Titan (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 of Dorohedoro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Justin on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 11 of Kamisama Kiss (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on Material Candy (Okazu)
Anna N on vols. 1-7 of Red River (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Umineko When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Lissa Pattillo takes a look at this week’s new releases for her On the Shelf column at Kuriousity.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week (spoiler: it’s Helter Skelter) and takes a look at next week’s new manga list, which includes a fresh volume of Attack on Titan.

Lori Henderson talks about the end of Dengeki Daisy, Otakon, and more in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

How does the presence of a woman change a man? Tony Yao looks at the effect of women on Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s Gendo Ikari.

Happy blogiversary to Ash Brown, who celebrated three years of Experiments in Manga this week.

News from Japan: Josei and yaoi creator Yugi Yamada is back at work after getting the green light from her doctor. Monthly Shonen Ace will publish a one-shot manga that ties in to the video game Killzone.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks back at a week’s worth of manga at Experiments in Manga.

Sean Gaffney on Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Clockmaker’s Story (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Jocelyne Allen on All My Darling Daughters (Brain Vs. Book)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 9 of Bunny Drop (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 9 of Bunny Drop (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Dorohedoro (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 26 of Excel Saga (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 26 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vols. 26 and 27 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Ash Brown on Forbidden Colors (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Happy Marriage?! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on Honey and Clover, Helter Skelter, and Object of Desire (Comics Should Be Good)
Michael Buntag on K-ON! College (NonSensical Words)
Erica Friedman on Seitokaichou ga Yuri suki demo Mondai nashi!? (Okazu)
Thomas Zoth on The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on vol. 4 of Strobe Edge (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 14 of Tegami Bachi (The Comic Book Bin)
Ken H on vol. 1 of Trigun Maximum Omnibus (Comics Should Be Good)
Justin on Your Gentle Hand (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)

Roland Kelts takes a look at 20 years of Otakon. Otaku USA posted their take on Otakon as well as 20 pieces of Otakon trivia. Vicky Kariolic posts her con report at Graphic Novel Reporter, and at Anime Diet, Linda has posted a writeup of the Vertical panel.

News from Japan: Daphne in the Brilliant Blue creator Satoshi Shiki will be the writer of the Attack on Titan spinoff manga, Attack on Titan: Before the Fall, and THORES Shibamoto, the artist for Trinity Blood, will handle the art.Gakuen Alice, which is approaching its finale, has over 7 million copies in print. Mobile Police Patlabor creator Masami Yuki has a new mystery series that will launch in the 39th issue of Weekly Big Comic Spirits. And a Saint Seiya spinoff launched this week.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf readers give quick takes on recent releases in their latest Bookshelf Briefs column.

Justin on vol. 20 of Bakuman (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Blue Morning (ANN)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Btooom! (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Magi (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 4 of Strobe Edge (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on Steps (Okazu)
Carlo Santos on vol. 14 of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (ANN)
Danica Davidson on vol. 2 of Thermae Romae (Otaku USA)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Wolfsmund (Comics Worth Reading)

Here’s my look at this week’s new releases (plus a new license from Yen) at MTV Geek. The list includes vol. 1 of Magi and the Tiger & Bunny short story anthology from Viz, the second volume of No. 6 from Kodansha Comics, new Knights of Sidonia from Vertical, and more. Lissa Pattillo gives her take in her latest On the Shelf column at Kuriousity.

The Manga Bookshelf folks, one step ahead as always, are already looking at next week’s new releases.

Jason Thompson writes about Kaoru Mori’s A Bride’s Story in his latest House of 1,000 Manga column at ANN.

Charles Brownstein, executive director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, went to Comiket this year, not to shop (well, not only to shop) but to deliver this speech about manga and the importance of freedom of expression in both North America and Japan.

It’s Tezuka Week at Digital Manga, and they are announcing a contest as well as discounts on the first ten issues of Weekly Astro Boy Magazine.

News from Japan: Some sad news: Ramen Fighter Miki creator Jun Sadogawa has died, and police suspect it was a suicide. Two new series are debuting in Princess Gold: Makoto Tateno’s Vampire Romanshiki and Yuu Higuri’s Princess Ledalia: Bara no Kaizoku (Princess Ledalia: The Rose Pirate) It looks like Negima creator Ken Akamatsu will have a new series as well, Uo Holder, which will run in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Chris Kirby on vol. 2 of 21st Century Boys (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 24 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Josh Begley on vol. 9 of Bloody Monday (The Fandom Post)
Lissa Pattillo on Body Guard (Kuriousity)
Connie C. on The Dark-Hunters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Magic Within, and Soulless (Comics Should Be Good)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Dengeki Daisy (Blogcritics)
John Rose on vol. 4 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Kamisama Kiss (Blogcritics)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 1 of Magi (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 6 of Morita-San ha Mukuchi (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 17 of Pokemon Adventures (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Pokemon Black and White (Lesley’s Musings on Manga)
Anne Ishii on Sunny (Guernica)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Takasugi-San’s Obento (Manga Report)
Kate O’Neil on The Twin Knights (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on The Two Faces of Tomorrow (Comics Should Be Good)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Yuri Hime Wildrose (Okazu)

Here’s my roundup of Otakon news at MTV Geek.

Yen Press has licensed the Blood Lad spin-off Bloody Brat, a single volume of short stories and four-panel gag manga about the characters in the main series.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

How do I read manga—legally? Justin counts the ways and gives a detailed rundown of each digital manga service at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.

Tony Yao recounts his first trip to Otakon at Manga Therapy.

South Korea’s only comics convention, the Bucheon International Comics Festival, is going on this week.

Reviews: Carlo Santos looks at the latest manga releases in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown takes us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Shannon Fay on vol. 5 of The Betrayal Knows My Name (Kuriousity)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Blood-C (Kuriousity)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Don’t Tell My Husband (Kuriousity)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Doubt (Comics Worth Reading)
Drew McCabe on vol. 1 of Dragon Ball (3-in-1 edition) (Comic Attack)
Carlo Santos on vol. 1 of Dragon Ball (3-in-1 edition) (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on Kitaro (A Case Suitable For Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Magi (ANN)
Ash Brown on The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (Experiments in Manga)
Chris Randle on The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (Hazlitt)
Chris Kirby on vol. 13 of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (The Fandom Post)

Otakon News: Vertical has licensed Fumi Yoshinaga’s What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Kinō Nani Tabeta?), and Viz is going to reprint Naoki Urasawa’s Monster in omnibus format. Sean Gaffney has a roundup of the Otakon news and some other recent manga license announcements at his blog.

Here’s my guide to the latest batch of new manga releases at MTV Geek, and the Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new releases.

Deb Aoki has a great piece on the digital manga stories that came out of this summer’s cons at Publishers Weekly; they include the licensing of Doraemon and Kodansha’s shift from iPad app to e-books.

I was so busy with other stuff this past week that I totally missed the latest Manga Moveable Feast! Khursten Santos of Otaku Champloo was the host for this month’s Feast, which was all about yaoi. Khursten came up with some interesting posts, and so did everyone else, and I highly recommend you check them out; I’ll just link to her MMF tag so you can see them all in one place.

MJ and Michelle Smith discuss Totally Captivated in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf.

Here’s a translation of a conversation between Naoki Urasawa and European creators Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten at last year’s International Manga Fest in Tokyo.

Erica Friedman brings us all the latest yuri news in this week’s Yuri News Network post.

Lori Henderson discusses Sparkler Magazine, the new global shoujo manga magazine, in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

News from Japan: The shonen series Nisekoi and the shoujo series Ore Monogatari!! are going to cross over. Dengeki Daisy is coming to an end. Chris Beveridge takes a look at the new manga series that Kodansha is showing off, Shoujo Kesshu Kokoro Jikaru and Koisuru Futago to Megane no Blue.

Reviews

Erica Friedman on Aigaaru: I-girl (Okazu)
Elliot Gay on vols. 1-5 of Attack on Titan (Japanator)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 20 of Bakuman (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Bakuman (I Reads You)
Erica Friedman on Bloody Lily (Okazu)
Rob McMonigal on vols. 1 and 2 of Eat-Man (Panel Patter)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 26 of Excel Saga (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 4 of Heroman (Comics Should Be Good)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Kanojo to Camera to Kanojo no Kisetsu (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 21 of Kaze Hikaru (The Fandom Post)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 2 of Lone Wolf and Cub (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Manjiorin on Maple Leaves (Organization ASG)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Midnight Secretary (Comics Worth Reading)
Lexie on vol. 1 of Midnight Secretary (Poisoned Rationality)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 62 of Naruto (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 10 of Omamori Himari (The Fandom Post)
Lindo Korchi on One-Punch Man (Inside AX)
Lori Henderson on vol. 3 of Paradise Kiss (Manga Xanadu)
TSOTE on vol. 18 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Anna N. on Red Blinds the Foolish (Manga Report)
Chris Kirby on vol. 16 of Toriko (The Fandom Post)
Lori Henderson on Two of Hearts (Manga Xanadu)
Justin on Ultimate Venus (Organization ASG)
Josh Begley on vol. 34 of Vagabond (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 5 of Wandering Son (Okazu)

Big news for Sailor Moon fans: The anime is coming this winter, and it will be live streamed on NicoNico Douga, although there is no guarantee it will be subtitled.

I talked to Viz CEO Ken Sasaki at San Diego about how Viz is changing to fit the realities of the new market. One interesting statistic is that in a very short time, their digital program has grown to 10% of print (in terms of units sold).

ICv2 has a two-part interview with Viz execs Leyla Aker and Kevin Hamric in which they talk about manga sales, digital comics, and how many books Viz publishes a year—300 seems to be about right.

I also interviewed Dallas Middaugh about Kodansha Comics’ digital program, which is shifting from their app to e-book platforms such as Kindle, Nook, and iBooks.

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

Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa talks about her manga about life on the farm, Silver Spoon. (Via Deb Aoki.)

If you’re in the Bay Area, mark your calendar: Junko Mizuno will be at Kinokuniya on August 10.

Reviews: Here’s the latest round of Bookshelf Briefs from Manga Bookshelf. Ash Brown takes us through her week in manga at Experiments in Manga.

Matthew Alexander on vol. 4 of Black God (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Black-Winged Love (Experiments in Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Crimson Empire: Circumstances to Serve a Noble (ANN)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Doubt (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of The Earl and the Fairy (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Ken H. on vol. 14 of Erementar Gerade (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Kamisama Kiss (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 21 of Kaze Hikaru (The Comic Book Bin)
Jocelyne Allen on Keimusho no Naka (Brain Vs. Book)
Sean Gaffney on Last of the Mohicans (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 6 of Limit (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
Jocelyne Allen on Pluto (Brain Vs. Book)
Kris on Princess Honey (Manic About Manga)
Matthew Cycyk on The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (Matt Talks About Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Thermae Romae (ANN)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Twin Knights (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Utsubora (Comics Worth Reading)
Thomas Zoth on vol. 1 of Wolfsmund (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (Blogcritics)

Lissa Pattillo takes a closer look at some new license announcements at Kuriousity.

Tom Langston looks at the popularity of yon-koma (four-panel) gag manga in the U.S. in recent years.

Chris Beveridge asks “Is ‘Alice in the Country of…’ the best manga series you’re not reading?” My own answer would be “nope,” but Chris points out that there are a lot of new volumes coming out.

News from Japan: Demon Ororon manga-ka Hakase Mizuki is launching a new series, Dracul, which will run in Ichijinsa’s Zero Sum Ward magazine starting in the September 14 issue. Gokusai will come to an end this week. Sarakiel, by Excel Saga creator Koushi Rikudou, is also winding up soon.

Reviews: Carlo Santos checks out K-ON! College, Twin Knights, and some other recent manga in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown takes us through a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Black God (The Fandom Post)
Justin on Cross Manage (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Justin on Give My Regards to Black Jack (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Anna N. on vols. 1 and 2 of Goong: The Royal Palace (Manga Report)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow (Comics Worth Reading)
Helen on Kitchen Princess (Narrative Investigations)
Erica Friedman on vol. 5 of Ohana Holoholo (Okazu)
Manjiorin on vol. 3 of Oreimo (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Justin on Shamrock (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

I’m back from a long Comic-Con induced hiatus—first I went to the show, then I had to write up all my experiences for people who, you know, pay me to do that. Here’s my roundup of manga news at MTV Geek.

My roommate at Comic-Con was Deb Aoki, formerly of About.com, who has struck out on her own with a much more user-friendly blog, mangacomicsmanga.com. As the name suggests, it’s about one-third comics and two-thirds manga. I got to watch Deb in action all through the long weekend, so I can tell you from an insider’s perspective that she has a lot of great content planned. Two stories to check out right now: Doraemon is finally going to be licensed in English—as a digital comic—and her writeup of the Best and Worst Manga panel at San Diego (audio here).

Lori Henderson rounds up all the manga news from SDCC in her latest Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu. Sean Gaffney rounds up the new license announcements, with commentary.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber spells out five reasons why this year’s Anime Expo was good for manga, starting with the fact that there was so much manga there.

Seven Seas has announced four more Alice in the Country of… licenses; it will now be releasing one Alice book a month.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week. Also at Manga Bookshelf, MJ and Michelle Smith discuss Off*Beat, soon to be serialized in Chromatic Press’s Sparkler Monthly, and the other things they have been reading lately in their Off the Shelf column.

Johanna Draper Carlson takes a closer look at Kodansha’s new digital program.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date on the world of yuri with the latest edition of Yuri Network News.

Having just read Jiro Matsumoto’s Velveteen and Mandala, Sarah Horrocks decides to write about another book of his, Jyoshikohei.

At Comics Should Be Good, Connie C. looks at three manga by Suehiro Maruo.

News from Japan: Naoki Urasawa has drawn his first monster manga, a one-shot titled Kaijū Ōkoku, for Big Comic; the issue will be out on August 10. 07-Ghost will come to an end in the October issue of Comic Zero Sum. Also in the pages of Comic Zero Sum, Kazuya Minekura will slow down the schedule for Saiyuki Reload Blast and Wild Adapter due to health problems. Attack on Titan continues to be a runaway success: Kodansha’s first printing for the 11th volume was 1.85 million; there are 20 million copies of the first ten volumes in print. The artist for the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic manga has been announced: It’s Akira Himegawa, a two-person team best known for drawing Legend of Zelda manga. The final volume of Gantz will be released in January 2014.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team kicks off the week with a new set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Shannon Fay on Beautiful Creatures (Kuriousity)
Matthew Alexander on vols. 1 and 2 of Black God (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of BTOOOM! (Comics Worth Reading)
Justin on chapter 40 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Doubt (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Comics Worth Reading)
Josh Begley on vol. 4 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (The Fandom Post)
Tony Yao on Gin Tama (Manga Therapy)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Happy Marriage?! (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Happy Marriage?! (Manga Report)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 17 of La Corda D’Oro (ANN)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
TSOTE on vol. 10 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Sleeping Moon (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 15 of Soul Eater (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Strobe Edge (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 16 of Toriko (ANN)
Ken H. on vol. 7 of Vampire Hunter D (Comics Should Be Good)

Here’s a quick roundup of Anime Expo news:

Item: Digital Manga announced that they are joining up with Tezuka Productions to publish all of Osamu Tezuka’s works in North America. They may do some print editions as well.

Item: Viz is bringing back Deadman Wonderland, which was originally licensed by Tokyopop; they will finish the series, which is up to 12 volumes and about to end in Japan. This is an awesome manga and deserving of a license rescue; my review of vol. 1 is here. And they had another new license, Kohske’s Gangsta, as well as an unflipped edition of Ranma 1/2, a print edition of Nisekoi, and what sounds like a very nice oversized edition of Dragon Ball Full Color.

Item: Vertical has licensed Insufficient Direction, Moyoco Anno’s gag manga about life with her husband (and collaborator on this book), Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno.

Item: Tokyopop, Gentosha, and RightStuf are teaming up to publish volumes 4 and 5 of Hetalia: Axis Powers this winter; after the initial print run sells out, it will go to Print on Demand. No word on digital rights.

Item: Kodansha announced that Attack on Titan will go to a volume a month, with simultaneous print and digital release, and Kodansha manga will now be available digitally on Kindle, Nook, Google Play, and iBooks.

Item: Shonen Jump will now be available outside North America, specifically in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, via the iOS app, with Android coming “soon,” according to panelists. Here’s a longer account of their panel, which was an informative history of the magazine, both in Japan and the U.S., with the editors of both editions talking about their experiences. Also, SJ has a special deal running through July 14: A one-year subscription is $19.99, down from the standard price of $25.99, with the promo code on this page.

I rounded up Friday’s anime and manga news with some commentary at MTV Geek. Sean Gaffney adds a bit of commentary on the new license announcements at his blog.

Lissa Pattillo brings us up to date on the past week’s new releases at Kuriousity, and she also files her con report on Animaritime.

Meanwhile, the Manga Bookshelf team looks ahead to this week’s new manga.

At Heart of Manga, Laura looks at the new shoujo manga due out this month, including what I believe are the final volumes of Jiu Jiu and Sailor Moon.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast will focus on the work of Yun Kouga (Loveless) and will be hosted at Manga Bookshelf; here’s the call for entries.

In her latest Manga Dome podcast, Lori Henderson helps you sort out three manga based on Alice in Wonderland: Are You Alice?, Alice in the Country of Hearts, and Pandora Hearts.

News from Japan: Takehiko Inoue, creator of Slam Dunk, Vagabond, and Real, has donated 1 million yen worth of manga to schools in his hometown of Isa-city.

Reviews

Anna N. on vol. 1 of 7 Billion Needles (Manga Report)
Ken H. on vol. 4 of Attack on Titan (Comics should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 19 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 57 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Jiu Jiu (I Reads You)
Josh Begley on vol. 2 of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Magic Knight Rayearth, Neon Genesis Evangalion, and Bokurano: Ours (Comics Should Be Good)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alex Hoffman on Monokuro Kinderbook (Manga Widget)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Oh My Goddess (Blogcritics)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice (ICv2)
TSOTE on vols. 2, 3, and 4 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Sankarea: Undying Love (Experiments in Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on vols. 9 and 10 of Song of the Wind and Trees (Kaze to Ki no Uta) (Brain Vs. Book)
Drew McCabe on vol. 11 of Tenjho Tenge: Full Contact Edition (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 1 of Wolfsmund (Matt Talks About Manga)