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New Let’s Get Visual: Duds

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We’ve arrived again at the third Saturday of the month, which means of course it’s time for a brand new Let’s Get Visual with Michelle Smith at her blog, Soliloquy in Blue. For those new to the feature, each month, Michelle and I turn our rusty brains towards analyzing manga (or manhwa) artwork, in an attempt to improve our understanding of visual storytelling.

Up until now, we’ve always focused on artwork we think works especially well at telling the intended story. For this month, we decided to go the opposite direction and try our hand at discussing artwork that fails. Uh. Way to get into the holiday spirit?

For my “dud” selection, I chose two pages from Ellie Mamahara’s Baseball Heaven (sorry, BLU), a standard BL seduction scene, but one that unfortunately lacks heat.

“… there’s simply no passion in it … absolutely no sexual tension between them conveyed through the artwork … Even when their faces are so close together, Mamahara is unable to provide any magnetic reaction between them. I should feel that they *want* to touch each other. It should feel painful for them not to. Instead, it leaves me completely cold.”

Read the entire discussion here, or check out all our entries in the series so far!

New NANA Project! Vols. 15-16

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After a short hiatus, the NANA Project is back! This time around, we look at volumes 15 and 16, focusing especially on (in Danielle’s words), “Yazawa’s view of popular art, Nana and Ren’s disintegrating relationship, and loving Nana in the past, present and future.”

For my part, I go on quite a bit over the virtues of “blind love:”

“MJ: I think this is absolutely true, and maybe makes it clear that *understanding* is not necessarily the key to… well, anything. I’m reminded of one of the stories from Kino no Tabi, “Land of Visible Pain.” In the story, Kino encounters a country of technologically-advanced people who had, at some point, come to the conclusion that if only they could truly understand each other’s pain, they’d be able to live together in perfect harmony. With this in mind, their scientists develop a way for them to all be able to hear each other’s thoughts. What happens ultimately, of course, is that they soon discover that understanding each other’s pain actually makes it *harder* for them to live together, and they eventually all end up isolated in their own homes, unable to stand being even within sight of one another.

I think to a great extent, Ren’s understanding of Nana’s deepest desires may actually make it more difficult for them to stay together. If anything, it may just make it easier for them to hurt each other, as I think he hurts Nana with his stunningly accurate assessment of her ugliest thoughts and feelings. I’m not suggesting that love is best maintained through rose-colored glasses, but I’m not sure that this level of brutal understanding is always a good thing. We all need someone in our lives who is biased in our favor, and this is most often the role of a romantic partner. I think it’s okay, and even *desirable*, for love to be just a little bit blind.”

Disagree? Tell me so in comments! :D

What a pleasure it is to be back, discussing this series with such wonderful women. Speaking for myself, I’d have to say that I probably enjoy The NANA Project more than nearly anything else I do as a manga blogger. It’s a bit heartbreaking to think about how near we are to the end of the series’ available volumes.

On a lighter note, Danielle asks at the end of the roundtable for suggestions from readers on what title the three of us should tackle next! Visit this month’s roundtable to weigh in!

For those just arriving, you can find the entire NANA Project archive at CBR’s Comics Should Be Good!

New Let’s Get Visual: Of Sakura and the Sea

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It’s the last Saturday of the month, which means time for a new installment of Let’s Get Visual at Michelle Smith’s Soliloquy in Blue!

My subject this time around comes from Daisuke Igarashi’s Children of the Sea, published in English by Viz Media. My point of discussion revolves around panel size, and how Igarashi uses it to influence the reader’s experience, up to and including how we feel about the characters and what they’re telling us.

In a series that is known for its beautiful (and unusual) artwork, I found it fascinating to analyze the way the artist uses structure as a tool as well.

Following that, Michelle leads us into a wonderful discussion about the way a mangaka can use art as a kind of emotional shorthand, demonstrated in several scenes from Mari Okazaki’s Suppli.

As always, we’re seeking input from those more knowledgeable about these things than we. So please come along and let us know where we’ve gone wrong!

Digital Manga Guild: Revolution or Folly?

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Digital Manga Publishing has formally announced its new fan/publisher hybrid program, the Digital Manga Guild. According to a newsletter sent out this weekend, DMP expects to be able to offer “thousands more” manga through the new program, which will rely on fan translators, editors, and letterers to revolutionize its production of digital manga in English.

At the Guild’s new website, fans can apply to sign on as translators, editors/adapters, or letterers by providing online samples of their previous work. There is no up-front payment, but DMP promises compensation when actual sales are made. Though the arrangement may sound sketchy, this section of the company’s informational material is somewhat heartening for prospective participants:

However, no party — Digital Manga, Inc., the Japanese publishers, or you (the localizers) — will get paid until a sales transaction is made. That means, we are all in this together!

Though it’s too early to speculate on the program’s success, the BL fanbase, in particular, seems like the ideal community in which to try out something of this kind. BL fans tend to be consistent manga buyers, always looking for the latest in their genre, while also maintaining a dedicated scanlation community that focuses largely on unlicensed material. By offering potential income and a stamp of legitimacy (along with reasonably-priced digital manga) can DMP succeed in bringing scanlators and readers fully into the fold?

Many are sure to have an opinion on the subject, including professional translators and editors who currently struggle to make a living in their field. And, as Brigid Alverson points out in her Robot 6 write-up, scanlators are already questioning DMP’s motivations. Is this a pioneering moment or an industry trainwreck waiting to happen?

What do you think, readers?

Update 2/1/2011: Check it out.

Let’s Get Visual: Speechless

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Once again, it’s time for Let’s Get Visual, a monthly art-focused exercise with Michelle Smith, hosted at her blog, Soliloquy in Blue.

This month, we respond to a request for discussion of nonverbal storytelling. My choice for the exercise is a scene from the fourth volume of Fumi Yoshinaga’s Antique Bakery. Though the scene does contain some minimal dialogue, I provided scans from the Japanese book in order to illustrate how profoundly the artwork does the talking.

Though we discuss only the scene as presented, and never reveal what is said between the two characters, thinking about this series made me want to start handing it out to gay teens as my version of an “It Gets Better” video. The way that Ono moves on from this moment to discover a new life, while Tachibana hangs on to his guilt for years after… it’s so close to the stories of many of my own friends who left high school to move on to things much, much greater, while their tormentors stayed behind, still mired in the world of our high school social scene.

As always, please remember that we’re asking for your help. We want to improve our ability to analyze visual storytelling and we’re anxious for feedback from those who know more than we. Though we’d prefer you be gentle, we’ll take what we can get!

So head on over to the latest Let’s Get Visual and let us know how we’re doing!

March Story debuts 10/19

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As someone who pays quite a lot of attention to Korean manhwa artists, it’s a bit embarrassing for me to admit that one of the things that tends to pass by my radar completely is Korean artists with work being serialized in Japan. One such artist (or two, actually) has a work debuting here in English this week and I’m terribly late to the party.

The work I’m referring to, of course, is March Story, story by Hyung Min Kim and artwork by Kyung Il Yang, debuting tomorrow on Viz Media’s Signature imprint.

Here’s a rundown of the story as described in a recent press release from Viz:

Among the quiet villages and towns of 18th century Europe, demons known as the Ill hide within the most beautiful works of art and are sparked to life by the torment of their creators. Attracted by their jewel-like allure, unwary viewers can find themselves possessed by the Ill and will be driven to horrific acts of violence. Only the hunters of the Ciste Vihad can dispel the Ill. March is one such hunter, tracking the Ill from town to town to find the antiques that contain the demons before they can possess anyone. If the worst has come to pass, March’s full powers are unleashed to battle the fiendish Ill.

This volume is rated “Mature” and will sell for $12.99 here in the US. For more information, visit Viz’s news room.

BLU comes to eManga

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Fans of boys’ love manga will be excited to know that twelve titles from BLU Manga, TOKYOPOP’s BL line, are now available at eManga.com, Digital Manga Publishing’s online portal. According to a press release sent out today by eManga, the titles will be available for $5.99 apiece, significantly cheaper than the $14.99 price of BLU print volumes.

A quick login to the eManga website proves this to be true, though it’s important to note that eManga “points” are sold in set increments, and a purchase of $10.00 worth (1000 points) is necessary to obtain the $5.99 price. Interestingly, BLU titles are available only to “keep,” the eManga equivalent of permanent ownership, and not to “read” for a one-time rental fee.

Though the press release refers to this new arrangement as a “partnership” between TOKYOPOP and Digital Manga Publishing, there is no precise mention of whether additional BLU titles may soon be available as well.

Current titles up for sale include some Manga Bookshelf favorites, such as Calling (Miu Otsuki) and Blood Honey (Sakyou Yozukura). For a full list of titles, check out the new BLU page at eManga.com!

News from Kodansha USA

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For those of us who have been wondering what’s going on with Del Rey Manga, this press release just sent from Kodansha USA provides some answers at long last. The upshot seems to be that Kodansha USA will be publishing titles on their own (with distribution and sales support from Random House) beginning in December, with current Del Rey titles being shifted to the Kodansha USA imprint on a per-title basis. Here’s the full press release:

Kodansha and Random House Transform and Expand Their U.S. Manga Publishing Relationship

New York, NY – October 4, 2010 – Kodansha Ltd. and Random House Inc. have announced their plans to change and expand their manga publishing relationship in North America. The companies are shifting from a licensing relationship to a sales and distribution arrangement as of December 1, 2010.

The current relationship between Kodansha and Random House began in 2003, with the first titles debuting in 2004 under the latter’s Del Rey Manga imprint. Since then, more 500 volumes have been published, including many bestselling manga series.

Under the new arrangement, Kodansha’s subsidiary, Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC, established in 2008 and led by Yoshio Irie, will be publishing Kodansha-originated manga themselves directly in the U.S. English-language market with strong support from Random House Publisher Services (RHPS), Random House’s third-party distribution division. Del Rey Manga associate publisher Dallas Middaugh will remain with the program, transferring to RHPS.

“We are very excited to extend our relationship with Random House,” said Yoshio Irie, president and CEO of Kodansha USA Publishing. “Both companies see opportunity in the American manga market, and we look forward to working together to further the distribution and exposure of manga in the United States.”

“We are thrilled to have a publisher as distinctive as Kodansha USA Publishing join the Random House Publisher Services portfolio,” said Jeff Abraham, the division’s president. “Kodansha is one of the great worldwide publishing brands for the manga category, and we will do everything to support their efforts with our many booksellers and distributors who love selling manga titles.”

Del Rey’s ongoing manga titles which were licensed by Kodansha will be gradually taken over by Kodansha USA Publishing on a per-title basis.

Tokyo-based Kodansha established Kodansha USA Inc. on the occasion of their company’s 100th anniversary. Kodansha USA Publishing began by publishing Akira and The Ghost in the Shell in 2009 under the Kodansha Comics imprint. They plan to expand their strong line-up of manga under this exciting new collaboration with Random House Publisher Services.

For those of us wondering about favorite titles like xxxHolic, Nodame Cantabile, and Shugo Chara!, we can now pin our hopes on Kodansha USA.

Let’s Get Visual: Action Edition

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Every day I’m reminded as I browse the manga blogosphere just how much I have to learn about reading and criticizing manga. So, last month, Michelle Smith and I launched a new feature, Let’s Get Visual, where we let our weaknesses show with a view towards growing as critics.

In comments to last month’s column, David Brothers asked if we might talk about more action-oriented scenes the next time around. Since Michelle and I aim to please, we decided to give it a go! The result? Let’s Get Visual: Annnnnd Action!

With Akimi Yoshida’s Banana Fish on the brain (for obvious reasons) I chose a few pages from volume eight of that series, while Michelle picked a sequence from Tsutomu Nihei’s BLAME!

Before you head on over let me remind you that we’re genuinely looking to improve our comprehension of and ability to analyze the visual aspects of manga, so if you know a lot more than we do (and I know many of you do), please teach us! We’d prefer a gentle touch, but we’ll take what we can get! Also, if you have particular requests, as David did, you can see we reward those who indulge us with comments.

So check out our brand new Let’s Get Visual and let us know how we’re doing!

TOKYOPOP & comiXology launch digital Hetalia

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Announced today, manga publisher TOKYOPOP and digital comics publisher comiXology have teamed up to present the first simultaneous print/digital release the industry has yet seen (check out Comics Worth Reading for a little clarification on that claim). The title chosen for this collaboration is Hetalia Axis Powers, a popular Japanese webcomic by Hidekaz Himaruya that has since been adapted to print (as well as anime) in Japan.

This will be the first manga to join comiXology’s catalogue of over 3,000 comics. The series’ first six chapters are already available from comiXology for the web, iPad, iPhone and iPod. The first chapter is free, with subsequent chapters selling for $0.99 each.

Also coming soon, according to a recent press release, is a deluxe teaser app that fans can download from the iTunes App Store, which includes a preview of the first chapter, manga trailer, and photos of elaborately dressed fans in Hetalia cosplay.

Quotes from TOKYOPOP’s Stu Levy and comiXology’s David Steinberger suggest that this is the first in an effort to bring all of TP’s manga titles to comiXology’s digital platform. Other manga publishers who currently provide both print and digital releases of many titles include Digital Manga Publishing and NETCOMICS, and of course Yen Press, whose Yen Plus magazine recently launched its first digital issue. Who will be next?

Vertical Licenses Velveteen & Mandara

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Thanks to live-tweeting from @safetygirl0, we’ve got news from Vertical’s recent panel at Anime Weekend Atlanta. Karen reports that Vertical has licensed Jiro Matsumoto’s Velveteen & Mandara (Becchin to Mandara), complete in one volume, originally serialized in Manga Erotics F. “Zombies and high school girls” was the description supplied by Marketing Manager Ed Chavez at the panel, according to Karen’s tweets.

A few other tidbits from the panel, Black Jack volume 13 has been delayed until November due to some scheduling difficulties. Also, more license announcements will be made in a few weeks at the New York Anime Festival, including an upcoming Tezuka license.

Most excitingly, there may be a classic shojo license upcoming from one of the 49ers, though perhaps not until 2012. No details on when we might know more.

Check out Karen’s Twitter Account for more!

Viz debuts House of Five Leaves

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I’ve been hearing about House of Five Leaves ever since it debuted on Viz’s SigIKKI website over a year ago. Still, it was only just a few weeks back when, deprived of sufficient access to my own books, that I finally took the time to check it out online.

Here are a few quotes from my write-up in a recent installment of Off the Shelf:

I’ve had mixed reactions to Natsume Ono’s work so far. I liked Ristorante Paradiso, but had issues with Not Simple. *This*, however, I loved. It’s really my kind of manga in so many ways … What I love most about this story is its unusually passive protagonist. Akitsu is a wonderful character. He’s incredibly conflicted on just about every level … He’s just about as lost as a person could be, and yet there’s a survivor’s instinct somewhere in there that keeps him living and makes him weirdly compelling, despite his limp personality. I can’t help liking him and it’s definitely not out of pity. Ono’s unique art style is especially poignant here, too, and I think that really helps develop the character.

The story moves quite slowly, but that’s really not the point. It’s all about this strange, vulnerable man, and whether he can truly discover family in a bunch of morally ambiguous outlaws. I had a lot of difficulty stopping after the first volume. It grabbed me that strongly.

According to the press release I just received from Viz, the first print volume hits stores on September 21st. It is rated for older teens.

Here’s more info from the press release:

HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES is a dramatic tale of intrigue and action. Masterless samurai Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has time and again caused him to be let go by the lords who have employed him. Hungry and desperate, he becomes a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a gang called “Five Leaves.” Although disturbed by the gang’s sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi’s motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he’s drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.

Natsume Ono is one of today’s top creators of seinen manga – designed for adult readers of mature and more sophisticated stories. She made her professional debut in 2003 with the web comic La Quinta Camera, and her subsequent works not simple, Ristorante Paradiso, and Gente (a continuation of Ristorante Paradiso) have met with both critical and popular acclaim. In 2009, Ristorante Paradiso was adapted into an animated TV series. Her current series, House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou), also adapted into a TV anime series in 2010, is currently published in Japan in IKKI magazine.

Highly recommended.

Twilight & the Plight of the Female Fan

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A couple of months ago, Noah Berlatsky from The Hooded Utilitarian e-mailed to ask if I’d like to write a guest post for the blog.

While I was, of course, thrilled to be asked, I admit I was surprised. Not only do the Utilitarians tend toward academic criticism (something I don’t have the chops for at all), but they also spend a lot of time talking about stuff they really don’t like, while I deliberately devote a huge amount of my page space to things I like a lot.

“I’m way too soft for these people,” is what I thought.

But Noah asked and I agreed, and so today there is a post. It’s called Twilight & the Plight of the Female Fan.

Putting “Twilight” right up front is a bit misleading, perhaps. Yes, I talk about my own personal reactions to Twilight: The Graphic Novel (such as they are), but that’s really just to provide a platform for the post’s real purpose, which is to discuss the way women in manga and comics fandom deal with other women and works written by/for women.

Am I way too soft for The Hooded Utilitarian? I suspect we’ll discover this in comments. So, wish me luck, and check out the post!

NANA Project, Vols. 13 & 14!

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Once again it’s time for the NANA Project! This time around, join Danielle Leigh, Michelle Smith, and me as we discuss volumes thirteen and fourteen of the series.

To quote Danielle, “This week we talk about three ‘controversial’ couples that take center stage in volumes 13 and 14 of NANA. Join us as Michelle puts on her detective’s cap, MJredeems “bad girl” Yuri, and Danielle gets fed up with whiny rock stars.”

On a personal note, I get to rant about Takumi some more, so it’s a satisfying session at the roundtable for me. I could complain about that guy all day long. There’s also a great deal of opinion tossed around by all on the subjects of Yuri, Miu, and Ren & Reira’s ill-conceived… everything.

Unending thanks to Danielle and Michelle for continuing to invite me into this delicious conversation. There’s little I enjoy more than participating in The NANA Project. I hope you’ll join us in conversation this month as well! …

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New summer series from Viz Media

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With just a fraction of the summer left to enjoy, Viz Media reminds us of what we could be reading over the next month or so!

Of special interest to us here at Manga Bookshelf is the debut of Bakuman, the latest from one of our favorite artists, Takeshi Obata, and his Death Note collaborator, Tsugumi Ohba.

Here’s a recent press release with all the summer news from Viz!

San Francisco, CA, July 29, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has provided details regarding the launch of brand new manga series set for release this summer. The series will tantalize the most discriminating manga tastes and features romantic dramas, fantasy driven action, the trials of aspiring manga creators, and a tasty slice of life story set in a romantic bistro in Rome.

BAKUMAN。· Rated ‘T’ for Teens · …

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