Vacation’s over! Christopher Butcher gets you right back to work with a meaty analysis of the manga market and some predictions for the future at Comics212. In case that’s not enough for you, Erica Friedman includes some advice for anime and manga companies for the coming year in her weekly yuri roundup at Okazu.
Micole looks at all the manga and other graphic novels she read in 2008 and picks the cream of the crop. Kethylia presents her list as well.
At the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Jason Yadao looks back at the year in manga.
The Manga Recon team presents their picks of the week.
Lindsay Muscato interviews Mail Order Ninja creator Josh Elder. (Via Journalista.)
At Rocket Bomber, Matt Blind summarizes the online sales rankings from last week and presents his emerging trends report and new releases and pre-orders.
Over at Heisei Democracy (warning: NSFW!), Seiya lists ten Japanese things that don’t translate too well, including doujinshi and Kodomo no Jikan.
News from Japan: Ed Chavez gives us the weekly manga rankings from Taiyosha and rounds up other Japanese news in his MangaScope column. ANN has the list of the top-selling manga series and light novels of 2008 and an inside peek at manga circles.
Reviews: Danielle Leigh is keeping a reading diary over at Comics Should Be Good, with short impressions of whatever she’s reading at the moment. She covers three titles in her first entry, takes a longer look at vols. 1-4 of Yumekui Kenbun: Nightmare Inspector in the second, and goes back to short takes in the third. Danielle has eclectic tastes so her posts are always worth a look! Michelle Smith has spent her vacation wisely, reading vols. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 of Monster. I can’t wait to see her take on vol. 18, now that I have wrapped up my review for Comics Foundry. Lissa Pattillo reviews vol. 17 of Black Cat and A Capable Man, and guest reviewer Marsha Reid checks out vol. 5 of Cynical Orange at Kuriousity. Julie gives her take on Shards of Affection at MangaCast and vol. 12 of Moon Child and vol. 7 of High School Debut at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Erica Friedman casts a slightly jaded eye on vol. 1 of Futari ha PreCure Splash Star at Okazu. At Manga Recon, Sam Kusek takes a look at a classic manga, Rumic Theater: One or Double, by Rumiko Takahashi. Cat-loving Lori Henderson isn’t gaga over vol. 10 of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, but she doesn’t hate it either. Connie reads vol. 13 of Trigun Maximum, vol. 3 of Real, vol. 25 of Bleach, and vol. 2 of June at Slightly Biased Manga. At Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood reviews You Make My Head Spin, Heaven’s Will, vol. 2 of Captive Hearts, vol. 16 of Skip Beat! and vol. 9 of Kurohime, and Scott Campbell checks out vol. 3 of Mechademia, the academic journal covering anime and manga. Tangognat reviews vol. 1 of Cross x Break. At ANN, Casey Brienza finds plenty of cliches in vol. 1 of Higurashi: When They Cry but concludes that it’s better than she expected. Alan David Doane reads Solanin at the ADD Blog (via Journalista).