Ed Chavez has a new gig: Marketing Director for Vertical, Inc., the publisher of all those classic Osamu Tezuka and Keiko Takemiya manga. Ed knows pretty much everything there is to know about manga, and as the founder and editor-in-chief of MangaCast, he gets the blogger/fan thing as well. We’re looking forward to Great Things from Vertical in the coming months.
The New York Times graphic novel best-seller list is up, and Naruto rules the roost again, alongside a single, lonely volume each of Fruits Basket, Chibi Vampire, and Vampire Knight.
Deb Aoki asks, the critics answer: Which manga should have been on the Eisner ballot but weren’t? Plus, see Deb’s picks for seven nominees that deserve to make the final cut.
Viz’s Jane Lui e-mailed me to clarify the Rin-ne release schedule. I’ll let her explain:
We wanted to emphasize that the publication schedule for RIN-NE is following the WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY publishing schedule. The next issue of WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY (Vol. 23) will street on May 2nd, with the following issue streeting on May 13th – the issue that RIN-NE debuted in was a double issue (Vol. 21-22), to cover for the extra time between issues. The Golden Week holidays in Japan, running from April 29th through May 6th, tends to throw things off a bit – the WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY schedule in this case was shifted a little.
Jane was kind enough to e-mail me on her day off—apparently Viz employees get some Japanese holidays as well as the regular U.S. ones. She sent the same e-mail to John Jakala, who is graciously sheepish.
Speaking of Viz, senior vp Liza Coppola has left the company. Liza is well known to habitues of comic cons, as she often appeared not just on Viz panels but in discussions of the comics industry in general, and I always learned a lot when she spoke. David Welsh rounds up some of her more memorable interviews at Precocious Curmudgeon. And this just in: Robot 6 catches word that Jann Jones, former senior coordinating editor at DC, has moved over to Viz. Jann’s responsibilities at DC included their kids’ line, so this makes a lot of sense.
Oh, and Viz is looking for interns. There’s no pay involved, but it sounds like it could be a great experience.
I don’t usually cover movie news, but the fact that Warner Brothers is going ahead with a Death Note movie is significant on many levels, as it may bring manga further into the mainstream.
New Zealand authorities are prosecuting three people for possession of Hentai manga. They were caught because they downloaded it, which prompts Simon Jones of Icarus Comics to offer this important public safety announcement:
Don’t download hentai!
Instead, buy legitimate commercial hentai manga from your local specialty retailer and carry it home in a discreet, brown paper bag.
Or just stay home and read this article on Anti-Americanism in manga, also courtesy of Simon’s blog.
Yaoi Press lost some of their stock when a storage locker flooded, so they are auctioning off some yaoi playing cards by Studio Kosen to help cover the loss.
Mark your calendars: Patrick Macias will be speaking on the development of Japanese pop culture fandom in this country on Sunday, May 3, at San Francisco State University. And Jason Thompson will make an appearance at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival next weekend.
Jonathan looks at the March manga releases in Germany at Manly Manga and More.
News from Japan: ANN reports on two new manga, by Haruku Fukushima (Instant Teen) and Ema Toyama (Pixie Pop), and notes that Kirarin Revolution is coming to an end.
Reviews: Kate Dacey rounds up April’s good manga for kids Sabrina Fritz reviews vol. 1 of Dororo and vol. 1 of Black Jack at Good Comics for Kids. and At du9, Xavier Guilbert has a review of Yamaji Ebine’s Ai no Jikan, translated into French as Au temps de l’amour. Like the manga, the review is in French. Sadie Mattox reviews vol. 1 of Eden and vol. 1 of I Shall Never Return, along with the non-manga but very excellent Swallow Me Whole, at Extremely Graphic
Ed Sizemore on vol. 2 of 20th Century Boys (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 8 of After School Nightmare (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Connie on vol. 8 of Banana Fish (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 27 of Bleach (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg McElhatton on A Distant Neighborhood (Read About Comics)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Divine Melody (Comics Village)
Connie on vol. 1 of Eden (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna on vol. 1 of Gimmick! (2 screenshot limit)
Connie on vol. 3 of I Hate You More Than Anyone (Slightly Biased Manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Manga Recon)
Connie on vol. 1 of The Manzai Comics (Manga Recon)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Orange Planet (Comics Should Be Good)
Lori Henderson on vol. 5 of Phantom (Manga Xanadu)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 1 of Samurai 7 (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Zombie Loan (Okazu)
my link is messed up for some reason (stupid tiny url, sigh, try this:
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/04/30/danielle-leighs-reading-diary-orange-planet-vol-1/
Thanks!
if only i was in Cali i’d be working up so many internship.
I wonder why all the shift arounds in the comic industry
Thanks, Danielle. I fixed it!
Wouldn’t have mattered if they had bought it or downloaded it, it would have ended in them being prosecuted. It’s the content that got them in trouble not their method of procurement.
The entire thing is pathetic really, basically we’ve got one person dictating what’s moral and what isnt. The UK keeps trying to pass a similar law and thankfully it always fails at the last hurdle.
What right has anyone got to call someone else immoral because they enjoy something thats not mainstream? What’s worse is that these so called inspectors are almost always arch conservatives who never change their underwear and are afraid of sex.
Way things are heading we’ll soon be in a state where the government regulates just how you have sex and how often you have it.
[...] found this link via Brigid at MangaBlog this weekend. It’s a long read, but a rewarding one. It doubles as both a sociology and a [...]