Danielle Leigh takes a look at the manga selections in the May Previews.
Which manga should get the Eisner? David Welsh has a straw poll at Precocious Curmudgeon.
Kate Dacey sings the praises of the New England Mobile Book Fair, a great place to get cheap manga even if it is neither mobile nor a book fair. (It’s a store.)
If you’re in the New York area today, drop by the Bryant Park Kinokuniya around 6:30 p.m. for a manga meet-up hosted by Ed Chavez, longtime blogger, even longer-time manga fan, and brand-new marketing director for Vertical, Inc. Ed will provide snacks, soft drinks, and conversation about seinen and josei manga, and if the weather is nice, everyone can move out to the park once the store closes. This is just the first in a series of planned Vertical Vednesdays; the next is tentatively scheduled for May 27. You can follow Ed on Twitter to keep up to date with all of his doings.
At ANN, Evan Miller interviews Felipe Smith, who has made the transition from American to Japanese manga: He’s the creator of MBQ (for Tokyopop) and Peepo Choo (for Kodansha).
Stan Grewal talks to Yoshihiro Tatsumi, creator of A Drifting Life.
Ryan of Same Hat! Same Hat! links to a preview of Rubik’s Cube, the comic that Shintaro Kago will be contributing to the German comics anthology Orang 8.
At PWCW, Erin Finnegan writes about the latest exhibit at the Japan Society Gallery in New York: KRAZY: The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games. Erin also wrote about The Legend of Koizumi, in which world leaders play the manly game of mah jong, and she posts some extra images at her LJ.
Shaenon Garrity has more on her trip to Japan, including a visit to Akihabara, at comiXology.
News from Japan: The 33rd annual Kodansha Manga Awards have been announced, and the winners include Fairy Tail and Oh My Goddess, as well as a number of manga that haven’t been licensed… yet. Butterfly, Flowers manga-ka Yuki Yoshihara and Solanin creator Inio Asano are both starting new series. And this seems a bit ominous: Four of Japan’s largest publishers have acquired a 28.9% voting stake in the used-book chain Book-Off.
Reviews: Carlo Santos treats us to another round of smart, opinionated reviews in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Other reviews of note:
Connie on vol. 12 of Banana Fish (Slightly Biased Manga)
Casey Brienza on vol. 2 of Battle Royale: Ultimate Edition (ANN)
Michelle Smith on vols. 4 and 5 of Beauty Pop (Soliloquy in Blue)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 20 of Black Cat (Kuriousity)
Kris on vol. 2 of breath (Manic About Manga)
Connie on vol. 9 of Enchanter (Slightly Biased Manga)
John Thomas on vol. 1 of Hayate x Blade (Comics Village)
Julie on The History of the West Wing (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-5 of Lunar Legend Tsukihime (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on vol. 4 of Monkey High (Slightly Biased Manga)
Carl Kimlinger on vol. 1 of Samurai 7 (ANN)
Casey Brienza on vol. 18 of Skip Beat! (ANN)
Emily on Tokyo Kareshi (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
James Fleenor on vol. 1 of Waq Waq (Anime Sentinel)