First things first: Head over to The Eastern Edge, where gottsu-iiyan has translated an interview with Naoki Urasawa about how he makes his comics.
Last week was a bit of a blur, so I don’t remember if I linked to Jason Thompson’s excellent column on culture clash and manga at io9. If you haven’t read it already, go check it out; he has some interesting things to say, not just about the Dragon Ball and Spice and Wolf controversies but about the medium in general. Meanwhile, at Anime Diet, Moritheil does a little digging on Joe Holloway, the county councilman whose grandstanding got the whole Dragon Ball controversy started.
Udon’s Matt Moylan talks about his company’s plans for Mega Man artbooks and manga.
David Welsh gets to B in the manga/manhwa alphabet and asks his readers to suggest their favorites.
DMP has a sale on right now, and Melinda Beasi recommends some titles.
My Paranoid Next Door Neighbor creator Haruka Minami is blogging in English at the DMP site. (Via ANN.)
News from Japan: It has been suggested that a reader-designed monster in the manga Toriko is awfully similar to the monster in Dragon Quest. A new website has been set up to translate the news of the day into manga form in a number of languages, including English. And ANN has the latest comics rankings.
Reviews: Here’s a new review blog to check out: A word is a unit of language, where Jen Dunbar, the newest contributor to Manga Recon, stretches her wings a little. Her latest review at the site is of vols. 1 and 2 of Vampire Knight.
Matthew Alexander on vol. 7 of Alive (Mania.com)
Danica Davidson on vol. 1 of Ballad of a Shinigami (Graphic Novel Reporter)
James Fleenor on Battlestar Galactica: Echoes of New Caprica (Anime Sentinel)
Julie on vol. 1 of Cat Paradise (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Kris on Chocolate Surprise (Manic About Manga)
Connie on vol. 27 of Eyeshield 21 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 7 of Fairy Tail (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kinukitty on Foreign Love Affair (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Matthew Rozier on vol. 20 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Comics Village)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 7 of Honey and Clover (Manga Life)
Jennifer Dunbar on vols. 1 and 2 of March on Earth (Manga Recon)
Connie on vol. 15 of Monster (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sesho on vol. 46 of Naruto (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Joy Kim on vol. 2 of Nightschool (Manga Life)
Connie on vol. 19 of O-Parts Hunter (Slightly Biased Manga)
Steven M. Bari on vol. 6 of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka (Manga Life)
Penny Kenny on vol. 1 of Rasetsu (Manga Life)
Lissa Pattillo on part 2 of Legend of Zelda – Four Swords (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 1 of Tale of an Unknown Country (Manga Recon)