While we’re all arguing about manga anthologies in the English-speaking world, they seem to be doing just fine in Japan. According to ANN, Tokuma Shoten has revived the magazine Ryu and has set up a contest for aspiring manga-kas.
I’m really enjoying the Ask CMX page, despite the generic layout. They seem to have figured out the Amazon dynamic—if you liked Title X, then give Title Y a try. Meanwhile, MangaCast links to some previews of upcoming CMX titles.
For hardcores only: At Newsarama, Brian Hibbs devotes his Tilting at Windmills column to a discussion of Diamond’s relationship with the direct market—and a possible new competitor.
I was going to link to a bunch of manga reviews but David Welsh beat me to it. Thanks, David!
Defining your terms: Fanthropology has some differing definitions of yaoi. (Via When Fangirls Attack.)
On the light novels front, Jarred Pine interviews Kara Stambach, editor of Crest of the Stars, a sci-fi novel from Tokyopop.
I hear there’s going to be a comic-con in Phoenix this weekend. This is pretty cool:
Amy Black of Mesa, a corporate sales coordinator at Borders, will be at the convention all weekend with daughter Natasha, 13. Black set up a manga group at the store in Chandler so Natasha would have a safe place to interact with other fans. Many manga titles appeal to girls with relationship-oriented plot lines instead of action.
How cool would it be to have a mom who works for Borders! And set up a book group just for you!
On the other hand, the operators of a manga cafe got in trouble recently for letting a 14-year-old boy stay there all night playing an online game. This violates a local ordinance “aimed at providing youth with a wholesome upbringing,” which bans kids under 18 from manga cafes between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. The article doesn’t say what penalty the cafe operators face, but I’m a little curious as to where the parents were when all this was going on.
At Vertical, page proofs for Ode to Kirihito are making Anne Ishii very happy.
You and David Welsh are like a shonen comic with one of you destined to be the greatest manga blogger of all time! Also I’m glad Diamond has some sort of competitor — it seems they are very controlling from the tone of my local comic book shop.
Hm, interesting to learn (at the discussion of defining YAOI) what “feminist” means in Japan.
“You and David Welsh are like a shonen comic with one of you destined to be the greatest manga blogger of all time!”
Given the number of times “via MangaBlog” appears in my content, I think I’d probably end up as that weasel-y guy from Yakitate Japan!! But I can live with that.
Nah, David has been doing this longer and he’s a better writer. I’m just a student in his dojo.