There was plenty to look at on the web while I was away. Some of the best bets:
American RadioWorks has a great feature on “Japan’s Pop Power” that includes insights into manga and anime. It’s nicely done, too, a good example of how you can make something more readable by using a good web interface.
In this week’s Flipped column, David Welsh takes a reluctant look at digital comics.
Out in TokyoSpace, ChunHyang72 has another great roundup of the readable and noteworthy, and Andre links to and annotates a fascinating discussion by Elin Winkler on the earlier generations of American Mangakas.
Andre also links to ADV’s Comic Party manga contest. Draw a manga, win an anime!
Speaking of contests, Love Manga kicks off its manhwa contest with a title that I just picked up and enjoyed, Audition from Drama Queen.
At the Icarus blog (which is SFW for once, but I can’t guarantee that will last), Simon talks about French hostility to manga. Simon points to this thread at The Engine for more. Nonetheless, the French BD character Spirou is apparently getting the manga treatment.
Active Anime has the goods on Del Rey’s latest announcement, Le Chevalier D’Eon. And ComiPress has info on the newest Dark Horse titles.
Also at ComiPress is this article about Futubasha possibly infringing its own copyright.
At Anime on DVD, Ed Chavez reviews Gloom Party.
I’m so glad to see Andre’s blog highlighted here. Reading his posts is like enrolling in a graduate anime/manga seminar. And if I ever competed on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Special Manga Edition,” I’d definitely want him to be one of my lifelines!
I agree, ChunHyang—and it was your blog that led me to him, so thanks!
Thanks ChunHyang and Brigid :) Elin’s discussion was really great, and summed up something that’s hard to communicate- the really long history of american manga artists, something a lot of newer fans either overlook, or writeoff.
Manga Spirou is creepy, but kind of cool! Thanks for the link. The french comics section in Chapters in New Brunswick [which is bilingual] is about 1/3 manga [the french comics section is about twice the size of the english one btw], so it’s not a big surprise to see him getting the makeover [though several Spirou features like Melusine already have subtle manga influences to them]