Two from Mizuki at D&Q
Drawn & Quarterly expands its gekiga offerings with the announcement of two new books from manga-ka Shigeru Mizuki, one of the most famed cartoonists in Japanese history. (Above image from Drawn, not from either announced project.) Shigeru is known as the master of the macabre yōkai tradition, but the two books that D&Q are [...]
Continue ReadingDel Rey update
In the recent manga cutbacks, one company has remained conspicuous by their silence — Del Rey’s manga line, mostly licensed from Kodansha, has been quietly downsizing for months, with fewer and fewer titles coming out, and an increased emphasis on their home-made manga-like books, such as their Avatar graphic novels. In addition, it is [...]
Continue ReadingSD10: Vertical Comics B03
US-Japanese publisher Vertical spotlights creator Felipe Smith at the show with his, er, bold series PEEPO CHOO (which is NOT an all-ages book). PEEPO CHOO has been pubished in Japan but is now coming to the US. Here's the schedule:
Continue ReadingSD10: Fanfare/Ponent Mon #2102
Literary manga house Fanfare/ Ponent Mon pubishes some of the finest comics in the world. This year they have their first ever special guest, 3 times Eisner nominated Émile Bravo who will be signing as follows:
Continue ReadingManga eyes worry feds
The New York Times reports on the new manga eye fad, popularized by Lady Gaga, of giant contacts that make you look like an anime freak. These lenses might be just another beauty fad if not for the facts that they are contraband and that eye doctors express grave concern over them. It is illegal [...]
Continue ReadingWatch this: Masters of Manga
Masters of Manga is a new web project by translator Marc Bernabé with interviews with such giants as Moto Hagio, Urasawa, Tako Saito and more many. First up, Hideshi Hirata (known for thre gekiga samurai yarn Satsuma Gishiden) and Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina, Negima.) BOOKMARK MUST.
Continue ReadingNew manga supergroup to take on pirates
There’s a new superteam in town, Calvin Reid reports at Publishers Weekly — brought together to face a mighty foe that threatens our very existence. Or to put it another way, manga publishers have realized that they cannot defeat the scanlation monster alone, and they might have a better chance together. The thirty-six members of the [...]
Continue ReadingSomeone at DC really, really hated CMX
Comics, wake up! The call is coming from inside the house!
Continue ReadingMore on the rise and fall of manga
Rich Johnson's thoughtful post on the Manga Era of comics has drawn some equally thoughtful responses. Brigid Alverson found much to agree with, but also took issue with some of Johnson's conclusions, including the importance of piracy:
Continue ReadingCMX demise draws ire — UPDATED WITH MORE IRE
The news that DC was shutting down its CMX manga line drew a surprisingly caustic reaction across the web, as summed up by Johanna Draper Carlson. Now, we're well aware that there is a very vocal bunch of online fans who love to bash DC no matter what they do -- if someone at DC used a firehose to put out a fire, these fans would complain DC was wasting precious water. However these complaints were from manga commenters and librarians, a usually less volcanic crowd. But they were near-universal in their disappointment that DC had shut down a line that seemed to be hanging in there despite rarely getting any attention or promotion
Continue ReadingMAY BEAT GIVEAWAY FRENZY #1: Museum of Terror by Junji Ito
As we mentioned a few days ago, Publishers Weekly (where I still edit part time) is moving offices at the end of the month, and it’s time for yet ANOTHER office cleaning, and this time YOU, dear reader, are the beneficiary. We’ll be giving stuff away every day at 6 pm EDT every day for [...]
Continue ReadingEndangered otaku in Queens
By the time the New York Times gets around to spotting a trend, that usually means it's something your grandma loves. IN this case, the recent manga implosion gives this New York Times spotlight on manga something of a more urgent undertone. The story focuses on budget cuts in the Queens library system, where the kids -- of widely diverse ethnicities -- have embraced the manga:
Continue ReadingMore on Viz and the future of manga
Ever since the cutbacks at Viz on Monday, the online chatter has been surprisingly quiet. People close to the situation have mainly been in shock, and while the idea that Viz is “too big to fail” has been foremost among American manga commenters, we’re sure we’re not the only ones whose thoughts — after sending [...]
Continue ReadingViz layoff reactions
As word of the layoffs at Viz spread yesterday -- 60 people laid off and the entire New York branch closed -- the reaction around the industry, at least as expressed by Twitter and Facebook status updates -- was complete and utter shell shock. Viz personnel we contacted for confirmation were devastated. While the exact cause of the downsizing and the effects it will have on Viz's publishing plans are just emerging, a few manga reporters were commenting:
Continue ReadingTWILIGHT: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL “smashes sales records,” pleases fans
Via PR, the Twilight: The Graphic Novel adaptation released last week sold over 66,000 copies, which publisher Yen Press claims is a record for single week GN sales in the US. The sales success comes in the face of generally bad reviews from the comics press, especially for the bizarro lettering. Yet despite these flaws, [...]
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