Manga

Chinese artist Xiao Bai was just presented with the Gold Award in the International Manga Awards. The prize, founded by Japan's former otaku-loving prime minister Taro Aso are presented to recognize international achievements in the manga style. Bai won for “So Far, So Close,” a time travel story about a woman who meets her own son.

Japanese publishing giant Kodansha and Dai Nippon Printing have joined up to purchase Vertical, Inc., the American publishing company that specializes in Engilsh-language versions of Japanese literature, including manga by Tezuka, Kou Yaginuma, and Felipe Smith, among others. The companies each purchased about 46 percent of the company, which has about $930,000 in capitalization.

Just to forestall a heart attack by Mike Richardson, I'll spoil the answer right here: YES. The reason the question even came up is some dissension following Dark Horse's win in the Diamond Awards for "Best Manga Publisher," which, given the wide ranging publisher programs of Viz, Yen and TokyoPop was surprising, to say the least, as Johanna explained:

Before MAUS proved that US comics could take on the most serious subjects with intelligence and dignity, the Japanese were there first. BAREFOOT GEN took on another World War II horror -- the bombing of Hiroshima -- with 10 harrowing volumes, based on the real life experiences of Keiji Nakazawa. The series -- published in 6 volumes in the US by Last Gasp -- is the subject of this month's Manga Movable Feast, hosted at A Life in Panels, but also summarized by Ed Sizemore who reviews the series at Manga Worth Reading:

This article from New Zealand goes into more detail on he thinking behind the current manga sales restrictions, and they are pretty much aimed at stopping young folks from doing anything stupid and fun, not stopping perverts. Take this from gynecologist Dr Tsuneo Akaeda, who thinks manga leads to STDs:

Hiroko Tabuchi of the NY Times has alengthy piece Japan's recent legislation banning sales of adult material to minors. Along the way there's a lot of "Only in Japan!" stuff:

Because you can't get enough surreal cartooniness today,. here's the first episode of CAT SH*T ONE, an anime version of the war in the MIddle East starring violent bunnies and camels. It's based on the manga series by Motofumi Kobayashi, which was set in the VIetnam War, but there's plenty of guerilla war to go around for reboots. Sadly, the kitty kat Viet Cong in the original are replaced by camel terrorists here.

TCAF just got even more international with the announcement that renowned manga-ka Natsume Ono will be a guest. Ono, creator of not simple, House of Five Leaves, Gente, and Ristorante Paradiso, fits squarely in the "independent spirit" mold of most of the fest's guests and provides a reminder of the artistic diversity that manga offers. However she's also a very successful artist whose Ristorante Paradiso andHouse of Five Leaves have been adapted into anime, viewable in the US on Hulu.com, Funimation.com, and Crunchyroll.com, in North America.

Last week the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the winners of the 4th Annual International Manga Award. The International Manga Award - the “Nobel Prize of manga” was created by Former Japanese Foreign...

Tokyopop has just signed a deal with Diamond Book Distributors for distribution to both comics shops and bookstores. This marks Tokyopop's return to Diamond after signing a big joint venture with HarperCollins in 2006...

Yesterday Japanese publishing giant Kodansha held an event to announce their 2011 manga plans. This was fortuitous because since they have launched their American imprint, observers have noted their output has been minimal given the depth of their catalog. In October it was announced that Del Rey Manga would end and its Kodansha licensed titles would go over to Kodansha proper, while Random House would act as distributor. With that in mind the list is quite ambitious, and includes a mix of pick-ups from Del Rey, new titles and some titles formerly licensed by other US publishers:

How do they do so many pages? Three hours of spare time a week. And we thought WE had it rough. Via Kwanza Johnson.