Per the official Tokyopop Manga Twitter account, the question was asked at last weekend’s Anime Expo convention whether Tokyopop would consider returning rights to the creators for the OEL manga (original graphic novels) they are holding onto. The two-part answer was … the creators need to come to him to get the rights back. He can’t track them all down. And since they all have contracts, there will need to be some negotiations. But it’s not like Stu won’t give […]

The always-smart Christopher Butcher has posted some thoughts about professional publishers using Kickstarter. He’s referring to Digital Manga, which is putting out works by Osamu Tezuka using the crowdfunding site. They started by bringing Swallowing the Earth back into print, then listed a new license, Barbara (not a book previously published by them). Their newest effort is Unico, a color children’s series. Chris has collected a set of his thoughts on the topic, of which these are only a few. […]

JManga, an authorized portal selling access to translated manga, launched in August of last year. They’ve been remarkably open to feedback, and although open less than a year, they’ve recently made some significant requested changes. On Thursday, their official Twitter account posted two announcements that address issues with user satisfaction. Starting immediately, points will no longer expire (although they have yet to update their FAQ to match). Also, previously, you got points when you subscribed, and more every month you […]

Following in the path of the Hetalia 3 announcement, Tokyopop and RightStuf.com have announced a second print-on-demand title continuation. M. Alice LeGrow’s Bizenghast volume 8 will be available in July for $15.99; preorders can now be made at the discount price of $10.99. Bizenghast was one of the most popular OEL titles from Tokyopop, and the previous volume came out at the end of June 2010. Based on this cover image, the design will match previous volumes, including the Tokyopop […]

After ceasing as a publisher a year ago, Tokyopop started making noises last September about bringing back one of their most popular titles, Hetalia. Now, in conjunction with online retailer RightStuf.com, comes the actual announcement. Right Stuf announced that, through a special arrangement with Japanese publisher Gentosha Comics and TOKYOPOP, it will be offering manga fans the opportunity to purchase Hetalia Axis Powers, Volume 3, in English-translated book form for the first time ever, as well as reprints of the […]

There are 10 books in the Bakuman series out in the U.S. so far, and I’ve been enjoying them. Now, via ANN, comes news that the creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata have announced that their last chapter will be published in Japan next week on April 23. The final book will be Volume 20, on sale in their home country in July. So, as Americans, we’re only halfway there, with plenty more books to come before we see the […]