Here’s an important signifier of changing times, especially when it comes to the print/digital divide. Viz’s monthly manga anthology magazine Shonen Jump has been discontinued in favor of the digital Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha. The online version launched two weeks ago, while the issue cover-dated April 2012 (on sale next month) will be the last in print. The digital magazine is only available in the U.S. and Canada for now, and it requires a Flash-enabled browser or a Viz Manga […]

ANN is reporting that Kodansha will release the first book of Genshiken: Second Season in the U.S. on September 4. (There have been two volumes out so far in Japan.) It took me a couple of tries to appreciate the fan-favorite series, about an anime/manga/cosplay/videogame club, before I got the appeal, but once you know the characters, it’s a lot of fun. The first series ran nine volumes (published by Del Rey), ending with graduation. To prepare for the sequel, […]

The first four books are now available from SuBLime Manga, Viz’s yaoi manga partnership announced in November. Two of the series, Husband, Honeymoon by Haruka Minami (previously announced as Dannasama to Mitsugetsuchu) and Love Pistols by Tarako Kotobuki, have second volumes coming in February (along with another, unrelated title, making for three releases that month). The other two titles, Oku-san’s Daily Fantasies by Noboru Takatsuki and The Bed of My Dear King by Sakae Kusama, are single books. All are […]

Ed and I were joined by Lissa Pattillo and Alex Hoffman to discuss the DMP Kickstarter to publish Osamu Tezuka’s Barbara in a bonus episode of the Manga Out Loud podcast. We put this together quickly, while the topic was fresh in everyone’s mind. Our special guest is Ben Applegate, who organizes the DMP Kickstarters, and I very much appreciated his willingness to tell us more about the company’s vision for these projects, as well as providing some print run […]

Following the success of their Swallowing the Earth Kickstarter to bring a licensed title back into print, Digital Manga Publishing has launched a new Tezuka campaign. This one again breaks new ground: It will bring a previously untranslated manga by Osamu Tezuka into print in English for the first time. Barbara is about an author who brings home a drunk homeless woman. “But just as Mikura is no saint, Barbara is no benevolent guardian angel, and Mikura grows obsessed with […]

Using the same methods I used last year for the Best Manga of 2010, here are the manga I most enjoyed and anticipated this year. I’m using a highly idiosyncratic definition of “best”, based mostly on what I looked forward to, wanted to re-read, and/or was willing to buy sight unseen. I have a few subcategories, under which I’ve ranked a maximum of five titles, with #1 being best. (Although in no category could I manage to fill out all […]

Off*Beat was one of the Tokyopop OEL manga titles, a quirky series by Jen Lee Quick about a boy genius and the friend he obsesses over. Book 1 was released in 2005, with Book 2 out late 2006. In 2008 came news that the series was on indefinite hiatus. That was after Tokyopop ended a lot of those original graphic novel series, or their creators were told they wouldn’t have additional volumes published. Now, Lissa has spotted an update post […]

Digital Manga published Osamu Tezuka’s Swallowing the Earth back in 2009, and once the initial run was sold, the book went out of print. Now, they’ve set up a Kickstarter drive asking for money to reprint the book. If they raise $3,950 or more (they’re well on their way after just a day of posting), then contributors will get copies, as well as bonuses of other manga, either print or digital. Their reasoning, as posted on the site, is this: […]