The Story of Lee is a new manga written by Sean Michael Wilson (editor, AX: Alternative Manga), drawn by Chie Kutsuwada, and published by NBM. It’s described as “the story of two people who find love despite the overwhelming differences of their cultures and families. A cross cultural relationship that is forced to confront a number of obstacles including family pressures, xenophobia, and the clash of East and West.” The creators know whereof they speak, since Wilson is a Scot […]

Last year, Digital Manga announced that they would be putting together an online guild to allow fans to assist them in translating manga in return for no money upfront but a percentage of (hopefully eventual) profits. Now Melinda Beasi will be exploring the Guild as a participant. With the company’s knowledge, she applied as an editor, took their test, and was accepted, three months later. She’ll be writing about her experience… but first, she has to find group members. Digital […]

For the purpose of this post, I’m using a highly idiosyncratic definition of “best”, based mostly on what I looked forward to and enjoyed re-reading. (This year, given the economy, I also considered whether I’d buy series volumes sight unseen, whether I was entertained enough to feel they were worth gambling the money on.) I have a few subcategories, under which I’ve ranked a maximum of five titles, with #1 being best. Links take you to reviews of the titles. […]

I noticed in early November that Tokyopop was selling print-on-demand volumes, at which point an editor from that company said “there will actually be a major announcement of this program when we’re ready to officially announce it.” Now appears to be that time — Tokyopop sent out the following press release. TOKYOPOP, the country’s leading independent manga media company, Baker & Taylor Inc., the world’s largest distributor of physical and digital books and entertainment products, and e-commerce solution leader MashON, […]

Today, Kodansha Comics announced their much-awaited lineup of manga. Since they replaced Del Rey Manga at the beginning of this month, fans have been eager to hear which ongoing series will be continuing and which new titles may be coming. The front page of the Kodansha US website currently reads as follows: The following new titles will make their English-language debut next summer: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney returns in this new manga series written by Kenji Kuroda and illustrated by […]

Here’s a weird mash-up of two things I enjoy: The Straight Dope discusses manga and anime. Unfortunately, it’s in response to the question, “What’s the deal with Japanese tentacle porn?”, which is something I do not enjoy. Gotta love the phrasing, though: “Why are there so many rapist octopuses living in the Land of the Rising Sun?” The article itself is a balanced explanation of the history and reasons behind hentai, or porn manga. Daniella Orihuela-Gruber ponders manga marketing, specifically […]

Tokyopop now has available at their online store a number of print-on-demand volumes, following up on their plans from August 2009. They’re priced at $15.99, a significant increase over the typical $10 or $11 price point, but the company has been experimenting with cover prices for a while now. The rule seems to be, the more specialized the audience, the higher price they’re expected to pay. (Previously, yaoi was the most expensive Tokyopop release.) I couldn’t find a comprehensive list […]