ANN has reported on a press release from Suncorp, a digital distribution company in Japan. Leiji Matsumoto, the creator of iconic titles such as Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, and Space Battleship Yamato, is creating an original online comic project that will appear on Nintendo Wii’s Wiiware store sometime this summer. For now, the announcement only states this will be available in Japan, but it also states that the unnamed comic “is aimed at his [Matsumoto’s] global fans.” Now, a new series from Matsumoto is exciting enough. But seeing it distributed online through the Wii is even cooler! Even though there is no official announcement of overseas distribution, the mention of how global his work is does give one hope that there will be. The Wiiware store so far only has older and/or independent games. This branching out into other medium seems to show Nintendo’s commitment to make the Wii more of an entertainment console than just gaming as originally stated. But, I do like this slower roll-out than Sony’s or Microsoft’s proclamation to take over your entertainment system with their consoles. At least with the Wii, you can also get games and demos for the DS, which…
Tokyopop, being one of the few companies to embrace the potential of online manga is doing it again. Starting this week, and until Wed. 7/2/08, you can read all of Bizenghast Volume 1 on their website. And for every week after, you can read another volume leading up to Volume 5, which will be available to read on 7/15/08 only. I got hooked on this series through reading it online. Last year Tokyopop did this for the first two volumes, for the release of the third. If you want to check out a series, reading it online is a great way to sample it. And if you do like it, buy the volumes. Online manga lets you taste the series, but having the book in your hand gives you the real experience.
Phantom Volume 4 By Ki-Hoon Lee/Seung-Yup Cho Publisher: Tokyopop Rating: 13+ Genre: Sci-Fi RRP: $9.99 Rating: Eric, Athena’s sniper, rescues the beautiful female cyborg from extermination, he holes up until he can get the evidence of Iron Corporation’s dirtiest secret, the genetically-engineered cyborgs, back to Athena’s base. Unbeknownst to him, however, the worst is yet to come as Iron unleashes their human-reptilian attack beasts to take back their lost cyborg or kill her. Unfortunately for them, Eric has rigged the whole place with traps and even though he’s badly injured in the process, manages to kill the two alpha beasts.
It’s time for another update from the Village Centre and see what’s up at Manga Village. Our reviews start off with Dan Polley cleaning up his act with The Reformed from Del Rey. John Thomas checks out a one shot from the creator of Blade of the Immortal with Ohikkoshi from Dark Horse. Charles Tan is running back to sports with Eyeshield 21 Volume 3 from Viz. And, I get a late night snack from Viz’s Yumekui Kenbun: Nightmare Inspector Volume 2. Then John has a comics craving to fill and brings us a review of the graphic novel Mouse Guard: Fall 1152. Over in our columns, we give our picks for the week from the new releases. And just because you can’t get enough of John, check out the interview he did for the podcast Anime Today #69, and find out what makes our John tick! Are you tired of waiting for me to post this? What to get your Manga Village fix as soon as it happens? The check out our new RSS feeds! You can get one for the Latest Reviews and Latest Columns. Get your news the way it was meant to be; fresh! And don’t…
I has them. At least I thought I did until I saw this forum thread. I’m way behind compared to some of these people. Maybe if I added in all my Shonen Jump and Shojo Beats… Anyway, that’s not to say my manga collection isn’t still growing. This month is going to be another tough Previews order. There are a lot of not just manga but comic books that are coming out that look good. A new Doctor Who (10th Doctor), a new Fathom series, and I new Voltron in addition to the titles I’ve already added over the last few months: Madame Xanadu, Indiana Jones, and Chuck.
Kat & Mouse Volume 1: Teacher Torture Story by Alex de Campi / Art by Federica Manfredi Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: 8+ (Tween) Genre: Mystery Price: $5.99 Rating: What is the story about? Kat moves in to a new city and a new school. She meets someone named Mouse and makes friends with her. What did you like about the story? I liked Kat and Mouse’s style. I liked the story. It was ineresting. There was a weird mystery going on. I thought the experiment would be fun to do. What did you dislike about the story? There was nothing I disliked about the story. Would you recommend the story to kids your age? Yes.
Eagle : The Making of an Asian-American President Volume 2 By Kaiji Kawaguchi Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Drama/Politics Rating: Teen+ (16+) Price: $19.99/used only Rating: In this second volume of Kenneth Yamaoka’s campaign to be come president, more time is spent on his past, and what could have make him the person he is now. The politics takes a backseat for the first third of the volume as Takashi meets with Yamaoka’s sister, getting a touching, sentimental image of the Senator. Yamaoka quickly squashes that image with stories from Viet Nam. Takashi’s doubts about Yamaoka killing his mother return. The importance of family starts to become a major theme with this volume, as Takashi struggles to figure out how he fits in. He has strong feelings for Rachel, and finds common ground with Alex, but Yamaoka’s intentions are still a mystery.
Everyone’s back for this week’s reviews and picks! Charles Tan start off, and he has seen the light and is Reborn! Volume 3 from Viz. Dan Polley gets down with a little Yozukura Quartet Volume 2 from Del Rey. I got a Love*Com Volume 6 from Viz, while John loses it with MPD-Psycho Volume 5 from Dark Horse. We’ve got our picks for the week, and I’ve written an article on the Tokyopop situation (I know, not another one). But I did this more in a Mythbusting vein than just trying to rehash old news. And don’t forget to check out the Good Comics for Kids Blog and my new releases list for all ages comics this week.
Pick of the Litter Volume 2 By Yuriko SudaPublisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen Genre: Comedy/Fantasy Price: $9.99 Rating: Satsuki pays an unexpected visit to Riku at his School. His mission: deliver a family picture to Riku and investigate what rival store Echigoya is doing in Japan. Meanwhile, for Riku’s birthday, Ichiya shows Riku his old room before he disappeared. But is it really his room? And if not, what is Ichiya trying to hide? A trip down memory lane promises to bring Riku closer to the truth about his mysterious family! The questions about Riku’s past become the driving theme of this volume. What did happen to him 5 years ago, and why doesn’t anyone want to talk about it? The return of a sixth brother who drops mysterious hints about what happened spurs Riku’s need to know.
It’s a goth week at Manga Village this week, where dark side is reigning supreme (mostly). Let’s get the little ray of sunshine out of the way, with Suzuka Volume 8 from Del Rey Manga by Dan Polley. Then John Thomas starts us done the dark path with Blood+ Volume 2 from Dark Horse. I finish up the gothic horror/suspense series with the last volume of Godchild Volume 8 from Viz. Then Charles Tan takes us on a final tour of the Museum of Terror Volume 3 from Dark Horse. Over on our columns, we have our picks for the week to lighten your wallet in Manga Village Picks ‘n Mix. And don’t forget to check out Good Comics for Kids, where I have the weekly comics list and picks for all ages, and Katherine Dacey of Pop Culture Shock has a review of the Dark Horse series Dayan.
For a weekend, the news has been unusually busy. I open up Thunderbird, and find that 2 Tokyopop titles are not going to be printed. Rivkah has announced on her Livejournal blog that her series Steady Beat Volume 3 will not get a published book release, but will be put up as a web comic. Bettina Kurkoski has reported on her Deviant Art page the same for her series My Cat Loki, except she’s not even getting online publishing (Wah! I liked MCL! 🙁 ). So, what does this mean for Tokyopop’s Global manga?
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation Volume 2 By Yoshiyuki Nishi Publisher: Viz Media Genre: Supernatural/Action Rating: Teen Price: $7.99 Rating: Muhyo and Roji head to the Magic Law Association for Roji’s promotion exam, where a series of bizarre incidents turn out to be the handiwork of Muhyo’s old nemesis, Enchu! New characters and information about Muhyo’s past and his connection to Enchu are revealed in this volume, setting the conflict for the first major arc of this series.