The Viz Media panel was the only manga related panel I chose to go for a few reasons. One, we were short on time since we were commuting, Thursday only had two that held any relation to manga, and none of industry, and I wasn’t impressed with the Shonen Jump Panel last year. It was all cheer leading, and no real news. And they tricked me this year! Last year the Viz industry panel was on Thursday, thus one of the impetus to change to going on Thursday. Instead, they put both the Viz panels on Friday, and nothing on Thursday! Why SDCC??
Well, we got through another day, filled with even more people and more lines. Yesterday, we had to spend an hour in line and just barely got to see the Dexter panel. Today, it took 30-45 minutes on the shuttle to get to the convention center. We got there at 10:15, and was 30 minutes early to see the Stargate panels. We were able to get in only because they were the first panels of the day, and we still were in the back. We waited for only 1/2 hour for the Viz Media panel, but were still at the back, and was totally denied from going to the MST3K 20th Anniversary panel. Over an hour before the panel, and the line was already filled to capacity for the room. We REAAAAALLLLLYYY wanted to go to that one. We’ve been fans for over a decade!
Well, we survived the first day of the Con. It was crowded, as I predicted, and it’s only the first day! Moving through the Exhibit Hall was difficult at times and nearly all the panels had a minimum 1 hour wait, and you still weren’t guaranteed to get in. We ended up missing the Doctor Who/Torchwood panel, so instead we spent most of the day in the Exhibit Hall. We took lots of pictures, and I’ll be posting some throughout the weekend. I stopped by most of the manga publishers tables, and I have to say, I’m pretty disappointed. Especially Viz. Last year, they had lots of manga for sale, so I could catch up on titles that I had fallen behind on. Heaven knows no one brings manga to a comic con. Who would want to buy comics at a Comic Con? This year, they decided to just push certain titles (Black Lagoon, One Pound Gospel, Vampire Knight, Bleach Collector Edition and the Shonen Jump Fifth Anniversary Collector’s Edition). It was a real letdown. They had other things going on at their booth. There was wall for people to post post-its with messages for Tite Kubo, a basketball hoop…
To the San Diego Comic Con. It’s our annual summer vacation trip that we share with 40,000+ other fans. Unfortunately is always feels like ALL 40,000 are in the Exhibit room at the same time… Oh well. Hopefully this year there will be better crowd control. And we go for the panels just as much as the shopping. At least Brian and I do. The girls have DSes to keep them busy. So Doctor Who, Stargate, and an MST3K reunion! Whoo Hoo! (Yes, I’ve been an MiSTie since CC’s second season.) And of course the manga. There’s certainly plenty of it spread around the Exhibit room. Panels are sparcer this year than I remember last year. Anyway, if we can get the WiFi in our hotel room working, I’ll post some thoughts Thursday and Friday night. I know there’s going to be Wifi at the con, but I’m not lugging my laptop around in addition to all my purchases. It’s not like there won’t be plenty of others giving you the scoops. I’ll just do the commentary afterwards. I can’t wait to see what Tokyopop’s “viral marketing” is going to be. They were looking for volunteers who were going to…
The denizens of our village have harvested another batch of manga reviews for your enjoyment. Have a seat at the Inn, order some saki. Charles Tan brings Hayate Combat Butler Volume 7 from Viz to serve you. Dan Polley gets a cut above with Pumpkin Scissior Volume 3 from Del Rey. John Thomas may be a little unstable with Kujibiki Unbalance Volume 1 from Del Rey. And I don’t mind bareing my neck for Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 from Digital Manga Publishing. Then check the menu for our weekly picks. You might be surprised by what we choose! And if that still isn’t enough for you, head on over to Good Comics for Kids, to see my latest picks for All Ages Comics, and Sabrina has her picks of Web comics. There’s lots of good stuff, so check it out!
From the Great Ideas Dept: John Thomas over at Mecha Mecha Media takes another look at Light Novels in the US and comes up with a GREAT new name for them: J-Pulp. I think this is a perfect name for them! It describes them exactly as they are meant to be. Short prose books meant to kill a few hours. And it’s a term book retailers and publishers can understand. They aren’t meant to be high literature, nor shoved into the foreign books section (is that really a category in bookstores?) It’s all about the genre. Get the light novels with the other novels they fit into best; Ghost in the Shell and Vampire Hunter D in the Sci Fi/Fantasy section. Then at the end of the novel, mention that the manga series is available for more stories, etc. If you’re not going to tell anyone about these book except the people who already know about them (don’t get me started on the incestuous relationship manga and anime keep cultivating), then at least get them into places where non-manga fans might stumble on them and decide to find out more.
The Kindaichi Case Files, Vol. 16: The Magical Express Story: Yozaburo Kanari, Art: Fumiya Sato Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Teen Genre: Mystery Price: $9.99 Rating: Kindaichi is summoned to examine a mysterious note declaring that a train bound for Hokkaido will be transformed into a “magic train of death.” When Kindaichi boards the train to investigate the threat, he meets members of a magic troupe who perform on the train. But as the magicians go missing before they can complete their tricks, it’s up to Kindaichi to uncover the identity of “Hell’s Puppeteer” — who has announced that he has planted a bomb aboard the train. Is this the end of the line for Kindaichi? What was supposed to be a trip to police headquarters for a commendation turns into another tantalizing mystery from Kindaichi. A package has arrived at the police station containing a twisted marionette and note promising magic and death on a train to Hokkaido. Kindaichi, Miyuki, Kenmochi and videographer Saki get on the train, where the Magic & Illusion Troupe perform on the way to Shikotsu-ga-hara to the hotel and theater at the end of the line. The first murder happens on the train. The Troupe’s…
What I’ve been dreading has finally become official: Kindaichi Case Files has been canceled. As part of Tokyopop’s slashing, the January 2009 solicitation of volume 18, Burial Francs, is on the list. I was hoping against hope that this title would some how survive, since it was one of the few good titles Tokyopop had to offer. Even though it’s a shonen title, it’s mysteries could keep an adult guessing. Engaging characters and intriguing mysteries made this a series a must for mystery aficionados. Even though I love mysteries, I didn’t pick up Kindaichi immediately. Wanna know why? Because Tokyopop can’t market a title properly to save their life! When this series first came out, they advertised it as a Japanese “Scooby Doo”, emphasizing the supernatural parts over the mystery. That was a failure on so many levels. Kids looking for short, quick mysteries with goofy characters would be disappointed, and people looking for a good murder mystery series (like me) would avoid it like the plague. I’m not quite sure what made me pick up the series. I think I just kept seeing it in our local Waldens Books, and finally gave it a real look over. I bought…
We’ve been hard at work at Manga Village, bringing you another great round of reviews. Dan Polley masters the creepy-crawlies with Mushishi Volume 4 from Del Rey. Charles Tan is spiking Eyeshield 21Volume 4 from Viz Media. John Thomas checks out some stomach turning sci-fi with Gantz Volume 1 from Dark Horse. And I’ve got some historical shojo with Kaze Hikaru Volume 9 from Viz Media. We’ve also got our weekly picks up in the columns section, as well as a special announcement in Manga Village News. Webcomic creators should take special notice! And for the kids, there’s a new All Ages Comics list for this week up at Good Comics for Kids. So start making with the clickee!
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai By Ryo Takamisaki Publisher: Viz Media/VizKids Age Rating: All Ages Genre: Game/TV Tie-in/Action Price: $7.99 Rating: Storyline: Ash and his friends have discovered that they’re walking toward the ancient Alamos Town after befriending a girl named Alice. Once they’ve arrived, they find out that the sacred garden of Alamos town has been ransacked, the mysterious Darkrai appears, appearantly not pleased and tells Ash and everyone else to leave immediately. Strange things have been happening as well… What I liked about this manga: Practically everything. The best parts were Brock (he’s so loveable) and the Palkia, Dialga and Darkrai battle scenes. Being that I’m a great Pokemon fan, that adds to the liking of this manga. What I did not like about this manga: Almost nothing. The great graphics and how it’s extremely alike to the movie makes it hard not to like the manga. Although, the character’s scripts make it really obvious to what just happened. It makes me want to say “Dur da durrr.” Nope, not even a script change. Baron Alberto is quite annoying, however.
I know, I’m late again. But holidays will do that. Anyway, despite my slowness, the rest of the gang got their reviews up on time! John Thomas didn’t fall to pieces and got his review of Dororo Volume 2 from Vertical out on time. I take a walk down memory lane with High School Girls Volume 9 from DR Masters. And Charles Tan hefts a Claymore Volume 12 for some monster fighting action from Viz. Then, we’ve got our weekly picks up, giving you a checklist of what to by for your summer reading. And over at Good Comics For Kids, I’ve got my latest picks for All Ages.
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai By Ryo Takamisaki Publisher: Viz Kids Age Rating: A (All Ages) Genre: Game/TV tie-in/Action Price: $7.99 Rating: What is the story about? It’s about Ash, Pikachu, and Darkrai. Darkrai fights both Dialga and Palkia before he disappears into space. What did you like about the story? I liked the fight against Dialga and Palkia. I also like the pokemon Dialga. What did you dislike about the story? I hate it when Baron turned into Lickilicky, because it is freaky. I also hate the way they drew Infernape. Would you recommend the story to kids your age? Yes.