This is something that’s been wondering around in the back of my mind for a while now, but found a voice on Twitter this week. With the news of Del Rey’s cancellation of their X-Men manga reboots, the question came up asking if Del Rey was having problems. That seems a very valid question. A look at Del Rey’s sporadic release schedule and the fact that they’ve gone to releasing omnibuses to complete some series’ does suggest problems. But that wasn’t my take. Del Rey is a division of Random House, one of the power house publishers, so I don’t think it’s a financial problem. I think it’s more of an attention span issue.
Lucia is the new girl at school. She and her sister run a public bath that’s all the rage. When Lucia meets a terrific-looking surfer boy, there’s just one little problem: Lucia is a mermaid–not just any mermaid, but a princess on an important mission to save the seven seas from an evil force bent on taking control of the marine world. Such a responsibility doesn’t leave much time for romance. But Lucia vows to protect her world and win the heart of handsome Kaito. By Pink Hanamori Publisher: Del Rey Age Rating: Teen Genre: Fantasy/Romance Price: $10.95 Rating: Buy This Book This series is a a magical girl-fantasy-romance. Mermaids exist and live in the seven seas. Each sea has a princess with a pearl that gives them special powers. For not only can mermaids appear as human and walk on land, the princesses can transform into Idols, microphones and all. This series centers around three of the princesses. Lucia is the pink Princess of the North Pacific. She has come to land to find her pearl before her coming of age ceremony. She gave it to a boy she saved from a ship wreck when she was young. Hanon…
Anime Boston/Wondercon Roundups Two comics/manga related cons occurred this last weekend. On the West Coast was Wondercon, the smaller, younger brother of SDCC, located in San Francisco. While more comics based, it seems Hollywood is taking every opportunity to jump on the popculture bandwagon. Manga related, Viz Media had a booth, as did CMX, Last Gasp, and EigoManga. Deb Aoki of Manga.About.com has an overview of the con as well as links to other coverage. Over on the East Coast, Anime Boston took place. While mostly an anime con, many manga bloggers attended and even held panels. Vertical, Inc. had a panel, and Ed Chavez, marketing director for Vertical as well as creator of Mangacast hosted a panel of manga bloggers. The big news from the Vertical panel was the license of a title from a mangaka once published by Viz Media. Calling it “Manga Series R” the clue is that the “R” refers to either the mangaka’s name or manga’s title. I voting (hoping) its Leiji/Reiji Matsumoto. Brigid Alverson has a full rundown of the Vertical panel at Robot 6, and you can hear the audio from the Manga Mania panel by scrolling down to the Ninja Consultant’s like…
So, I fell behind on Shonen Jump. It’s been an eventful month or so. But, I’m caught up now, and ready to share by insights on the last two issues. The magazine has some new features, but no new permanent series to replace Yu Yu Hakusho. I really hope they don’t keep this trend going. One Piece, Naruto, Bleach and Ultimo are not enough to hold my attention for an extended length of time. I’d rather go to waiting for GNs for the few titles I want than to continue to sludge through some of these chapters month after month. One thing of interest I noticed as I was tossing the insert subscription cards. Shonen Jump is now offering 6 month subscriptions, just like Yen Plus. SJ‘s are less expensive, obviously, but with the current SJ line up, the Yen Plus subscription definitely feels like the better deal right now.
It’s the social season, and 17 year old Emma heads to London, with her family’s hope of finding a rich husband weighing heavily on her shoulders. One night, a mysterious man approaches her. A refined handsome face, curly black hair and deep blue eyes… Emma falls in love at first sight and shares with him her first kiss. 12 years later and now a widow, Emma visits the Earl of Greyston to discuss the marriage of her stepdaughter. It is the Earl’s younger brother who is betrothed to her stepdaughter, but the Earl never shows himself. While staying there, Emma spots the man she kissed all those years ago in a portrait on the wall…! by Karin Miyamoto, Gayle Wilson Publisher: DMP/eManga/Harlequin K.K./SOFTBANK Creative Corp. Age Rating: 16+ Genre: Historical, Romance Price: $4.99 Kindle/Digital Edition Rating: I’m not a big romance fan, but when I was given the chance to read some of the Harlequin romances from DMP, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. For the most part, I found the stories to be entertaining but formulaic. One story did stand out; Prisoner of the Tower. This is a historical romance that hits all the right…
When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret… By Stephenie Meyer; Art & Adaptation by Young Kim Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Teen Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $19.99 Rating: Buy This Book INTRO: The book I’m reviewing now is called Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 1. I think I regret reading this, and I may never touch it again after setting my eyes upon it. But hey, as long as I’m allowed to bash it for what it is, I’m cool. Anyways, let’s talk about what the story is about.
Reprint-a-thon Tokyopop, after serious reduction in their catalog, has been slowly building it back up. Part of that build up is a reprinting of older titles that had become scarce, and difficult for fans to get a hold of. Now, fans no longer have to hunt high and low, go to trading sites or bid up to ungodly prices to get volumes of their favorite series’ as they reappear back in print. I’m of two minds about manga as a collectible. While I understand that demand can set the market price, is there really such a demand for titles to justify prices up in the $100s? Or is that just greed? As much as I enjoy my manga, it’s not enough to ever justify that kind of pricing, so kudos to Tokyopop for thinking of the fans and making these books available again. Bento Comics To Go A bunch of former Tokyopop creators and employees have gotten together and created a really interesting website. Bento Comics is a place where you can read comics online from creators like Queenie Chan and Svetlana Chmakova. Then, if you want to keep the stories, you can choose your favorites and create your own…
Playing pranks is nothing new, and April Fool’s Day, which started out as a European tradition has spread all over the world, with nearly every country practicing some form of it. While there are no manga based on this particular holiday, there are a few where playing tricks to fool the characters or the reader are at the heart of the story.