There are manga that are based on video games and have had CCGs created about them, but this is the first time (that I am aware of), that a CCG is getting a graphic novel made about it! Alderac Entertainment has announced a graphic novel for it’s CCG Legend of the Five Rings. Titled Death at Koten, it follows Imperial Magistrate Seppun Tashime as he investigates the assassination of the Crab Clan Leader. It’s about time that Legend of the Five Rings got a graphic adaptation. The concept was just made for graphic novels, and shouldn’t have taken 15 years to get here! Legend of the Five Rings was born in the CCG boom, and it differentiated itself from other CCGs by having a storyline running through the game. The base set would set up a story, and then players could influence the direction of the story through voting and tournament play. It also set itself apart by being based on Asian culture instead of European or some fantasy/sci-fi universe. It takes place in the land of the Emerald Empire which is ruled by the Emerald Emperor, and the clans sworned to serve and protect him. The conflict comes from…
I was reading the latest issue of Shonen Jump (May 2009), and though I may despise it, I do read Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo. Don’t ask me why, it’s there, so I just do. So, I’m coming to the end of the chapter, and at the bottom is says next issue will be Bobobo’s final chapter in the magazine. Hurray! Finally Bobobo is leaving! There is really nothing funny about this manga. It’s the embodiment of “Stupid is as stupid does.” But then real question here is, what’s going to replace it? There hasn’t been any announcements (that I’m aware of) of any new titles going in. Tegami Bachi was just added, and nowhere in the issue is there any indication of what will be replacing it. Will they try to squeeze in another manga that will get only one chapter a month (like Yu-Gi-Oh! GX), or will this space just be filled with more Naruto? In order to keep pace with the Japanese releases of the manga, Viz will have to up the chapter count in Shonen Jump, or take Naruto out of the magazine and so they don’t have to wait. I don’t see the latter happening though. Naruto is…
John Jakala found the Inuyasha VizBig Edition on Amazon and noticed something that I didn’t see on Simon and Schuster; it says it will be left to right, just what I DIDN’T want. Greg McElhatton commented on that blog post saying he heard a rumor that all Takahashi manga was contracted for left to right reading. As stupid as that sounds, I wouldn’t be TOO suprised if it was true. But this brings up a new question. Will Takahashi’s new manga, to be released simultaneously with the Japanese be flipped as well? If Viz does have this all-encompassing contract with Takahashi that keeps all her manga in L to R, then the simultaneous release will do nothing about scanalations (if that’s their reason for it). There will still be scanalators putting out the manga in it’s correct R to L orientation. And there will still be people reading them because THAT’S HOW THEY WANT THEIR MANGA! And don’t try and tell us “that’s the way Takahashi wants it”. No it isn’t. Any creator wants their work recreated as close to the original as possible, while still being sellable. R to L sells just fine. Don’t assume that just because it’s…
Wizard has announced that it’s ending the publication of its Anime magazine, Anime Insider. This neither surprises me nor bothers me. I didn’t care for Anime Insider. The articles read like one info-mercial after another, a problem not just for this publication, but all of Wizards magazines (except maybe Toyfare). I remember back in 2005-06, there was a lot of chatter on the interwebs about it. And let’s face it, Wizard hasn’t been doing real well in the last few years. Conventions cancelled, and this is the second of their pubs to be cancelled, Inquest, their gaming mag to go first. It was only a matter of time, before a niche mag like this would see the chopping block. Of course, this isn’t just a trend in anime/manga, as some have suggested. Yes, advertising for anime and now manga has been going down in the last few years. And anime and manga mags have been biting the dust (Animerica, Newtype/PIQ, etc.). But let’s face it. This is a trend in publishing in general. Printing and distributions costs have gone up a lot, with daily/weekly publications taking the biggest hits. Newspapers are either shutting down or searching desparately to keep their…
Viz has been a great supporter of manga in the US. They were among the first companies to bring translated manga here in the form that would best reach it’s audience; flipped (read left-to-right), and in floppies. They were also smart enough to snag one of the most popular manga artists to translate; Rumiko Takahashi. Viz’s Urusei Yatsura was among the first manga-comics I ever bought. I missed out on the comic versions of Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha, as I wasn’t reading comics at the time, but when they started to collect them as graphic novels, I gave them a serious look. The biggest problem I had, and still have, is that these titles continued to come out as flipped after they discontinued the floppies. All their other books were coming out unflipped. Dragonball and Dragonball Z, titles that also came out as floppies first, got second edition reprints as unflipped. Why not Ranma and Inuyasha? Michelle Smith, blogger for soliloquy in blue, in her twitter feed, pointed out an entry at Simon and Schuster website for a VIZBIG edition for Inuyasha, scheduled for November 2009. All I can say is, ABOUT TIME! I dropped Inuyasha, even though I was…
Yes the economy is bad, but tax refunds are going out (got my Fed already), so Bookcloseouts.com is ready with a sale to help you spend it! From now until March 26th (that’s next Thursday), they are selling manga titles for .99! Admittedly, they are all Tokyopop titles, and nothing newer than last summer, but at a buck a piece, who can pass this up? Definitely check this out!
Anime News Network has an article about Viz Media having to restructure and layoff some employees in this difficult economy. In the comments to that story, of course, someone has to drag out the dead horse of piracy. Every economic problem that a manga or anime company has is not always related back to piracy. Can we get over this please? This is a tough economy right now, and things aren’t going to be getting any better any time soon. Don’t fool yourself. If Google, the giant of the online world has to lay off people, then you know this is a widespread problem. And Viz, despite it’s hugely popular properties is not immune to it. In fact, it may be hit harder than other companies. Look at Viz’s releases and schedule. They are about the only company that has several titles that come out every other month. When money gets tight, you start looking for places to cut corners, and let’s be honest, manga is a luxury item. If you have to cut down your manga order, you’re going to go for the titles you like most, and that’s not always going to fall in Viz’s favor. This economy…
A week or so ago, I wrote about trading manga and the website Mangatude. While, as some have mentioned, this doesn’t actually reduce the number of manga you have. It just switched them. But, if they were books you wanted and would have spent money on, well, it’s a good deal. But only if both players are playing by the same rules. For trading to work, there has to be some trust. When a deal is struck, you have to trust that the other person will send the book, just as they trust that you will do the same. Of course, when you make that trade, you don’t know if the person will or not. Mangatude has a rating system, so before you accept a trade, you can see what experience others have had, and this can help measure whether you’re will to make the deal. But, there is a way to beat this system, though it takes time. It’s appeared on eBay, and now it seems on Mangatude.
Found via AiCN. Gia of Anime Vice has put together a collection of fanart pictures of the Doctor, manga style. Most of the pictures are cute, and I really like the strip art on the far right with the companions. Very funny. The art features the current 10th Doctor played by David Tennant. He’s young, cute and very action oriented. He’d be the perfect subject for a manga adaptation. Especially as a bishonen, as this rendering shows (credit needed). Now would be the perfect time for the BBC to captialize on this and allow an OEL manga of the Doctor to be made. The announcement of the eleventh doctor, Matt Smith, has led to a lot of speculation, with the one that makes the most sense to me is that he will be going goth. Yes, we’ve had Victorian with the 1st and 8th Doctors, but speculation I’ve heard and seeing what he’s done in the past makes him perfect for the goth style. And it’s what’s popular with the teenage girls, a demographic Doctor Who hasn’t quite captured yet. Russell T. Davies has already given the Doctor lots of angst in his 4 year run. This just seems to…
Just a few comments about this month’s Previews catalog: Marvel/Del Rey collaboration: I have two words for the Wolverine manga; Emo Logan. Does the world REALLY NEED more emo Logan? I mean, honestly… The art looks great, I’m not gonna knock that. The Marvel catalog had some pictures of pages, and they did look nice. But this isn’t going to win anyone over from one side of the manga vs. comics camp, and really hope it was never meant to. If anything, this will probably fan the flames, but that seems to be the way Marvel likes it. Not that they want to come up with anything original…
Want to know why the Japanese model of selling anthologies without back issues won’t work in the US? This ebay auction is a pretty good indication. With 2 hours to go, the winning bid is $91.00 for Yen Plus Volume 1 issue 2, which started out at $8.99. Such outrageous extremes wouldn’t be happening if Yen Press had thought things through and had a plan for back issues. I think this is a good indication of how uneven the distribution of Yen Plus is in brick and mortar stores. I don’t think anyone in this economy would pay such a price if they were so readily available. And Collectors want their collection complete, graphic novels coming out later or not. The auction ended, by the way, at $102.50. That seller is going to have a happy Christmas. I hope it was really worth it to the buyer.
I guess Viz has faith in their chapter books line. In the Naruto line, they already have 4 books out with more scheduled for release. And honestly, as reading material for young ages 5-8, the books haven’t been bad. They have stayed true to the manga, adding embellishments that are appropriate for young ages and uses panels from the manga for illustrations. I know this probably irks older readers who don’t like to see their favorite stories “dumbed down”, but with Naruto, and now this new series I’ve found, I don’t think it’s bad, especially as a parent. As I was searching Amazon for links for my previous post, I found this listing. Dragon Ball (the first, actually good, half of the series) is getting made into Chapter books. It’s not scheduled until August 2009, and there were at least 3 more set to follow this one. Those didn’t have any cover pictures though. While Dragon Ball Z got all the hype, Dragon Ball, the part of the series that made it popular in the first place hasn’t gotten nearly the attention it deserves. The manga started here in the US when Viz was publishing floppy comics, before the graphic…