Dark Metro Volume 1 Story by Tokyo Calen; Art by Yoshiken Publisher: Tokyopop Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $9.99 Rating: What lies below Tokyo’s subway system is more frightening than you could have ever imagined…in its subways there exists a boundary between this world and the next–the land of the dead, and the mysterious young man Seiya is its guide. In this collection of bone-chilling shorts, follow the twisted tales of death and hauntings that inhabit this horrifying underworld, where innocent youth fall victim to the ghosts who inhabit Tokyo’s underground. Dark Metro is a title in a category all it’s own. It’s not a come-uppance theater title, as the main characters in the stories aren’t bad. They are just ordinary people experiencing the supernatural in Tokyo’s subways. But it’s not like the Twilight Zone, as Seiya, the guide to the underworld, doesn’t narrate the stories either. He possesses the power to decide who lives and who dies in the subway, just appearing somewhere in the story to save the protagonist from whatever horror is after them. This title falls through the cracks of horror genre and should probably stay there.
We’ve made a few changes at Manga Village. First and foremost, it that you can now enjoy manga and comics reviews M-F! You will find a new review every day. And don’t just check the manga. John’s been busy with some comics reviews. So check them out while they’re hot! This weeks starts out with Charles Tan finishing the horror title Gyo Volume 2 from Viz. I bring some rockin’ Pirate action with One Piece Volume 18 from Viz. John Thomas is in a daze with Ghost Talker’s Daydream Volume 1 from Dark Horse. Dan Polley has a seasonal review of Shiki Tsukai Volume 3 from Del Rey. Over in our columns section, we have our usual picks for the week. Come see where our money goes. And then there’s a new monthly feature that we’re calling Manga of the Month. At the beginning of the month, we will vote on our favorite titles from the top scores of the previous month. Check out our best of the best! Then head on over to Good Comics For Kids and check out my picks for week. It’s an all manga edition, so be there or be square!
AS I promised, here are a few reviews of some Tokyopop titles. There won’t be too many more though, as they keep canceling my favorite titles. I’m down at least three titles so far, and the bad news just keeps coming… Oh well, I’ll just have to enjoy what I’ve for as long as it lasts.
I have no doubt about that now, after going through the Previews for July. I’ve been able to keep my ordering down, and mostly reasonable by counting on my “must have” series’ not coming up in the same month. Until this month. And it’s all Viz’s fault.
The Japanese are at it again… Digital manga via Nintendo devices is in the news again. This time though, it’s from the people that it matters most; the manga publishers. From a news article from Manga Jouhou, the four largest manga publishers Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan have formed a joint venture with a software house that will bring digital manga to the Wii console. The venture is called Librica and is the first serious step from the creators of the content to bring to a wider audience.
I’ve added a new page to help parents (or anyone else interested) in finding all ages manga from all the manga publishers available. Publishers don’t make it very obvious which of their books are for everyone. Sometimes I had to dig two or three pages deep to find it. So, I decided to make this page so that there’s all in one place. Keep checking the page, as I will update it as I find more new manga. I’ll also let you know of any updates here. So click the link above, or check the Pages in the sidebar or on top the site. Viz will have a lot coming out in 2009, which is nice to here. It would be nice to see publishers like Del Rey and Yen Press, get some more books out. Broccoli Books and Netcomics surprised me with their selection. Netcomics even has some BL they rate as for all ages. I don’t know if I want to start the kids on that… Go Comi was another surprise, as they had no All Ages books at all.
The Palette of 12 Secret Colors By Nari Kusakawa Publisher: CMX Age Rating: E Genre: Fantasy/slice of life Price: $9.99 Rating: On the island of Opal live the world’s most colorful birds. The birds have attracted a school for aspiring “Palettes” – wizards who have the ability to borrow color from one object and paint its qualities on to another. Young Cello has the potential to be a great Palette, but she just can’t seem to control her power. As the end of freshman year approaches, she’s on the verge of failing, so she’s going to need all the help her bird Yoyo can provide. The Palette of 12 Secret Colors is the sort of book you would want to read on a summer day. It’s slice of life approach to Cello’s adventures on a tropical island makes for perfect light reading. It also makes for excellent reading for younger readers.
It’s a double dose of Manga Village reviews this week, since i was so busy with SDCC (and recovering from) that I forgot to post them last week! SDCC was fun, except for the crowds, which don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Some things are still worth fighting the crowds for though. On to reviews! Dan Polley gets things started with Kasumi Volume 1 from Del Rey. John Thomas has some Me and the Devil Blues Volume 1also from Del Rey, and then runs into a Tokyo Zombie from Last Gasp. Charles Tan checks out Puri Puri Volume 5 from DR Masters and runs for Eyeshield 21 Volume 5 from Viz. I finally review Nana Volume 10 and 11 from Viz. We still managed to get our picks in as well, for manga coming out 7/23/08 and 7/30/08. Not that there was much to pick from. I guess publishers knew no one would want to spend any money before SDCC, and would have none left after. And if you think the manga lists are paltry, wait until you see the All Ages Comcs lists for 7/23/08 and 7/30/08. I still managed to find some picks, but man, was…
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…