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Author Archive for Lissa Pattillo

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – February 6, 2013

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

So, last week? Not much manga. This week? Wooooow on the manga! So, so much! Where do we start? Where do we begin? How am I possibly going to carry home all the books I hope to buy tomorrow!? Hard to complain about an issue like that though I suppose.

With new volumes of Bleach, GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, Negima!, Pokemon, Sailor Moon and many more, you can check out my write-up for this week’s On The Shelf at Otaku USA.

Ai Ore (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus & Liars Game (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bleach 3-in-1 (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bleach (Vol.55) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Dawn of the Arcana (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Devil & Her Love Song (Vol.07) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Fairy Tail (Vol.23) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Genshiken Omnibus (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (Vol.07) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Haganai: I Have No Friends (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kamisama Kiss (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Naruto 3-in-1 (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Naruto (Vol.60) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Negima! (Vol.37) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Nura Rise of the Yokai Clan (Vol.13) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
One Piece 3-in-1 (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokemon Adventures Platinum (Vol.07) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sailor Moon (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Sengoku Basara Samurai Legends (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Skip Beat (Vol.30) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Slam Dunk (Vol.26) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Stepping on Roses (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Tegami Bachi (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Tenjo Tenge (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Toriko (Vol.14) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]

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Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Alice in the Country of..., Bleach, Dawn of the Arcana, Haganai, Kamisama Kiss, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Negima, Nura Rise of the Yokai Clan, One Piece, Otaku USA, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Skip Beat, Slam Dunk, Toriko, UDON, Vertical Inc, Viz Media

Back in Off*Beat Business: An Interview With Jen Lee Quick

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

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Back in January I was able to share the news that Jen Lee Quick’s Off*beat series would be going back to print, and with the long-awaited third volume finally being released after some long legal struggles. Today I’m pleased to say that not only do we now have more details about these upcoming books but also an interview with the creator herself!

Jen Lee Quick, comic artist and creator off Off*beat, and the staff of the newly announced, Chromatic Press – the publishing company behind the series’ new editions – were kind enough to organize an interview for me so I could ask some questions about the past, present and future of one of my favourite graphic novel series.

You can read the full interview after the cut, as well as see a bonus Off*beat image by Jen drawn just for this interview!

Toss It To The Hounds – Kodansha Comics Licenses Sherlock Bones

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, February 4, 2013

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Kodansha Comics‘ first new license of the year is out and it combines two of my favourite things – Sherlock Holes and puppies!

Sherlock Bones – Yuma Ando & Yuki Sato

The story of Sherlock Bones follows a young man who adopts a dog from the pound only to (somehow) discover the dog is the reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes. Armed with the dog’s deductive reasoning, the two of them begin solving crimes around the city.

Now I’ve typed out synopsis for a lot of manga series in Kuriousity’s six year history, but I have to say that this one is definitely one of the silliest. Sherlock Holmes reincarnated as a crime solving puppy?! But what can I say, I’m really curious. It sounds so cute! This is the first time the author Yuma Ando has had a work translated into English, but Yuki Sato’s work, Yokai Doctor, was previously released by DelRey.

A listing for Sherlock Bones originally popped up on Amazon late this past Friday (US/CAN), and has since appeared on Random House’s website, the distributor for Kodansha Comics. The book is scheduled for release in September 2013 for the standard Kodansha Comics book price of $10.99/US, $11.99/CAN.

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Kodansha Comics, Manga, Sherlock Holmes

SuBLime Celebrates Anniversary with New Manga Licenses

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, February 1, 2013

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SuBLime celebrated their one year anniversary yesterday. It was on January 31st, 2012 that SuBLime released it’s first digital books, including volume one of their re-release of Love Pistols. Happy book-day, SuBLime!

In honour of their one year of boys’ love, they’ve announced their acquisition of some more. The following two books (which are featured in the picture above) have been licensed for print and digital releases:

Man of Tango – Tetuzoh Okadaya
September 2013

Tableau Numéro 20 – est em
October 2013

If Tetuzoh Okadaya’s Man of Tango looks familiar, that’s because the now defunct Deux Press had licensed the title back in 2008. It’s great to see such a classy looking book get a second chance!

“Angie, though hailed as “The Man of Tango,” had never truly felt the deep, fiery passion of Latin dance. That is, until he met Hiro, a man born from a Latin mother, who was under his Japanese grandfather’s custody and now lives as a Japanese citizen. Now, a slow, seething desire begins to rock his body and soul! At first feeling a nostalgic familiarity toward the Latin dancer, Hiro finds himself drawn into the seductive beat of a Latin dance, opening his body and heart to the smoldering heat of his Tango partner.” – Deux Press

Tableau Numéro 20 is a collection of short stories by est em, whose other works released in English include Seduce Me After The Show and Age Called Blue.

SuBLime also announced four additional licenses that would be digital only:

Perfect Training – Kanpeki na Shiiku & Yuiji Aniya (June 2013)
Sweet Monster – Amasugi Monster & Tsubaki Mikage (June 2013)
Pretty Men Fighting Dirty – Otokomae Dorowars! & Sakira (July 2013)
Lost Letters – Yagi-san Yuubin & Sakae Kusama (August 2013)

Though some of us weep at the lack of print availability, all of these titles seem worth a look based on those covers, and the quality of SuBLime’s digital releases are really good too. For the collectors, SuBLime also announced a sale with RightStuf.com – all their print books are 40% if you purchase two or more. Nice!

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Digital, est em, Manga, SuBLime

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – January 30, 2013

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, January 31, 2013

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January’s going out with a bit of a whimper, but still, manga! And a Legend of Zelda book that is a must have for many. You can read about the manga titles out this week over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

Bloody Monday (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Limit (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]

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Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Dark Horse, Kodansha Comics, Legend of Zelda, Manga, Otaku USA, Vertical Inc, Video Games

Vertical Inc Licenses Summer Wars for Autumn 2013 Release

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, January 30, 2013

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Vertical Inc has its first announced license of the year – Summer Wars! Adapted from the award-winning movie of the same name, Summer Wars is a manga title I’ve seen requested quite a bit for a while now. Patience rewarded!

Summer Wars (Part 01)- Mamoru Hosoda & Iqura Sugimoto
October 2013 – $14.95/US, $16.95/CAN
Amazon US / Amazon CAN

Summer Wars will be released in two omnibus volumes that include colour inserts and some words from the series’ artists.

I really love the Summer Wars movie, so I’ll definitely be buying the manga version of it. I’m not sure it’ll carry the same spark without all the colours and crazy digital-world movements, but I’m eager to see what angles the book takes. Will it focus on different elements than the movie? Different weight on different characters? A word for word of the original? We’ll see soon enough!

The original movie was released in English by Funimation, while UDON Entertainment is publishing a material book for the movie this coming May. The story follows a young man who is asked to be a fake fiance for his classmate during summer vacation. While initially it seems just a matter of fooling her lively and close-knit extended family, soon they’re all drawn into a conflict against a computer virus that is destroying the internet system their modern society relies on.

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Manga, Summer Wars, Vertical Inc

Handling Hentai: An Interview With Project-H

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, January 28, 2013

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One of the fastest growing parts of the North American manga industry last year also seemed to be the one that flew under many radars – Digital Manga’s Project-H. Hentai might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve been surprised to see it discussed so lightly in the world of manga mavens. Even boys’ love, though while generally not as pornographic, seems to get it’s fair share of talk time.

Since it was announced back in mid 2011, Project H has been a swiftly growing part of its parent company. In 2012, they announced dozens of new books that would be published under it and, unlike the titles DMP has been announcing under Digital Manga Guild, almost every Project-H title is licensed with intent to print. With the cost-saving decrease in printing these days, the sheer volume of these books going to print is both a surprise and impressive.

I’ve been watching the imprint grow, and while my interest in the titles themselves have been hit or miss (like any other set of books out there), I remain intrigued by their apparent success.

With these thoughts in mind, I reached out to Digital Manga’s VP of Sales & Distribution, Yoko Tanigaki, who was able to answer a few questions about Project H’s past, present and future.

Read more…

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Categories: Interviews, Misc
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Hentai, Manga, Project-H

Gotta Print ‘Em All – Viz Licenses Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, January 27, 2013

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Rejoice, awaiting Pokemon fans looking to fill some gaps in your collection – a listing on Viz Media’s website have confirmed their acquisition of Pokemon Adventures: Heart Gold & Soul Silver. Volume one is scheduled for release early August 2013 for $9.99/US, $12.99/CAN. Listings for this license originally popped up on Amazon (US/CAN) in mid-December.

This three volume arc of the Pokemon story is being published as a separate Pokemon Adventures collection, instead of being in numbered sequence with the on-going series. The same thing was done with Diamond & Pearl Platinum, and Black & White.

Chronologically, Viz Media has already published Pokemon Adventures’ chapters for the ‘original’ Gold and Silver arcs, which are similar but different than Heart Gold & Soul Silver. They both follow the two leads who were named after the originating game series. These volumes were released as Pokemon Adventures (Vols. 8-14), with a box set published this past September (Amazon US/CAN).

Amazon listings (US/CAN) also reveal the date of the first collected volume of Pokemon Adventures: Black & White. Viz Media has been releasing mini volumes of this series since July 2011 to keep in close proximity to the original Japanese serialized chapters. They’ll be releasing those chapters again in thicker graphic novels that are in line with both the price and page count of their other Pokemon Adventures books.

The B&W listing brings two questions to mind: will these new volumes take the artwork from the collected editions in Japan (which often have some updates compared to chapters originally published in magazines), or will it be the same we’ve seen in the minis? And the second question – am I picky enough about bookshelf consistency to sell my minis and replace with these? Knowing myself, the possibility is high… What about you?

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Manga, Pokemon, Viz Media

Digital Manga Licenses New Boys’ Love, Deadlock

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, January 26, 2013

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Belated license post time! Late December, Digital Manga announced that they’d licensed a new boys’ love manga:

Deadshot – Saki Aida & Yuh Takashina

Digital Manga previously released Saki Aida’s light novel series, S, though this looks to be the first time Yuh Takahina’s work has been released in English. Based on the covers I see on Amazon.jp though, I hope it’s not the last! Deadshot follows a wrongly accused enforcement offer who accepts an FBI deal requiring him to find a certain criminal in prison in exchange for leniency.

It seems a little odd reading about a new boys’ love license from Digital Manga given how close this came on the heels of their hiatus news. However, given that announced titles don’t tend to see print within 6 months anyway, it works out well for them that they can continue announcing new titles without any immediately foreseeable delay in the new titles’ release. All the same, it’s rather bittersweet as we await those already partially completed on our shelves…

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Manga

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – January 23, 2013

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, January 24, 2013

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More manga, more power! Or at least entertainment! I was spoiled by an early delivery week from Diamond Comics, so I was able to purchase a couple of this week’s titles last week. That means I can tell you for sure that there are some super gems out this week. Notably, Bride’s Story (Vol.04) and Black Butler (Vol.12) from Yen Press. Both were great!

You can read my thoughts on all this week’s titles at Otaku USA’s On The Shelf article, written as always by yours-truly.

Black Butler (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Black God (Vol.18) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bride’s Story (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Soul Eater (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Flowers of Evil (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]