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Author Archive for Lissa Pattillo

PR: SuBLime Announces Eleven New Manga Titles for Release in 2013

GLOBAL YAOI PUBLISHER SuBLime ANNOUNCES ELEVEN NEW MANGA TITLES FOR RELEASE IN 2013 INCLUDING YOUKA NITTA’S EMBRACING LOVE

Publisher Delights Fans At YaoiCon 2012 As It Details Multiple New BL Manga Titles Scheduled To Debut During The First-Half Of Next Year

San Francisco, CA, October 24, 2012 – SuBLime, the global yaoi manga (graphic novel) publisher, thrilled fans during its packed panel discussion at the recent YaoiCon 2012 with the announcement of eleven new manga (graphic novel) titles the imprint plans to release throughout 2013.

The forthcoming new titles are rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers. Select releases will be offered as either print-only editions with an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN, or as digital-only releases with an MSRP of $5.99 (U.S. / CAN). Other titles will be made available in both formats.

For digital releases, the $5.99 purchase price will offer readers digital access to two versions of each manga volume on www.SuBLimeManga.com – a downloadable PDF that is viewable on any enabled eReader device and computer or via the embedded online manga viewer found on the web site.

New Print and Print+Digital Titles:

EMBRACING LOVE Vol. 1 2-In-1 Edition, by Youka Nitta 
Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available In Print And Digital April 2013

SLEEPING MOON Vol. 1, by Miyamoto Kano  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available In Print Only June 2013

BLUE MORNING Vol. 1, by Shouko Hidaka  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available In Print Only May 2013

FALSE MEMORIES Vol. 1, by Isaku Natsume  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available In Print And Digital July 2013
From the creator of DEVIL’S HONEY, also published by SuBLime

Hide And seek, by Yaya Sakuragi  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available In Print Only July 2013
Sequel to BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE, also available from SuBLime

SPIRITUAL POLICE Vol. 1, by Youka Nitta  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available In Print And Digital October 2013

New Digital-Only Titles:

THE RAVISHING OF THE CROWN PRINCE, by Wang Yi & Feng Nong 
Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available January 2013
Taiwanese creator and artist

SWORD AND MIST, by Hayate Kuku  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available February 2013

THE MATCH SELLER, by Sakae Kusama  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  Available March 2013
From the creator of THE BED OF MY DEAR KING, also published by SuBLime

EGOISTIC BLUE, by Mio Tennohji  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers 
Available April 2013

BOYS, BE AMBITIOUS!, by Saburo Nagai  Rated ‘T+’ for Mature Readers  Available May 2013

Read more…


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – October 17, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - October 18, 2012

It’s Wed-! … Thursday! Close enough! Yesterday was new comics’ day and while there wasn’t a lot of manga, there were still some worthwhile notables such as a new volume of Viz Media‘s March Story and the first volume of Vertical Inc‘s new series, The Limit.

You can read about all the titles out this week over at my weekly On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

Kitchen Princess Omnibus (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
March Story (Vol.04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Tenjo Tenge (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Limit (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


YaoiCon 2012: SuBLimeManga Embraces BL Love With New Titles

YaoiCon 2012: SuBLime Manga

NYCC was the spotlight show this past weekend but on the other side of the US, another convention was also taking place – Yaoi-Con! For those who aren’t familiar with it, Yaoi Con is an annual convention dedicated to the boys’ love genre and all it’s colourful fandoms.

SuBLimeManga – Viz Media’s BL publishing partner – was at the show, marking the one-year anniversary of their original start-up announcement and greeting fans with a nice list of new titles:

Blue Morning – Shoko Hidaka (May 2013)
Embracing Love (Omnibus Editions) – Youka Nitta (April 2013)
False Memories – Isaku Natsume (July 2013)
Hide and Seek – Yaya Sakuragi (July 2013)
Sleeping Moon – Kano Miyamoto (June 2013)
Spiritual Police – Youka Nitta (October 2013)

BeBeautiful's Cover for Embracing LoveThe most notable title on the list would be Youka Nitta’s Embracing Love which was originally licensed, and partially released, by the now done-and-gone BeBeautiful back in 2005. SuBLime is going to be releasing the series in a set of 2-in-1 omnibus volumes. I was surprised to see this title licensed. I didn’t know there was much interest in this title, which doesn’t seem to have nearly as much feverish fan-begging as other yet-to-be-licensed titles, plus the tracing scandal that surrounded Youka Nitta a few years ago that led many to think her work would no longer be licensed because of potential copyright issues. Yet here it is, so a big yay for the fans. Though I own the first five volumes that BB put out, I don’t actually recall anything about the series. I’ll need to do a revisit to see if these omnibus editions will end up on my bookshelf.

Having previously enjoyed titles by Isaku Natsume and Yaya Sakuragi quite a bit, their newly announced books will be must-buys for me when they’re released next summer.

SuBLimeManga also licensed a number of titles for digital-only. Ah, digital-only, one of the banes of my manga reading existence  It’s better than no legal license, of course, but I cry a little every time they’re announced.

Boys, Be Ambitious! – Saburō Nagai
Egoistic Blue – Mio Tennohji
The Match Seller – Sakae Kusama
The Ravishing of the Crown Prince – Wang Yi & Feng Nong
Sword and Mist – Hayate Kuku

Titles like these make me keep my fingers crossed for a viable print on demand offer someday as of all the titles SuBLime announced at the convention, a new book from Hayate Kuku (creator of Love Sickness) and The Ravishing of the Crown Prince are easily the two I’d most look forward to. I may have to wipe the dust off my iPad in the New Year! Digital isn’t my preferred reading method but SuBLime definitely offers it with the most convenience, allowing PDF downloads that you can read on just about any device.

You can see cover images for all the new titles over at ANN’s write-up of the licensing announcements.


NYCC 2012: Viz Media Announces Tiger & Bunny, Pepita and Alpha Prints

NYCC 2012: Viz Media

The last big manga panel of NYCC 2012 was Viz Media‘s who had a couple exciting titles to cap-off one of the year’s biggest conventions.

Pepita: Takehiko Inoue Meets Antonio – Takehiko Inoue
Sunny – Taiyo Matsumoto
Tiger & Bunny – Mizuki Sukikobara
Tiger & Bunny (Anthology) – Multiple Artists

Along with these titles, they’ve confirmed that two series currently running in Shonen Jump Alpha will be brought to collected print editions as well:

Barrage – Kōhei Horikoshi
Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration – Nobuhiro Watsuki

Easy pick for the titles I’m most eager for are the Tiger & Bunny books. I still haven’t even seen the original anime series – not available to stream in Canada – but I’ve heard so many good things about it that I’m immensely curious to experience it in any form. I also purchased a volume of the Tiger & Bunny anthology series for a friend so I’ve first hand how fun that is. The first of the two T&B licenses is a manga adaptation of the series, while the anthology collection is a series of books collecting an assortment of short stories from a variety of creators.

Pepita sounds like a very potentially worthwhile read as well, described by Viz Media as such: “Antoni Gaudi was the world leader of Catalan modernist movement in architecture. Takehiko Inoue is one of the premier manga artists in the world. Inoue’s journey to Spain and to the world of Gaudi is half travel memoir, half art book, and all beauty.” Meanwhile Sunny is a new title from Taiyo Matsumoto, the creator of Tekkonkinkreet, so that in itself makes me intrigued.

Viz Media also announced they’ll be releasing 3-in-1 omnibus volumes of Dragonball and D.Grayman starting June of next year. I’m not sure what the difference will be with these new Dragonball omnibus compared to their previously released VizBIG versions, but we shall see. I’m pleased to see D.Grayman getting the omnibus treatment;  it’s a series I’ve been meaning to start. Each volume of these omnibus edition will be priced at $14.99/US, $16.99/CAN.

You can read all the nitty-gritty details and extra tidbits at ANN’s write-up of Viz Media’s panel.


NYCC 2012: Yen Press Announces New Madoka, Alice and Artbooks

NYCC 2012: Yen Press

Yen Press took the stage – quite literally it sounds – this past week at NYCC to announce a handful of new manga licenses and upcoming releases. For new titles, behold the following:

Are You Alice? – Ai Ninomiya & Ikumi Katagiri
K-ON! highschool – kakifly
K-ON! college – kakifly
Puella Magi Kazumi Magica ~The innocent malice~ – Takashi Tensugi
Puella Magi Oriko Magica – Chloe Mura

The two K-ON books are sequels to the original K-ON manga, which Yen Press is currently publishing, while the two Puella Magi series are spin-offs of their origin story, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. As two of Yen Press’s most popular titles, it’s no surprise to see their franchises get further title exploration. Good news for the fans!

The solo entirely-new series in this batch is Are You Alice?, a story based on Alice in Wonderland but that sees a young man don the name of Alice and become embroiled in a sinister, non-nonsensical game of kill-the-white-rabbit. The story sounds neat though not especially gripping by synopsis alone. The art though really caught my eye when I was looking it up. I see some eye-candy on the horizon at the very least.

Other neat news of the panel was word that Yen Press will be releasing a Soul Eater art book next year including colour pages from the original manga and a bunch of character illustrations. Down the road they also plan to release an art book based on Highschool of the Dead. It likely goes without saying that you can expect plenty of blood, boobs and butts from that one.

I was hoping for a little more from Yen Press at NYCC, but spin-offs or not, five new titles is still something to be appreciative for and I’ll very likely be picking up Are You Alice? when it’s released next year. Of the announcements, I’m actually most excited to see them delving into art book territory. I love manga art books!

For more coverage on Yen Press’s panel, including news about their digital ventures, I recommend ANN’s full write up of the show.


NYCC 2012: Kodansha Comics Licenses No. 6, Sailor Moon Artbook…

NYCC 2012: Kodansha Comics Licenses No. 6, Sailor Moon Artbook

It was Kodansha Comics‘ turn to impress today at NYCC with a handful of new licenses:

No. 6 – Atsuko Asano & Hinoki Kino
Sankarea: Undying Love – Mitsuru Hattori
Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode – Mia Ikumi
Vinland Saga – Makoto Yukimura

Kodansha Comics is bound to have made many readers really happy today with these titles. I have no experience with any of them myself but I’ve seen rallying cries for No. 6 and Vinland Saga, in particular, for quite a while. These are the two I’m most excited to read by reputation alone (and all the adorable No. 6 fanart that continues to litter art sites doesn’t hurt either). Sankarea sounds bizarre enough to potentially give a try and Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode I’ll likely pick up out of affection for its predecessor, Tokyo Mew Mew.

You can read a synopsis for all Kodansha Comics’ newest titles on their website. Huzzah for new license announcements that include titles, creator credits, release dates and synopsis’s! Volume one of No. 6 and Sankarea are scheduled for a June 2013 release, while Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode and Vinland Saga will be released that following winter.

Along with their new titles, Kodansha Comics also announced they’d be speeding up the print copies of Fairy Tail to one a month in order to catch up with Japan. This will begin in March 2013 with volume twenty-four. The series itself is currently over thirty volumes in Japan.

Air Gear – which Kodansha Comics has released up to volume twenty-six so far – is due to be released in omnibus format from the beginning. The first volume of this new edition will be released in May 2013.

Sailor MoonA bonus treat announced today was that Kodansha Comics would be handling the English publication of an upcoming Sailor Moon art book that’s due to be published worldwide in 2013.  All editions released globally will have the same paperback trim size, plus dust jacket, and art content including some of the most popular Sailor Moon drawings along with new artwork by the series creator, Naoki Takeuchi. Kodansha Comics also confirmed that after they finish publishing the original manga series, they will be releasing the series of Sailor Moon short stories  as well. (Src: A Case Suitable For Treatment)

And last, but not least – though I don’t believe this was announced during their Saturday panel – Kodansha Comics has relaunched their website with a new layout. It doesn’t offer any new content but does load a lot more nicely than their previous site. There is a blog section currently marked as Coming Soon that could offer some interesting new info and insight in the future, much like Vertical Inc’s newly relaunched on-site blog. (Note: Lack of link to Vertical’s blog is due to numerous virus warnings on Vertical’s site in recent weeks; better safe than sorry!)


NYCC 2012: Vertical Nabs Tezuka’s Twin Knights, Okazaki’s Helter Skelter

NYCC 2012: Vertical Nabs Tezuka’s Twin Knights, Okazaki’s Helter Skelter

It begins! New York Comic Con 2012 is this weekend and there’s been a lot of anticipation that this would be the big news event of the year for comics and manga. It’s a great show, having an audience big enough to be an important promotional opportunity but without all the same Hollywood-suffocation of SDCC.  This is the first time in a few years I haven’t attended, but fortunately there’s no shortage of Twitter tweets and news posts to keep us all informed of the news as it breaks.

Vertical Inc. was one of the first to provide us eager readers with manga news. They’ve licensed two new series both due out next year:

Twin Knights – Osamu Tezuka
Helter Skelter – Kyoko Okazaki

Of the two, Twin Knights is definitely the big news for me. It’s a sequel series to Tezuka’s Princess Knight which Vertical released in two omnibus volumes last year. This follow-up story takes place years in the future with the birth of Princess Sapphire’s twin children – Prince Daisy and Princess Violetta. When the two grow older, the son is kidnapped and his sister juggles her own identity while pretending to be him in order to go out and make a rescue. Sounds great to me!

The other series really piques my interest as well. I haven’t heard of Helter Skelter in detail until now but it sounds like a story that fits well in Vertical’s library of books which includes titles like Lychee Light Club, Black Jack and 7 Billion Needles.

Helter Skelter revolves around Ririko, a model who underwent extensive plastic surgery to attain her beauty. The clinic who performed Ririko’s surgeries goes under investigation for questionable business practices, and Ririko’s body starts to deteriorate. As the model’s prominence in the entertainment industry begins to falter, so does her sanity.” – AnimeNewsNetwork

The first volume of Twin Knights will be released in July 2013 for $12.95/US, $13.95/CAN. Volume one of Helter Skelter will premiere in July 2013 as well for $16.95/US, $18.95/CAN.

ANN has a full write-up of the event, including this interesting tidbit “…gauging interest in starting a subscription model so that series will stay in print.”. Fantagraphics recently offered a subscription-like service for their series, Wandering Son. Omnibus volumes were a big trend-shift for print manga in North America – could subscription models be next? If it’ll keep printed books in my hands, then sign me up! My only real issue with subscriptions directly with publishers is cutting out the comic-store middle man, but it’s all test-and-see now.

Back to the manga goods in closing – two awesome licenses! Excellent choices, Vertical. I’m eagerly awaiting them both next summer.


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – October 10, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - October 10, 2012

So many good books out this week! More Bleach, Devil & Her Love Song, Toriko, Paradise Kiss, Arisa – the list goes on. Weirdly I was already able to buy a lot of these last week, but that’s Diamond Comics for you isn’t it?

You can read more of my specific thoughts and ponderings over at this week’s Otaku USA’s On The Shelf and view the hopefully handy list-only version below:

Arisa (Vol.09) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bakuman. (Vol.15) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bleach (Vol.48) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Bleach (Vol.49) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Cage of Eden (Vol.07) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Case Closed (Vol.44) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Dawn of the Arcana (Vol.06) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Devil & Her Love Song (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Drops of God (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Fairy Tail (Vol.21) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Ghost in the Shell (Vol.1.5) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
GTO: 14 Days in Shonan (Vol.05) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Jack the Ripper: Hell Blade (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Jiu Jiu (Vol.02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Kekkaishi (Vol.34) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Loveless 2-in-1 (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Vol.11) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Paradise Kiss (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokémon Adventures Platinum (Vol.06) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Skip Beat (Vol.29) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Slam Dunk (Vol.24) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Stepping on Roses (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Story of Saiunkoku (Vol.08) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Toriko (Vol.12) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


Seven Seas Adds Swords, Sorcery and Spirits With Three New Licenses

Seven Seas Licenses Three New Manga Series
Seven Seas slipped out some more licenses this week, confirming their acquisition of three new series with AnimeNewsNetwork.

Kanokon – Katsumi Nishino and Rin Yamaki
The Sacred Blacksmith – Isao Miura and Kōtarō Yamada
Zero’s Familiar – Noboru Yamaguchi and Nana Mochizuki

A listing for Kanokon originally showed up on Amazon (US/CAN) a couple weeks back. I originally thought it was the release of the light novels which Seven Seas had announced years ago but never released. Not the case. Instead Seven Seas will be releasing this manga adaptation of it as 2-in-1 omnibus editions for $19.99/US, $21.99/CAN each. The first book is due out, according to Amazon, in April 2013.

“Innocent country boy Oyamada Kouta transfers to a big city high school in his freshman year, and from day one, his life enters a world of crazy. First, a beautiful second-year student named Chizuru professes her love to him, then reveals that she is in fact a fox spirit. Frisky and flirty, she suggestively teases naive Kouta in front of his classmates, embarrassing him to no end. If that wasn’t enough, a gorgeous wolf spirit named Nozomu suddenly transfers to Kouta’s class and decides she wants the hapless country boy for herself. As fox girl and wolf girl vie for his heart, does Kouta have any say in this?” – Seven Seas via ANN

The Sacred Blacksmith will be a familiar looking title to manga-license followers. It was licensed by Tokyopop not long before the company was shut down, before they had released any volumes. The series will now be published by Seven Seas in single volume editions for $12.99/US, $14.99/CAN. There are no listings yet to suggest when the title’s first volume will come out.

“Like her father and grandfather before her, Cecily Campbell has entered the knighthood and joined the ranks of the Knight Guards of Houseman. Eager to do her heritage proud and defend her city, Cecily rushes to the marketplace to stop a madman from terrorizing the populace. She quickly realizes, however, that she is hopelessly outmatched and ill-prepared for an actual fight. A lone figure named Luke Ainsworth swoops to the rescue, a swordsman and blacksmith of much renown, who will repair the broken sword Cecily has inherited from her father and take her down a road of perilous adventure beyond her wildest dreams.” – Seven Seas via ANN

And last but not lest, Zero’s Familiar, which is also an adaptation of a light novel like the previous two. Seven Seas will release this series as 3-in-1 omnibus editions for $19.99/US, $21.99/CAN.

“In a world where sorcery reigns supreme, bumbling witch-in-training Louise Francoise le Blanc is known by her classmates at the Tristain Academy of Magic as “Louise the Zero.” During an important coming-of-age ritual, when each student must summon a lifelong familiar, Louise proves herself inept when she mistakenly conjures a teenage boy from earth. Now, whether she likes it or not, Louise “the Zero” and Saito, the ever-whining earth boy from Japan, are bound by the laws of magic as master and servant forever!” – Seven Seas via ANN

Of the three new licenses, I think I’m most curious about Zero’s Familiar. I’m a sucker for almost anything magic and fantasy related, and while The Sacred Blacksmith piques my interest with the more classic fantasy setting, the idea of a clumsy witch accidentally summoning a human boy as her familiar sounds too amusing to pass up.


Otaku USA: On The Shelf – October 3rd, 2012

Otaku USA: On The Shelf - October 3rd, 2012

The first volume of Girl Friends is out! At last! I’ve been wanting to read this in English for a long time and I’m thrilled Seven Seas has given us the opportunity. The omnibus format is great too – can’t complain about nearly 500 pages of yuri now can we? Girl Friends is also a special manga for Kuriousity as well with the English adaptation written by our very own, Shannon Fay!

Seven Seas has the bulk of this week’s releases including two other omnibus volumes. You can check out the complete list with more of my stunning commentary at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

Dance in the Vampire Bund (Vol.13) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Girl Friends: Complete Collection (Vol.01) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Pokémon Black & White Box Set [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Venus Versus Virus Omnibus (Vol.03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
Witch Hunter Omnibus (Vols.03-04) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]


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