News, reviews and features with a focus on manga, self-published works and a Canadian perspective. Enjoy fulfilling your Kuriousity!
SITE RETIRED - Thank you for the years of support and readership!
Belated Happy Halloween! Only two new volumes of manga were shipped to store shelves this week, but I’m sure both are must-haves for many out there. You can read about them at my weekly On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.
Awkward Silence (Vol. 02) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
The Flowers of Evil (Vol. 03) [Amazon CAN, Amazon US, RightStuf]
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]
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.
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]
Anime Weekend Atlanta took place this weekend and the first manga licensing announcements of the event came from Vertical Inc as they revealed their license for Asumiko Nakamura’s Utsubora.
This is Asumiko Nakamura’s first time having a series licensed for print in English (she had a one-shot published in Tokyopop’s Gothic & Lolita Bible), but she’s got some popularity as a manga artist for all sorts of different genres including boys’ love, supernatural and comedy. Utsubora is a mystery series that seems ripe with the dark psychological twists that are a good fit in Vertical Inc’s library.
A synopsis from AnimeNewsNetwork:
“The story begins when Aki Fujino, a beautiful girl who the novelist Mizorogi knew, dies under mysterious circumstances. Then a girl appears before Mizorogi, and although she introduces herself as Aki’s twin sister Sakura, her true identity is a complete mystery. As Mizorogi’s past ties with Aki come to light, people begin to suspect him of plagiarism. Mizorogi’s life spirals deeper into darkness as his editor and the police probe further into Aki’s death and Mizorogi’s connection with her.”
While originally two volumes long, Vertical will be releasing the series in one omnibus volume in June 2013.
It feels like it’s been forever since I first pondered if omnibus editions were going to become a manga-industry normality in North America. I think it’s safe to say that’s now the case. A lot of new manga licenses are being announced in this format, not to mention all the re-releases of older series. No complaints from me! Aside from a few bookshelf discrepancies, the money saved and lots-of-manga-one-go aspect of the omnibus editions makes me happy indeed.
New York Comic Con – formally known in-part as the New York Anime Fest – is swiftly coming up with October just around the corner. Leading up to the date with news of their guests and events, the convention announced Tuesday (via their mobile app) that they’ll be having three manga guests in attendance for NYCC 2012.
Masakazu Ishiguro
Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru
Moyoco Anno (website)
Sakuran*, Flowers & Bees*, Sugar Sugar Rune
Toshio Maeda (website)
Demon Beast Invasion*, La Blue Girl, Legend of the Overfiend*, Adventures Kid*
*These series are rated 18+ for sexual content, and sometimes violence, so readers be warned if you’re curious of what they are! Toshio Maeda’s website also has a lot of mature imagery.
The app lists Masakazu Ishiguro as a guest courtesy of JManga, while Moyoco Anno will be there as a special guest of Vertical Inc. JManga is currently releasing Ishiguro’s Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru (digital only) and Vertical Inc. just released a beautiful omnibus release of Moyoco Anno’s Sakuran this past summer. They have a few more details about her appearance on their newly relaunched blog.
Vertical Inc’s marketing director, Ed Chavez, spent Monday teasing eager fans on Twitter with news that there would be a big announcement on Tuesday. Guesses ranged from new licenses to Vertical Inc going digital, but the closest hint he’d give was that the news would make some happy and others sad (“…will applaud but will be saddened all the same.”). The news is great for Vertical but I can’t say I was particularly happy or sad either way, finding the news rather lacklustre after all that hype. Then again I’m not someone who generally goes to conventions for the guests so that’s just me. None the less, I hope all three guests have a great time visiting the convention and meeting some of their global fans!
It’s been a weird couple weeks, and part of that has lead to there being several weeks between my trips to my local comic store (Strange Adventures) to buy new manga. So bizarre! This week will be the tipping point though. A new Tezuka title, Message to Adolf, from Vertical Inc., new Viz Media volumes of Bleach, Bakuman and… a new volume of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden after three years?!
Sold. You can check out the full list of titles that shipped this week over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.
Yesterday I celebrated my birthday and there are few things I ever want more than the opportunity for more books. The manga publishing world responded (not intentionally of course, but I’ll think it so!) by having this week be an extra large bulk of titles. Hurray! You can see the full list – which includes over 30 individual releases – at my weekly On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.
My top pick of the week has to go to Viz Media‘s Kaze Hikaru (Vol.20). We need to wait a year between volumes and it’s a real shame when this series is so, so charming and well drawn. Kodansha Comics‘ Sailor Moon (Vol.06) is one of those no brainer purchases because it’s wonderful and this particular volume introduces the outer Guardians, Neptune and Uranus, which introduces a whole new layer of intrigue and classiness. For something new, I’ll be looking out for Seven Seas‘ first volume of Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries. I really liked their release of Young Miss Holmes so I hope this one is similar. These and so many others this week to whatever extent my wallet can support!
There wasn’t much in the way of news from Otakon this past weekend, but Vertical Inc‘s Ed Chavez was present to sell some of their shiny new books and announce a couple new titles.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin – Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Wolfsmund – Mitsuhisa Kuji
Most anime & manga fans are at least likely familiar with the Gundam series, easily one of the most popular series in the medium’s history with a variety of different versions, incarnations and generations behind it. According to AnimeNewsNetwork, this version is 23 volumes long and is a “re-imagining” of the original Gundam anime series. The franchise generally follows a weaving story of politics and war waged between governments and giant mech-wielding individuals.
Vertical Inc will be releasing the series in hardcover, 2-in-1 editions which will be about $30/US each. They’ll also include colour pages, essays and be approximately 440+ pages thick. Ed also warned that because of the price of producing these editions, they’ll be limited to the first production run only so get them while they can because they won’t last! New volume should come out every three months once the first book comes out in March 2013.
Wolfsmund is a fantasy story about a powerful and feared gatekeeper who guards an entrance into Italy along the border of Switzerland. The series follows the travels of individuals who come up against him in attempts to pass. They then find themselves under ruthless interrogation. From what I’ve read about Wolfsmund, this isn’t light reading, with nary a happy end in sight and a lot to say for grim realities of the medieval era (with some additional dramatic and scary flair I’m sure!).
The first volume of Wolfsmund should be out in July 2013. They will also likely be longer wait times between each subsequent volumes than we’re accustomed to from Vertical simply because the release schedule in Japan is so slow. Currently there are three volumes of the series.
For some refreshed details of previously announced Vertical titles, you can check out this live-blog account of the panel.
The recent lull of Kuriousity updates extended over to my On The Shelf article as well, but worry not curious list-seekers and manga-buyers (because I’m quite sure you were beside yourselves) – this week’s On The Shelf is a double-dose edition collecting what’s new and recent from last week and today!
My does-want-must-haves of this shipping stack include the first volume of Project-H‘s Velvet Kiss, Vertical Inc‘s classy looking one-shot, Sakuran, Viz Media’s new 20th Century Boys and the tenth volume of Black Butler from Yen Press.
Check out ournewest review!
Follow