With Tokyopop wandering around the internet in zombie-form as of late, why not take a positive inspiration from their coincidentally Halloween-themed stunt? RightStuf’s Bargain Bin is full of old Tokyopop titles looking for homes. Time for some grave-digging!

In the holiday spirit, here are some Halloween-flavoured titles from the list for your enjoyment. I own each of these titles and love every one. Whether you want a mature, eerie story like The Embalmer or a liberally translated, hilariously entertaining ghost-seeing BL-laden story like Eerie Queerie!, or one of the many other in betweens, you’ll find each of these titles has its own uniqueness that makes it just right for October 31st reading:

Daemonium (Vol. 01) – $3.99
Eerie Queerie! (Vol. 01) – $4.99
Eerie Queerie! (Vol. 02) – $4.99
The Embalmer (Vol. 01) – $4.99
The Embalmer (Vol. 03) – $4.99
The Embalmer (Vol. 04) – $4.99
I Luv Halloween (Vol. 01) – $3.99
I Luv Halloween (Vol. 03) – $3.99
Mad Love Chase (Vol. 01) – $5.49
Mad Love Chase (Vol. 02) – $5.49
Tokyo Babylon (Vol. 01) – $3.99
Tokyo Babylon (Vol. 02) – $3.99
Zone-00 (Vol. 01) - $4.99

For some really good Halloween reads, I recommend checking back on Shannon Fay’s 13 Days of Halloween posts from last year too. It has a great mix of scary and fun titles to cover just about anything and everything you like about the day.

Books, books and more books! Digital manga may be picking up speed but I’m so thankful we still have bookshelves, upon bookshelves of manga to buy. This past week I got a bunch of new titles along with scattered older titles that I missed.

I also secured remaining plans for my trip to New York next month for NYAF/NYCC. Going to the con again is going to fun, meeting new and old acquaintances amazing and then there’s the opportunity to step foot into Kinokuniya again. A place of manga beauty… Anyway! Any other Kuriousity readers going this year?

In terms of goodies bought here at home recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find an early copy of Osamu Tezuka’s The Book of Human Insects. It’s published by Vertical Inc. and is a nice hardcover edition. I wasn’t expecting it to be flipped, since I’m so accustomed to reading their Black Jack books, but at least it doesn’t take long getting used to reading it the other way around.

Adding some new boys’ love to my shelves, I bought the one-shot Midnight Bloom from Digital Manga and two volumes of the Takumi-kun series: Tales Out of Season and Barefoot Waltz. I also bought The Betrayal Knows My Name (Vol. 01) which though not undeniably boys’ love yet, is definitely leaning the way. This one’s an omnibus release which is a format I’m becoming more and more fond of – so much manga in one affordable go!

To my sadness, I bought the last volume of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Vol. 07). It’s not actually the last volume of the series itself but looks like (based on retailer listings) that it’ll be the last one Viz Media is going to release. It’s unfortunate, but I suppose not very surprising as it doesn’t look to have sold very well. Starting something new to try and off-set the abrupt end, I bought my much anticipated Drifters (Vol. 01) from Dark Horse.

Another new series I bought (this one on a total whim because it was there) was Mardock Scramble (Vol. 01) from Kodansha Comics. From them I also bought Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Vol. 02) and Until the Full Moon (Vol. 01). There was a huge quality contrast between these two titles – Until the Full Moon looked beautiful with a really nice paper stock for the cover. Phoenix Wright however had really low resolution artwork on the cover that was pixelated and fuzzy – it looked like a bootleg product. Not good, Kodansha!

From Viz Media I continued a handful of on-going series with Pokemon: Black & White (Vol. 03), Bleach (Vol. 36) and Toriko (Vol. 06). I’ve already read Bleach and it was really good – a great flashback volume into the pasts of all the Shinigami. Toriko was just really, really, really weird still (they’re fighting a battle inside a giant mammoth’s intestines!) and I can’t help but love it because of that. I then purchased Fall in Love Like a Comic (Vol. 01 – 02), having just recently read and enjoyed the first volume from the library.

Lastly I bought a whole stack of old Tokyopop titles thanks to Strange Adventures‘ great discounted manga section. First I bought Soul Rescue (Vol. 01 – 02) since it’s by the same creator as Otomen, which Viz Media currently publishes. Because the cover looked really pretty, I then bought Million Tears (Vol. 01 – 02). Forget About Love (Vol. 01) was the last of my TP titles and unfortunately never had anything further than that published (so here’s hoping I don’t like it too much?).

Alas it looks like no Sailor Moon for me this week (why, Diamond Comics, why?!) but I’ve still lots and lots to read. Time to get started! So what’s in your Swag Bag this week?

August’s Manga Moveable Feast – an assortment of articles from a variety of bloggers about a single manga topic – is about Fumi Yoshinaga, manga artist extraordinaire. There’re already lots of great posts for the MMF about her books, her art style and her storytelling methods so I highly recommend following the updates.

For my contribution, I’ve compiled sources where you can buy Fumi Yoshinaga’s books online. We’re lucky to have so many to choose from and collect  - just compiling this list was a great reminder. While there’re a variety of places online and in-store to purchase her books, I’ve tried to find the cheapest options to make it that much easier to start, add to or finish your Yoshinaga library.

The red price indicates the lowest I could find (new from retailers, not used) and the first link offered is the source offering that price. I also added the Amazon links for those who prefer to buy from there. Note: Prices listed here are recent at the time of this posting and may not reflect what they are later!

All My Darling Daughters $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Yukiko, a salarywoman in her thirties, still lives with her mother Mari. But their relationship suffers a sudden change when Mari announces that she’s getting married – to an ex-host and aspiring actor who’s younger than Yukiko. Yukiko, convinced he’s out to fleece her mom, can’t stand to stay in the house and decides to move in with her boyfriend.”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 01-03) Bundle $6.99
[ Akadot ]

Antique Bakery (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“When an old antique shop re-opens as the hottest new bakery in an unsuspecting neighborhood, there’s no doubt that a few surprises are cooking. Love, rejection, old high school flames and the most delicious boy-to-boy affections all blend together to make a treat unlike any other. The Antique Bakery is now open… care for a dessert?”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Winter rain showers bring much more than frosting flowers when a mysterious man in sunglasses shows up at the bakery and addresses snooty Tachibana as “My Lord” in front of the entire staff! Suddenly, Tachibana’s secret history is revealed, and his dashing protector starts turning a few heads…when he isn’t accidentally running into walls”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 03) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The Antique Bakery is busier than ever, and the sweet smell of success means even more curious customers are rushing through the doors to sample the treats…including yet another mysterious stranger! This time around, it’s a dashing blonde businessman from Paris claiming to be Ono’s long-lost lover. Is he serving up the truth, or is something else on the back burner?”

Antique Bakery (Vol. 04)
[ >>>] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com]

“In the midst of this mania, terrible memories of a trauma from his younger days return to haunt him thanks to a brand-new wave of child abductions. A task force is on the case, but nobody has an easy answer yet…or a suspect. The nastiest twist? The victims all apparently died after having sampled delicious cakes.”

Don’t Say Anymore, Darling $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The only thing keeping Tadashi, a struggling song lyricist, alive is food handouts from Kouhei, a successful doctor. In fact, Tadashi has been leeching off of Kouhei for practically their entire professional lives. But Kouhei’s parents want nothing more than to see their son settling down. As Kouhei is pushed ever more forcefully into an arranged marriage, will he finally admit that he sees Tadashi as something more than just a friend?”

Flower of Life (Vol. 01-03) Bundle $9.99
[ Akadot ]

Flower of Life (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Forced to enroll one month late after recovering from a serious illness, Harutaro does his best to remain optimistic about enrolling in a new school. The other students try to make Haru feel welcome – especially his chubby, loveable pal, Shota – but Kai Majima, president of the manga club and all-around hard case, seems intent on making Harutaro’s high school life a living nightmare.”

Flower of Life (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Harutaro is at a loss. He and his buddy Shota have decided to produce their very own manga for the school cultural festival. Simultaneously, Harutaro has been picked for the lead role in the class play… but his lines are embarrassingly, overwhelmingly romantic! It’ll take a “manly” effort just to get through them. Harutaro’s classmates have a dilemma of their own – who knew Haru was such a bad actor?!”

Flower of Life (Vol. 03) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“It’s Christmastime, and Harutaro and his classmates are stoked for the big party! At least, that was the plan until… the tree, the food, the cake, the party music… each one in charge of these items hits an unexpected snag. Will the students’ festive get-together turn into a disaster that ruins the holiday for one-and-all? Or will the spirit of the season come through, despite every catastrophe?”

Flower of Life (Vol. 04)
[ >>> ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“As the school year winds down, Harutaro is in good spirits. His illness feels like a thing of the past, he and his best friend Shota are developing aspirations toward becoming professional manga artists, and best of all – his mom has come home for a visit! Just when things seem at their best, life often finds a way of balancing the scales. When a family secret causes Harutaro to question his future, who will he turn to in his lowest moment?”

Garden Dreams $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“In a castle in a far-off western land, there once lived a baron with empty eyes, whose melancholy ways belied a love of beauty and song. A wondrous garden surrounded the baron’s home–a place of quiet splendor that served to remind him of his painful, untended memories. Could the songs of two bards bring dreams of a happier tomorrow? Or would they bring more loss than the baron might possibly bear?”

Gerard & Jacques (Vol. 01) $7.49
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“As far as romantic first encounters go, meeting in a high-class brothel isn’t typical. Gerard becomes Jacques’ first and last patron when he buys freedom for the boy after sleeping with him. However, Gerard gives Jacques a challenge – can a spoiled child of the nobility survive on his own and earn his living without selling his body?”

Gerard & Jacques (Vol. 02) $7.49
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Jacques has been living in Gerard’s household for several years now, and has gone from houseboy to secretary and assistant, but increasingly he wants to be something even more special to Gerard. But what will happen when Jacques’ family reappears to claim him as their own? Will he be willing to leave the life, and the man, that he has grown to love? And with the thunder of revolution in the air, what can the future hold for this fledgling relationship?”

Ichigenme (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Tamiya meets Tohdou at Teinou University when he is unexpectedly French kissed by him at his zemi’s, or seminar’s, launch party! While Tamiya is somewhat put off by the unexpected kiss, considering the other students were forced to strip, he is grateful to Tohdou and they soon begin a curious friendship. But things become a little rocky when Tohdou admits he is gay and asks Tamiya to become his lover…”

Ichigenme (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The (apparently) frivolous Tohdou and the (overly) serious Tamiya continue to collide after graduation. But with Tohdou working on his PHD thesis and Tamiya an assistant professor at the university, the two rarely have time for each other, let alone sex.Luckily, Tohdou’s younger brother, Hiroaki, has just entered law school and is a student in Tamiya’s class.”

Lovers in the Night $4.99
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Hired as a servant by an aristocratic family, Claude works hard to care for the family that took him in. But when the master of the house and his wife eventually pass away, Claude must keep spoiled son Antoine in line and teach him to be a proper gentleman. As the two become closer, a forbidden love develops between them…”

Moon and Sandals (Vol. 01) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Young Mr. Ida might be a newbie teacher but he is capable enough. Problem is, every time he writes his lecture on the board, he feels this deeply intense gaze boring through the back of his head. Could he be doing something wrong? For huge and intimidating student Kobayashi, Mr. Ida can’t do anything wrong. In fact, Ida is Kobayashi’s Mr. Right.”

Moon and Sandals (Vol. 02) $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Kobayashi, Toyo, Ida, Hashizume and Rikuko… everyone has gotten a little older but are they any wiser? The loveable characters of The Moon and the Sandals saga begin a new chapter in their lives. Kobayashi and Toyo have both successfully started their careers, Hashizume now heads his own restaurant and Rikuko is studying to be a doctor. But amidst all this seeming success, old issues still lurk below the surface, waiting to be resolved. Question is… Will the gang be able to muster enough maturity to finally settle old scores?”

Not Love But Delicious Foods $8.24
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“There is a Japanese saying that goes, “Hana yori dango,” or “dumplings over flowers.” No one is more of an advocate of this adage than mangaka Y-naga, a woman whose life revolves around her intense work and equally intense sleep schedule. The only thing that can rouse her out of this infernal cycle of deadlines and being dead to the world? Food.”

Ooku (Vol. 01) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red Pox has begun to prey on the country’s men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all of the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun’s Inner Chamber…”

Ooku (Vol. 02) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Curious about why female lords must take on male names, the Shogun Yoshimune seeks out the ancient scribe Murase and his archives of the last eighty years of the Inner Chambers – called the Chronicle of the Dying Day. In it’s pages Yoshimune discovers the coming of the Redface Pox, the death of the last male Shogun, and the birth of the new Japan…”

Ooku (Vol. 03) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“In this 17th Century Japan the Shogun is a woman… and the harem is full of men. The tale told in the Chronicle of the Dying Day continues as the young female shogun Iemitsu tries desperately to conceive a male heir. But her lover Arikoto seems unable to give her a child, and they must betray their hearts to save their country. Meanwhile, the Redface Pox continues its ruthless progress through Japan, leaving famine, despair, and the threat of anarchy in its wake.”

Ooku (Vol. 04) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Despite Iemitsu and Arikoto’s best efforts, there is no male heir to take over the shogunate. As the Redface Pox continues to ravage the country, it becomes increasingly clear within Edo Castle that Japan’s continued existence relies on overturning the centuries of custom that define it!”

Ooku (Vol. 05) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Gyokuei, who first arrived at the Inner Chambers as a young novitiate monk, has risen to become one of the shogun Tsunayoshi’s advisors. He hopes to protect the shogunate the same way his mentor Arikoto once did. But the numerous intrigues of the Inner Chambers – and the shogun herself – are pushing Gyokuei’s patience and cunning to the breaking point.”

Ooku (Vol. 06) $9.74
[ Right Stuf ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“The aging shogun Tsunayoshi must name an heir, but her senile father is blocking the ascendance of the most likely candidate in favor of a young, untried lord. But politics and the shogun’s own unpopularity may soon take the choice out of her hands.”

Solfege $4.00
[ Akadot ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“Kugayama is a gifted music teacher, but a man with little ambition. Despite being born to a wealthy and prominent family, he passes his days in apathy – content to simply go through the motions of life. Then one day, ex-student Azuma Tanaka comes to him for help in studying for a prestigious music school’s entrance exam. Kugayama finds himself drawn to Tanaka’s budding youth and enthusiasm, invoking a desire he’s never known before.”

Truly Kindly $9.50
[ EverythingYaoi ] [Other: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com ]

“A collection of romantic, dramatic boys’ love stories from famed manga-ka Fumi Yoshinaga!From modern-day tales of romance in Seattle, to eerie stories from historical Japan, to Yoshinaga-sensei’s depiction of the class conflicts that fueled the French Revolution… “

If you’re looking for Japanese editions of Fumi Yoshinaga’s work, including a variety of unlicensed works (which we cross our fingers will be licensed one day!), you can purchase them at Amazon.jp which offers delivery around the globe.

Canada Post recently announcing their rotating strike was already bad news on its own but I was doubly cranky about it as my box of RightStuf goodies was presumably trapped somewhere between here and there. Luck was on my side though and on the morning the strike was set to start, my box arrived!

Taking advantage of their Digital Manga sale a little while back, I picked up a bunch of my must-have titles at prices I couldn’t possibly refuse! Paying their sale price on the US price, and the Canadian dollar as it is, I got each book for 50% off what I would’ve paid here.

Continuing current series, I bought Target in the Finder (Vol. 03), Kizuna Omnibus (Vol. 02) and Tyrant Who Falls In Love (Vol. 02). Now that I’ve got a couple volmes of Kizuna and Finder, it’s time to retire my BeBeautiful version to the storage bins. I also purchased Replica (Vol. 01) and Countdown 7 Days (Vol. 01). Both are shonen (I think?) series that I was able to get an early preview of from Digital Manga. I really liked them both and hope they still get a chance to impress people despite being hidden within DM’s big boys’ love library.

Back to the boys’ love, I got one of BLU’s final publications: Crimson Snow. It’s a one-shot title that I’ve been dying to have in my hand since I saw the gorgeous cover on Amazon last year. Learning the plot only furthered my want so it was the first to have its plastic covering ripped off. I also picked up the last two volumes of breath – a five volume BL series by the so far one-series company Yaoi Generation who’s been disappointedly quiet since last year.

And because a RightStuf purchase isn’t complete without some anime, I happily took advantage of the Funimation sale to buy Dragonball Z Kai Parts 2-4 and the second half of the series Welcome to the NHK.

Buying back on more local soil, I visited our big bookstore Chapters as the customary before-and-after seeing a movie ritual (aka, it’s right next door to the biggest theatre). Last week I was thrilled to get a copy of A Bride’s Story from Yen Press. It’s a really gorgeous book and you’ll want to spend some time oogling the hard cover design before  you even crack it open.

This upcoming week is Viz Media‘s huge shipping list, which generally always happens the first week of the month. This often means a big armful of books for me and this month was no exception, especially with some of my absolute favourites out. Books carried to the check-out included Pokemon Adventures (Vol. 13), Bleach (Vol. 35), Blue Excorcist (Vol. 02) and Toriko (Vol. 05). I also bought Full Metal Alchemist 3-in-1 (Vol. 01) because of a friends’ recommendation. To try and round out the shonen just a little, I also bought Grand Guignol Orchestra (Vol. 03) – battling doll-like zombies with music while wearing Victorian gothic attire!

Thankfully I just finished a big Spring cleaning revamp of my manga bookshelves (which of course included adding a new one), so there’s plenty of space to start adding in my new goodies. That said, I’ll be selling a couple boxes full at this upcoming Animaritime so East Coast Canadians have another reason to come enjoy the event ;)

So what was in your swag bag this week?

Welcome to what is definitely the longest Swag Bag to date! Mostly because I completely failed to compile my Swag Bag from last year’s Anime North… None the less! – my recent trip to Toronto was chock full of fun finds, and painful but no doubt hilarious attempts at cramming it all into my suitcases. This post here consists of the manga I bought while traversing the packed streets of Toronto while my TCAF purchases will come in a later post once I’ve finished oogling them enough to write something coherent.

The books listed here were all purchased from either my local Strange Adventures (pre-con buying is important, like eating before going to the grocery store – it helps… I think). The rest with exception of I think 1 or 2 came from what I’m dubbing the manga treasure trove of Toronto – The Beguiling. My thanks to their very accomodating staff! If curious about my other comic shop adventures in Toronto, you can check out the Ontario section of Kuriousity’s Canadian Comic Shop listings.

Now onto the swag!

Like most of my Swag Bag posts as of late, Viz Media dominates the list. Then again why shouldn’t they with the largest output? I’m not complaining though. Starting with a dash of shoujo, I picked up Otomen (Vol. 10) and Arata (Vol. 05). Ensuring I’d need to be extra careful packing my suitcases to drag onto a plane, I also bought Kaze Hikaru (Vol. 05-17) – twelve volumes of a single series in one go is more faith than I’ve given any series before so don’t let me down Kaze Hikaru!

Picking up some series not under the Shoujo Beat brand, but certainly no less dramatic in their own ways, I got Genkaku Picasso (Vol. 03) (the last volume to my surprise!), Dogs (Vol. 04) (because I’m a ninny and bought volume five without realizing I missed four) and Bakuman (Vol. 04) (which looks more like a light novel with the words to pictures ratio – yikes!).

Interesting, unexpected and very delightful finds were the long since out of print Short Cuts (Vol. 01 – 02) by Usamaru Fuyura (who I had the pleasure of meeting there despite my sad shy pacing in circles before working up the nerve to say hello) and an artbook Dragonball: The Complete Illustrations. I had come across this very same artbook in its original Japanese release the day before and now I’m glad I held off buying it since now I have it in English.

Next up was Tokyopop, some bittersweet purchases considering their recent demise. On the upside, three of the four purchases were final volumes of series so that’s three more series completed on the shelf: Roadsong (Vol. 03), CLAMP no Kiseki (Set 12) and Karakuri Odette (Vol. 06). Alas that I can’t say the same for Matsuri Akino’s Genju no Seiza (Vol. 08) which I may never see the end of now. So depressing!

Vertical Inc. offered up some satisfying finishes to soften the blow with the absolutely, fantastically disturbing one-shot Lychee Light Club (signed by Usamaru Fuyura!) and the character-driven science fiction series 7 Billion Needles which comes to an end here at volume four.

But all this snazzy manga buying isn’t complete without a healthy dose of boys’ love. I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of Oh My God (Vol. 02) published by the unfortunately shutdown Deux Press. Speaking of unfortunately shutdown, I also bought the sadly weird-proofreading-flawed one-shot Croquis by Hinako Takanaga and BLU Manga. The bulk of my BL buys were then one-shots from Digital Manga and all chosen because they’re by creators whose works I’ve enjoyed before: Makoto Tateno’s A Bloody Kiss Tonight, Yukine Honami’s Stolen Heart and Yaya Sakuragi’s Stay Close To Me. I take a big break from the fluff with the second and last volume of Undergrand Hotel.

With not half as much available in English, I was all the more eager to leap a top two Yuri books I’d been looking for. The first was Voiceful – a cute little schoolgirl love story – published by Seven Seas. The second book was another one-shot titled Works from ALC Publishing. It’s a much more mature story about love between older woman – both amusing and classy!

To round off my teetering stacks of how-did-I-fit-these-in-our-suitcases with a few single volume purchases from other companies, I finally (shame on me!) found a copy of Bunny Drop (Vol. 03) from Yen Press. I gobbled this series with my eyes the moment I got home that day because it’s just that good – an absolutely adorable and refreshingly grounded story about a man raising his five year old Aunt.

Deviating a lot in tone and subject matter, I bought the second volume of Digital Manga’s horror series Taimashin (Vol. 02). I’m never blown away when I read this series but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t drawn back again by the gorgeous male main character. What can I say – I’m a sucker for a super pretty guy.

Lastly, and certainly not least, I was happy to pick up some older series – By the Sword (Vol. 01 – 02) from the now defunct ADV Manga and by the same manga artist as Fake and the upcoming Full Moon from Kodansha Comics. Speaking of boys’ love (mentioning Fake means I’ve made a semi-meaningful connection, right?), I purchased the full two volume series of Roureville from NetComics. I’ve had it recommended to me so we’ll see how it fares. I really love the cover though so good start. And then the true lastly, Hayate x Blade Omnibus (Vol. 02) from Seven Seas – huzzah for omnibus!

So these were my purchases over the past two weeks – what shiny things have you added to your bookshelf lately? Anything you’d recommend?

And a new question for folks as we here at Kuriousity try to breath some new life into our review systems – any book here you’d like to see me review? Something you’re curious to learn more about or even something you’ve read and looking compare opinions on (and join a fellow reader in a chat)? Let me know!

For now be sure to enjoy your swag this week :)

No question the big news of this week (and likely of the year) is that Tokyopop’s CEO Stu Levy announced that as of May 31st, the company would be closing down shop in the publishing industry.

This comes as a huge blow to many manga readers. While the company may not be releasing as much now as they have in the past, they’ve still got numerous series on the go that’re now in limbo including several recently premiered (such as Clean Freak, Little Butterfly and Lady Konoko). Most poignant though is the rattling of faith seeing that what was likely the biggest and most-influential English manga publisher go down. Love them or hate them, this is the end of an era.

There hasn’t been a lot of details regarding the shutdown for things such as the fate of licenses and any potentially returning story rights to OEL artists. More information on things such as liquidation of any remaining stock will likely come in the near future. The Yaoi Review has confirmed with Tokyopop that their boys’ love imprint BLU will also be shutdown, and the Tokyopop German division seems to be going strong still.

If you’re looking for more information and reactions about the news, I recommend Katherine Dacey’s round up over at Manga Critic.

I could go on for pages upon pages about my thoughts on Tokyopop and what they mean to me as a company. I’m not going to now though (at least not yet) but I will say this: I’ll miss them terribly. I love Tokyopop. Yes they’ve made mistakes (that website, gah!), but at the end of the day I own hundreds (if not thousands) of Tokyopop books for a reason. I’m really sad that several series I’m collecting may never see completion now such as Pet Shop of Horrors and Shinobi Life, but I also know I’m one of few people saying the same so whose to say they even could’ve been finished regardless of TP shutting down. But they gave the titles the longest run they could (Genju no Seiza for pete’s sake!), they released tons of series with a little for everyone and they were there with something new and shiny every time I went to the comic or book store over the past decade.

Tokyopop was manga for me and will always be a big part of manga for me now, from the piles of books surrounding my room to the many Tokyopop books I’m bound to buy even in the years to come. Goodbye Tokyopop – it really was a good ride and even though you’ve chosen to stop it, I’m not quite ready to get off yet.

It’s been a bit slow-going new purchases wise for me as of late – time to put a stop to that! Plus last week’s Swag Bag was late, so I figure why not slip this one in early? While my preferred and go to location for shopping is always my local comic store, Strange Adventures, I had some gift cards and coupons that sent me to one of Halifax’s Chapters bookstore chain stores. When it comes to pricing, I wouldn’t recommend Canadians buy their books at Chapters because they charge full CDN price regardless of our dollar’s strength. That said though, it’s hard not to drool over the sheer amount of selection they have. With that in mind, I enjoyed purchasing from a few different publishers with my assortment of books this week.

It was boys’ love time first – and ouch do these take a chunk of your wallet at full cover price. Each new BLU Manga book (Tokyopop‘s BL imprint) are $18.99 each. None the less, I purchased the second and final volume of Madness because I wanted some more of that demon x priest action. What can I say – I love that dynamic! Going for something a little more straight-forward, into the pile went the one-shot You and Me, Etc. As one of BLU’s most recent releases, it has the larger cut size which is really great to see.

Speaking of larger cut sizes, I bought the second volume of Viz Media‘s Afterschool Charisma. The book is part of their SigIKKI line-up meaning it has both the large trim size and extra shiny cover design. I really liked the first volume so I’m eager to read this second part. The same can be said for volume three of 7 Billion Needles (from Vertical Inc.) - amazing first two volumes so here’s to volume three being as entertaining. Also an absolutely-must-buy was the thirteenth volume of 20th Century Boys - cue the zombie apocalypse without the zombies.

One more seinen to the pile, I bought volume four of Deadman Wonderland. The last couple of volumes have been a little messy execution-wise but the violence, intensity and in-prison conspiracy story makes it more than worth a continued read. But should I need a break from the darker content of the bulk of the books I bought, I topped off the receipt with the eighth volume of Silver Diamond. Pretty boys fighting with flowers and vines to save a dying kingdom – Lissa approved!

So what did you purchase this week?

Sales come and sales go but many online sites have sales on 24/7. EverythingYaoi.com, a site that earns its name, has a handy Clearance section where they list just what it sounds like – items on clearance you can get for up to 50% off the cover price (and sometimes more).

Of the books currently listed, below are my top recommendations:

Going in alphabetical order, the first two books I’d recommend added to any boys’ love shopping cart is Can’t Win With You!. The series is three volumes long and while volume one isn’t on clearance, Can’t Win With You (Vol. 02) and Can’t Win With You (Vol. 03) are with each priced at $4.99/US each. The series is about a cast of amusing, often sexually explorative and teasing teenage boys in an all boys’ school, drawn by Yukine Honami, whose works have been published many times since by Digital Manga. The story itself is written by Satosumi Takaguchi who wrote Shout Out Loud! which was published by BLU.

Two other second-half volumes I’d commend are Passion (Vol. 03) and Passion (Vol. 04). This series has always had a special place in my yaoi-loving heart as one of the first (if not the very first) strictly boys’ love stories to be published in English (excluding Tokyopop‘s early fare in the genre). I remember the day I bought volume one the day it came out… ah the memories and the first of many purchases. The series itself is pretty standard genre-fare but it’s sweet and fluffy and has those great classic cliches of student-teacher relations and starting said relations off on the seriously wrong foot.

Two other Digital Manga series worth adding to your bookshelf from the clearance selection are Moon and Sandals (Vol. 01) by Fumi Yoshinaga and Princess Princess (Vol. 02) by Mikiyo Tsuda. The first is part one of a two book series wherevolume one gets you attached to the characters and the following book proves a steamy follow-up. Princess Princess isn’t really a boys’ love story but pretty boys, teasing and crossdressing definitely makes it an applicable crossover for many fans.

And last but not least, a one-shot from Yaoi Press, the original boys’ love publisher affiliated with EverythingYaoi.com. The book is titled Surge and is a cute love story between a surfer and book nerd. It’s got some funny moments and an adorable art style plus one-shots are always a great cart topper. All in one!

Though these titles are just some of those in the site’s clearance section, it’s also recommended you check out their other sale sections to see what books from different publishers they’ve got on discount as well. Shipping prices can get a little hefty though so be sure to read through the FAQ section when making your calculations. Shop on, boys-love collectors!

Websites had some downtime yesterday so apologies for any who came by and were greeted by error pages. We should be back up and running fine now. That said, onwards to manga!

A snowstorm and slow release week kept me away from the comic shop last week but this week I was happy to make up for the short lull with a stack of must-own favourites.

Absolute favourites of the week were definitely the newest volume of Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo (Vol. 08) and Black Butler (Vol. 04). Both star enigmatic pretty-boys with hidden powers and a whole lot of random happening around them. I was disappointed that the new volume of Black Jack wasn’t shipped here yet but these two definitely did a lot to brighten my mood. Retailers are listing this volume of Pet Shop of Horrors as  the last one though – I really hope that’s not the case!

While no new Tezuka to buy this week from Vertical (though hard to beat the news we got instead!), I was able to pick up the fifth volume of the slice-of-life space story, Twin Spica. Purchasing another of what I consider great ‘relaxing’ manga, I was pleased to find a copy of Cross Game (Vol. 02). Unlike the first volume, which was three volumes in one, this second book is only two volumes in one. It’s a good set-up though, as the first omnibus did a good job sucking me in but I don’t think I can handle that much of Mitsuri Adachi’s placid characters every time.

Adding some more Viz Media books to the stack, I got the new volume of Library Wars (Vol. 04) despite my disappointment of prior books. I keep remaining hopeful we’ll get more actual war and library and less cliche romance. Fingers crossed! More promising was my purchase of Arata (Vol. 04) – more shonen-style action from one of the original shoujo-cliche queens, Yuu Watase.

And lastly I picked up a new boys’ love one-shot from BLU – Stray Cat. I’ve already read this one and really liked it. Great release quality from Tokyopop, fun characters with a nice art style and some really hilarious comics about the creator’s pets at the book’s end. BLU books don’t come out often but I’ve been pretty impressed with their selection overall these days.

This weekend I’m putting through a RightStuf order and that means filling up my shopping list with a whole bunch of surprise finds, bargain bin treats and must-have purchases (such as the boxset of Twelve Kingdoms!). Anything you’d recommend? A series new or old that you think shouldn’t be missed? Let me know!

So what were some of your recent purchases?

eManga has added a bunch of interesting new titles in this latter portion of 2010, notably a handful of new titles from artists outside of Japan, along with a new manga series exclusive to their site.

Most recent, and my most favourite, additions are the first two volumes of Yayoi Neko’s Incubus series. The print edition (currently up to volume three) has been published in its entirety so far by Kitty Media (after being picked up from Bang! Entertainment).

“Demonic beings longing to be human put Judas’ life at stake to possess the unique soul within him. The incubus Lenniel, has sworn to protect and defeat all who threaten the man he loves: the shy puritan Judas. But outside dangers are not all that threaten his human beloved. A painful past haunts Judas, preventing him from trusting anyone, especially Lenniel. This is an enemy the incubus is not sure how to defeat. How does one fight a crippling force that exists within another’s heart?”

I’m a fan of Yayoi Neko‘s work – it has an art style that offers something notably different than the vast majority of boys’ love released in North America (check out her website gallery). The first volume of Incubus also comes with a short called ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ (which was released originally by the artist in limited edition ‘floppy’ comic format) about a scientist and the robot he helped create with… well, it’s worth reading to get all the exact details.

Other new titles on eManga include the webcomic BL-hit, Starfighter, a sample edition of the artistically-gorgeous Teahouse (also a web comic) and Mizuki, which is a “never before released” shoujo by the creator of Wedding Peach.

Digital Manga sells its points “using a credit card at a typical rate of 1000 points for $10.”. Looking at a complete volume at 300 points, you’re only paying $3 for the rental (which lasts 72 hours). It’s a great deal for people who love to read a book once, especially when a second rental allows you unlimited time access (so about $6 a book for digital keeps).

While the addition of a variety of talented artists from around the globe is of course great, I also continue to be impressed simply by the amount of cross-publisher work being done with eManga. BLU (Tokyopop), Yaoi Press, Media Blasters and of course Digital Manga, all on one site – it’s quickly collecting all the boys’ love basics (plus some Harlequin thrown in there for good measure?). It’s a shame though that this collection of boys’ love, with its great prices in particular, isn’t able to be utilized on a more mobile platform. Even a digital-meh person such as myself wouldn’t be able to deny this kind of collection being in the palm of my hand instead of trapped on the internet-locked computer screen.

Another week, another slew of new releases! I was too late to get a hold of a copy of 20th Century Boys (Vol. 10) but there was still plenty of other good titles to pick up (now with some pictures):

BLU, the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop, had a couple of new titles out this week. The most exciting of which was the third volume of Voice or Noise. The second volume was released in February 2008 so it’s been quite a wait for this follow-up. None the less I’m as excited to finally purchase a copy now as I was looking forward to it after finishing the last. Great boys’ love series!

The other title I picked up from them is Scarlet, a one-shot by the same creator who did Cute Devil. Honestly, I don’t have much interest in this artist or this premise but I bought the painfully overpriced book all the same because it marks a new (potentially continued?) book style and I wanted to check it out/support it. It sports a larger-than-the-norm trim size and colour inserts at the front. I flipped through it and it was actually a bit disorienting reading a BLU title suddenly notably larger, though snazzy all the same. It’s great to see, especially since it takes a step closer to almost justifying the $18.99 price tag.

Continuing on the semi-boys’ love trend, I was amazed to see a whole slew of DokiDoki titles on the shelf of Chapters (the B&N/Borders equivalent to you Americans out there). They’ve only ever carried sparse copies of Vampire Hunter D from Digital Manga so seeing them branch out to this varied imprint was exciting, plus very promising to the local boys’ love fanbase who are too timid to special order. Though not boys’ love, I purchased a physical copy of Alice the 101st which I reviewed earlier in the month for ANN.

Moving onto other genres, I picked up a copy of Bakuman (Vol. 01) – the team of Death Note makes a manga about making manga – and the fourth volume of Ooku in which it feels like the faux-Shakespearean speech that I really dislike seems more toned down (or is that just me?). In the mail I got a copy of the newest volume of Butterflies, Flowers which is hilarious – I am completely enamoured with the mature silliness of this series and I hope many others are too.

And lastly, thanks to my local library, I’ve been reading the Manga Guide to Databases. After reading the Manga Guide to Statistics last week and being impressed with how much I actually retained from it, I sought out this one as I’ve been wanting a basic introduction to databases. Yay for learning?

Some technical difficulties over the weekend put a bump in my final update regarding Anime North but while I await the retrieval of some material, I notice it’s been a while since we’ve had a news snippet post. Time for some boys’ love loving with news today.!There’s been a few tidbits the past while so here’s a quick round-up of each:

AnimeNewsNetwork is reporting the next Gakuen Heaven manga has been listed on Amazon by BLU (the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop). The book was also listed in this month’s Preview catalog from Diamond Comics. The company has already released the first two of the Gakuen Heaven books. Based on a boys ‘ love sim game, each book follows the lead character being involved with a different character. The title of this third volume is Gakuen Heaven: Endo ~Calling You~. BLUManga has also posted on their Twitter account that the third volume of Voice or Noise has gone to the printers (yay!).

Yaoi Con has updated its website with a whole look and a bunch of new announcements. This year’s Yaoi Con, North America’s largest convention dedicated to boys’ love, is celebrating its ten year anniversary. They’ve updated their website with guest information – including Hinako Takanaga, Ayane Yamano, Jo Chen and Kano Miyamoto – as well as information regarding returning events such as their AMV contest.

Over at The Yaoi Review, blogger Jennifer LeBlanc has proclaimed June to be Global Boys’ Love Month. Over the month she’ll be covering boys’ love works from creators around the world. Should be lots of interesting stuff to come!

On the note of global boys’ love, there’s some related news to check out on that front as well:

Artist Jo Chen, whose gorgeous painted works can often be seen on the cover of Marvel comics and Buffy issues, has some new independently released books that are definitely worth a look. Firstly she’s completed her first doujin (noted by Yaoi Con) – In These Words. The work is 52 pages altogether and was sold at the recent Fanime, plus will be available at Yaoi Con. Secondly she’s also releasing an art book of her cover illustrations, restricted to only 1500 copies, that she’s selling through e-mail. The book is in Chinese, has 140 pages and costs $45.

Tina Anderson, GlobBL creator whose work include Only Words and the web comic, Whore of Turfan, has a new independently published work coming out with the pre-order date closing in. Loud Snow is  a story of “romantic ice-age hilarity” with art by Amelie Belcher. A digital edition is already available via Kindle with a version soon to be available on eManga. The print edition is coming out this July with pre-orders available for only $8.00.

Manga-ka: Hiro Madarame
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: May 2010

Synopsis: “Tohru Akiyoshi is comfortable in life with his top grades and student council responsibilities. Only problem is he’s got a complex about his effeminate looks. And to make matters worse, the prettiest boy in school, Fuuta Naruse, not only comes onto him… he downright jumps him! Behind that mask of innocent beauty, Fuuta’s got a savage streak, and he’ll stop at nothing to make Akiyoshi his!”

For those who have read their share of boys’ love stories, there are a number of things you’ve come to assume they’ll provide: schoolboys, guys prettier than nature generally allows and forceful love justified by genre – to name a few. Cute Devil does what it can to fulfil a number of these expectations – whether or not it succeeds much past that is debatable.

The lead character, Tohru Akiyoshi, steps into the role of the stoic glasses-wearing archetype, but he doesn’t fit as neatly into the mold as you may expect from his appearance. Tohru has had his share of issues being an intelligent pretty-boy yet the attention he garners is nothing compared to the flocks of admirers and well-wishers that surround the school’s most notorious cherub: Fuuta Naruse. Short, slight, and adorable beyond measure in context of the story, Fuuta is considered by almost everyone to be the most beautiful young man alive, and possibly the most smart and talented as well.

But could such a teenage boy really exist? Tohru may be forced to believe what he sees with his own two eyes but refuses to fall for the hype. It’s easy to see he’s just sealed his fate with that decision. Tohru suddenly finds himself the target of Fuuta’s lusty affections and we’re not talking the innocent-wanton kind that begs to be taken either. Seems there’s a side to Fuuta that he keeps hidden from the rest of the world, and unfortunately for Tohru, it’s the sadistic, controlling, sex-craving side. Now Tohru’s become Fuuta’s plaything whenever the little angel wants it, a pawn to each moment that shiny-eyed pout transforms into a mischievously sinister grin.

Those looking for romance will likely be disappointed by Cute Devil which offers a bit of everything but, save for a few short moments at the end that could be construed as something semi-similar by boys’ love standards (ie: I’m jealous and possessive, thus I care). Tohru is unable to fight back against Fuuta’s advances and he’s quickly caught up in dwelling on what happened – and more to the benefit of his alone time in the shower than damage to his psyche, naturally. In the beginning it feels like the creator may be toying with more poignant issues such as self-esteem and fitting in at school but they definitely fall flat before they even start.

Just watching the little cute guy flip personalities and harass Tohru does have its appeal though – honestly, it’s pretty outright entertaining. Tohru freaks out, Fuuta’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, he takes what he wants anyway, rinse and repeat. Granted even with a few moments of tension tossed in by secondary-character interference, the quirk does fall flat a little quick. Soon enough the artist catches onto the fact and this leads to her switching things up a tad later on. By the end of the book there’s even a faint semblance of potential affection forming between the two and Tohru tries to step up with some well-intended reciprocation (tries being the important word).

Hiro Madarame’s has a nice art style but the eye-candy it provides doesn’t always translate to being the most coherent. If I can’t tell where hands are touching during a sex scene, then there’s an issue. Text bubbles are also thrown about haphazardly so there’s a lot of potential for trip-up following who’s saying what on occasion. The line work itself is very loose, almost sketch-like. While at times it looks like it lacks polish, it does often make up for this with naturally drawn characters with animated expressions. It also takes an interesting approach towards chibis that, though maybe a little off-putting at first with their bobble-head style, are good for deliberate laughs. The characters themselves are rendered in a way that compliments their descriptions – pretty and lithe when intended and, in Fuuta’s case, terrifying when required.

BLU’s work on the book is standard – nothing especially remarkable but no room for real complaint either. The adaptation flows pretty well, the text is tidy and easy to read and the book comes with a double-sided full colour illustration at the beginning. Still, acceptable quality and bonus-colours or not, there doesn’t seem to be much here that warrants the high price mark – $18.99 Canadian for those of us up North. Ouch.

Those looking for fluff or flutter may as well pass by Cute Devil, which opts for a comedic edge over the often-expected melodrama and lust. Neatly contained as a one-shot story however (it’s sequel series yet to be licensed for English release), Cute Devil proves a decent enough dose of its own oddities to maintain being quirky while falling just short of being obnoxious. If you’re not put-off by the boys’ love tropes of forced-fancies and shallow situations, you may find enough worth chuckling at with this one.

Review written May 6, 2010 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased from Chapters

In their recent Tokyopop newsletter, the company has shared a list of manga titles that have been sent to the printers for reprints. This is great news for those who’ve been missing certain volumes in their collections from these series, including the first five volumes of Junji Romantica and the originally-released-in-2004 Saiyuki (Vol. 04). Wow those original releases feel like they were forever ago… sort of nostalgic!

I don’t know about you but seeing a book originally published six years ago getting a reprint is pretty snazzy – shows that when demand is high seeming-miracles can happen! Hopefully now I can finally get my hands on volume three of Kyo Kara Maoh! as well.

These books are set for re-release this week. You can see the full list on their website.

BLU, the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop, has posted information for those who may have received defective copies of the recently released one-shot, Croquis.

Some customers have found random portions of the book in German, an accidental overlap from an earlier edition Tokyopop published in Germany.

“This was due to a printing error — unfortunately, due to some technical and human errors, some German text from a previously published edition was not properly deleted, and therefore some editions were printed with German text in a few word balloons.”

Those who have a book with this issue can cut out and mail the bar code to Tokyopop and they’ll replace it with a new ‘clean copy’. It isn’t clear if this offer is open only to the United States or if international customers can do the same.