ANNCast is always a must-listen for me over at AnimeNewsNetwork but they’re most recent two shows have been especially interesting for manga readers. I highly recommend listening to both:

ANNCast – Tarboxed and Feathered

“Justin and Zac shoot the breeze about some ANN business, and then it’s all awful blurays and the winter 2011 movie season. Then our guest shows up – longtime industry veteran Jonathan “Jake” Tarbox tells the story of his career up to this point, including his stint at Raijin Comics and DC Comics’ short-lived manga imprint CMX, and then takes your questions via Twitter. You can’t go wrong! “

ANNCast – Guy Kiley

“Former Senior Vice President of Tokyopop Mike Kiley is our special guest this week, and he runs us through his long and storied career at the shuttered publisher. We cover it all – the heady early days, the not so heady later days and the company’s untimely downfall. You’ve been waiting for this one!”

The manner in which DC handled choosing licenses for CMX was both fascinating and terrifying. It says a lot about the problems they faced over their years as a manga publisher and makes me more thankful than ever for the great titles we did get from them, some I know we’d never have gotten from anyone else (Key to the Kingdom – I love it, but really?). Knowing it was mostly done via a method akin to a dartboard shows how lucky we were for some. You could really tell things were tightening up over at CMX in its final year for selection and marketing though. It’s so unfortunate it was the beginning of the end.

This week’s ANNCast has Zac and Justin sit down to talk to Mike Kiley, Senior Vice President of the now no-longer-publishing-manga-until-I-see-otherwise, Tokyopop. He shares a lot about his experience with the company from the day it began up until his final days in their office. He’s a terrific guest and speaks very well with a lot of interesting info to offer. I was especially interested in hearing which series sold well and reasons for others not continuing, such as Kino no Tabi. I regret no one, myself included, thought to ask about Tokyopop’s boys’ love imprint, BLU, but it’s a minor quip in an otherwise great look at TP’s life start to finish.

It’s been a little while I’ve had a Swag Bag column. In a very disorganized way it suits the current state of my apartment, where I keep finding books I’d forgotten I bought! Upside is I always find something new to read, inadvertently stopping myself from simply reading everything the moment I get home.

So what goodies have I been ‘finding’ over the last couple of weeks?

Starting off with some shoujo, I picked up the fourth volume of Kobato. It’s not my favourite CLAMP series but I’m still enjoying it’s cute-factor. I reviewed this volume earlier in the week and really liked the cameos from CLAMP’s other series. For something less fantasy and more kooky, I bought Dengeki Daisy (Vol. 05) - which I recently learned is created by a male manga-ka (the more you know!) Edit: Or not? See comments below!. For a story darker than those two put together, Arisa (Vol. 03) fit the bill perfectly continuing to deceive anyone I show with its cutesy covers.

After drawing a lot of attention back when it was first announced by Viz Media, volumes one and two of Pokemon Black & White have hit comic store shelves (they were in most big chain bookstores a couple weeks back). The size of them is interesting – more square shaped than Viz’s standard books and considerably thinner, more similar to the way they used to publish Pokemon Adventures during its first graphic novel run. I love reading a manga with the Pokemon from the new games and they’ve got no shortage of attitude based on what I’ve flipped through so far.

The second omnibus collection of Full Metal Alchemist offered me something substantially larger in regards to page-count. Having finished this, I’ve now read the equivalent of six volumes of the original run, and it’s official – I’m hooked. So good! It’s going to be hard not to rush out and buy the rest of the series in singles. At first the omnibus paper quality bothered me (it’s noticeably thinner than the single books) but it really doesn’t make much of a difference when you’re reading as long as you don’t try to hold your book up by a single sheet (and why would you do that in the first place?).

High quality publishing from Viz Media are two books from their Viz Signature collection – Ooku (Vol. 06) and La Quinta Camera. I openly admit that I can barely grasp who is who and what’s going on half the time in the grand scheme of things in Ooku but Fumi Yoshinaga makes every scene so potent with drama and expression that I’m completely engrossed all the time anyway.

From Vertical Inc, I bought the newest volume of Black Jack (Vol. 15) – always an absolute must-have! This volume comes in sunny shades of yellow, an eye-catching but somber reminder that sun is something we’ve seen very little of this summer here in Nova Scotia! Ah well, a new volume of Black Jack can always chase away the rainy day blues.

Looking to try a new series, and get a fantasy-fix in the process, I picked up Deltora Quest (Vol. 01) from Kodansha Comics. The plot sounded super generic but that’s not always a bad thing. Unfortunately the art style, which has already had my roommate and I in giggles over some of the super awkward panel choices and character designs, has me questioning the purchase. We’ll see how I feel about it as a whole when my review goes up early next week.

And finally, to fill in some empty spots on my bookshelf, I bought Tale of an Unknown Country (Vol. 02) from the now non-existent CMX and Natsume’s Book of Friends (Vol. 05), which is a random volume mid-series I somehow managed to miss purchasing.

What was in your swag bag this week?

It was so nice outside today! It’s great to be able to shed off the winter coat and boats and head downtown for some new comics wearing a light hoodie and a comfy pair of sneakers. I didn’t come home with a huge pile of stuff but that makes them all no less awesome.

I bought three books from Viz Media this week – Pokemon Adventures (Vol. 12), Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Vol. 02) and Blue Exorcist (Vol. 01). Upon flipping through Pokemon Adventures, I’m most excited to read this volume – there’s a whole bunch of previous characters returning such as Misty, Brock and Sabrina so I’m really to see why and under what circumstances. Blue Exorcist (Vol. 01) caught my eye with its shiny cover and I’ve heard a lot about it lately because of its upcoming anime release. It’ll almost be like I’m up to date on anime playing these days!

One title from Tokyopop this week as I start up another new manga series - Clean Freak: Fully Equipped (Vol. 01). My first impression is that the art is really rough and rather unappealing but hopefully the rather quirky sounding plot can overcome that. We shall see! It’s about a boy with a huge germophobe problem and the friends he makes who help him overcome it.

Topping off my purchases with a trip to the discount bin, I purchased From Erocia With Love (Vol. 14). I only own the first three volumes and honestly didn’t like them very much. But I’ve heard lots of good things about the series so we’ll see how a random dip in the middle fares!

Lastly, and though not manga, I’m also going to mention my purchase of Bone (One Volume Edition). For a mere $20, I was able to buy the entire Bone graphic novel series in a single book! I’ve never had an opportunity to read the entire series before so I was really happy to find this book for sale.

Now I’m off to read! What did you purchase this week?

It’s New Years Day! And that means the end of 2010 has come and gone – the end of the first decade of the 2000s’, the end of another year of fantastic comics (upon other many wonderful things).

Just for a little living in the past on this first day of 2011, what better time to look back at 2010 with some favourites, surprises, disappointments and neat website tidbits. Sure it would’ve made more sense to have posted yesterday but who has time with all those celebrations going on… right?

It’s been a fun year here at Kuriousity with all the writers contributing their own to the site. At the beginning of 2010, we also welcomed our newest reviewer Jaime Samms to the team who has been covering boys’ love light novels. Yay! Below are some of our top posts:

Most Popular Non-Review Posts in 2010:

Scanlation Sentiments: My Answers to Your Statements
No New Del Rey Titles After November 2010?
Tyrant Who Falls In Love Listed for OVA Release
Vertical Licenses Osamu Tezuka’s Ayako
VIZ Launching Digital Supplement for Shonen Jump Subscribers

Most Popular Review Posts in 2010:

Incubus Master (Part One)
Twilight the Graphic Novel (Vol. 01)
Pig Bride (Vol. 03)
Cute Devil
Your Love Sickness

Total Number of Posts: 406
Reviews Posted: 200

So in 365 days we managed to review 200 books, not too bad (and the exact number of reviews posted in 2009 as well). But, curious about what books came out in 2010? AnimeNewsNetwork has a handy list to show you just that. The list shows 997 manga titles out in 2010, not including manhwa (Korean) and manhua (Chinese) titles. That is a lot of books!

It’s so hard to pick favourites of anything (and I try my best to steer clear of the word ‘best’ because I think that’s pretty subjective person to person) but I did my best to select from the long list of books out this year which were the ones most memorable to me, for better or worse in some cases. I also restricted myself to only naming a particular series once so in a more accurate me-world there’d be a lot of overlap but for the sake of having a nice and varied list, one per subject it is:

Favourite Continuing-Through-2010-and-Beyond Series:

(6-Way Tie) Black Jack, Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo, 20th Century Boys, Pokemon Adventures, Yotsuba&!, Bunny Drop – It’s far too difficult to choose a favourite series but these six are my top picks, the series that when a new volume comes out, I need it. Now. There’s a good bit of variety in the selection but all have a combination of great characters and complimenting artwork that I just can’t get enough of! All six series are currently on-going so for all the volumes I enjoyed of them in 2010, it’s great to know there’s even more coming in 2011.

Favourite Where-Have-You-Been-All-My-Life Series:

Ouran Host Club – I was lucky to find a set of volumes 1-15 for super cheap at my local comic store and as a huge fan of the anime, I had to finally pick this manga series up. I’ve been reading through it at a pretty quick pace this last week of 2010. I’m ten volumes in and loving it. It’s such a unique, fun and absolutely adorable series – I just want to hug every single character. I can’t wait to finish these volumes and await the new ones.

Favourite Tear-Jerker:

Pluto - And by favourite I mean only and by tear-jerker I mean of course it made me sad enough to cry, not to mention it’s depressing in itself having this series come to an end this year. This series had it all – suspense, drama, romance, angst, explosions and giant robots. Naoki Urasawa took the basics from Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy and made something really special, an eight volume manga I’d recommend to any reader (above the age of 16).

Favourite Purchase of the Year:

Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus (Vol. 01) – While reading this series wasn’t new to me, this re-release by Dark Horse was still one of my highlight purchases of the year. The quality of this book is incredible – from the sheer amount of pages you get, to the tweaked adaptation for more fluidity and the pages upon pages of full illustrations, this was a gorgeous blend of nostalgia and quality. Magical girl shows don’t get much better than this.

Favourite Series to Fangirl Over:

Black Butler – Do I ever love this series. Wow, though not really in the ‘this-is-top-notch-stuff’ way but in the ‘I’m-being-perfectly-catered-to-for-entertainment’ sort of way. Specifically the art and character designs, both of which are sleek, sharp and use lots of black. Gotta love that butler. Oh and the plot’s kind of cool too.

Favourite Surprise:

(Tie) Toriko & House of Five Leaves - There were two series I went into with little to no expectations: Toriko, because of it’s food-centric plot line and rather unattractive art style, and House of Five Leaves because of how boring I found the artist’s previously released series (Gente and Ristorante Paradiso). But both series surprised me and quickly became favourites. Toriko I’d easily say is my favourite shonen currently running and I was really eager to get my hands on volume two of House of Five Leaves for more of that brilliantly subtle character drama.

Favourite Art Style:

(Tie) XXXHolic & Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles – Does it count as a tie if the two series are done by the same people and overlap with one another? Either way, both excellent. If I had to choose one of the two, it’d be XXXHolic for CLAMP’s brilliant use of blacks and minimal toning but Tsubasa offers up some epic magical fight scenes and an assortment of gorgeous character designs. Tsubasa had its final volume released this year while XXXHolic continues on with Watanuki having an excuse to dress in jaw-dropping beautiful clothing and lazing about looking darn good.

Favourite Improvement:

(Tie) Bakuman & Rin-Ne – Both of these series I went into really wanting to like. Bakuman is a story of budding manga artists by the creators of Death Note, while Rin-Ne is the next series from Rumiko Takahashi. Unfortunately the first volumes left me feeling cold – one full of air-headed characters too and the other just flat-out dull. Thankfully their subsequent volumes have proven far more enthralling and now I await volume three of Bakuman and volume four of Rin-Ne with renewed enthusiasm. Huzzah!

Favourite Guilty Pleasure:

Zone-oo – Oh, Zone-00 – your plot makes little to no sense, your characters are downright insane and your art style is gorgeous. From boys who look like underage girls to guys so huge and hairy they can block out the sun, there’s no end to the over the top character designs that make this book a treat to read every time. The plot, though rather non-nonsensical, is at least helped along tremendously by the writing which utilizes some of the best slang and attitude in translated manga I own.

Favourite Production Values:

Chi’s Sweet Home – Not being a fan of cats, a series about a cat being, well, a cat, falls short on my list of favourites. What Chi’s Sweet Home does possess that still attracts me to it every time I see it on the shelf is the production values. From the cute trim size to the smooth paper and full colour printing, it’s a downright adorable book whether you care much for the content or not.

Favourite to Read When I Want A Great Laugh:

Butterflies, Flowers - This isn’t a series I’d ever recommend for a great relationship in terms of any actual substance, health or believability, but if you’re looking for one that fodders some great comedy then look no further. The first volume was hit or miss with more flop than flair thanks to the one-sided dynamic between the characters yet once it got going, it’s one of my favourite series to sit down with. I know that I’ll have plenty of laughs from this sexually-driven shoujo an (obviously) older audience.

Favourite Shoujo:

Shinobi Life – I was completely smitten with this series from the first volume. A school girl and a time-travelling ninja doesn’t immediately imbue the most confidence but Shinobi Life makes it work. Both characters read a bit more mature than your average shoujo leads and there’s a good combination of drama and action to save it from being just another ‘two-worlds-one-love’ story. Most recently the story delved into potentially too-cheesy-to-work angle with more time travel and younger selves yet it still makes it work!

Saddest To See End Too Soon:

Stolen Hearts – One of the casualties of CMX’s demise, Stolen Hearts is one of the most charming shoujo series I’ve ever read so I was most sad of all to see this series come to an abrupt end. It tells the story of a class’s tallest student and the class’s shortest student falling in love over spilled drinks and kimonos. It’s so charming and full of mush, I’d love to get a chance to read more.

Favourite Boys’ Love of 2010:

Tyrant Who Falls in Love – Say what you will about the non-consensuality of this series (a somewhat regrettably rampant trope in boys’ love) but I loved this first volume to no end. It helps Hinako Takanaga is one of my favourite manga-ka, hands down. The exaggerated artwork and over the top situations were either good for a laugh or a well-entertained sigh of WTF-ery and I’m certainly in for the long haul to see when this relationship hopefully becomes one with a bit less ‘force’ behind it.

Most Love-Hate Relationship:

Peepo Choo – Oh Peepo Choo, definitely the most gratuitously violent and sexualized  title I’ve read all year. It certainly had a vibe all its own and it’s commentary on geek groups was on the nose enough to offend some folks. Though some of its overlapping plot elements didn’t play out that well, I still found myself enjoying all the culture shock elements of the plot and the array of unlikable yet still entertaining characters.

Can’t-Believe-I-Don’t-Have-Them-Yet of 2010:

(Tie) One Thousand and One Nights (Vol. 11) & Dragonball Omnibus – These are two things I spent the duration of 2010 telling myself I needed to buy and for one reason or another haven’t yet. I’m a huge Dragonball fan but having already bought and read various editions of the manga, I couldn’t get myself to buy these new omnibus despite how much I want them. Next year! As for One Thousand and One Nights, I just had trouble finding this – it never popped up on any local book shelves despite the presence of the rest of the series and it was quickly listed as out of stock on Amazon.ca. Thankfully it came back up as available just this week so with an order placed, I should at least have this one to look forward to early 2011! Such a beautiful story with heart-wrenching tales told within it.

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And then to round things out, a few memorable-for-different-reasons-series:

So Bad They’re Almost Good:

(Tie) Stepping on Roses & Black Bird - The key phrase is almost good. Or maybe it’s so bad… either way, these are two shoujo series that make me cringe with their unlikeable characters and offensively one-sided relationship dynamics that are played seriously. Stepping on Roses is my least favoured of the two, with Black Bird being a tad more tolerable if only because I give an ounce of credit to people doing stupid things when you take into consideration how screwed up the lead female was in the first volume. That’s not really a compliment to the story though which is obviously released to appeal to the Twilight crowd, sharing a lot in common with the sparkling-vampire relationships.

Most Near-Impossible-To-Drag-Self-Through of 2010:

(Tie) Sasameke & Red Hot Chili Samurai - Not too much to say about these two books as I’ve yet to be able to even finish them in their entirety. Boring. Boring. Boring. The story of a boy  who loves soccer being forced to play soccer and a samurai who eats chili peppers just didn’t offer up anything but a deep, dull-induced groan.

Most Disappointing Manga of 2010:

(Tie) Ayako & Ghost Hunt (Vol. 11) – My two biggest disappointments of the year, both I awaited with high hopes and eager eyes only to feel dissatisfied upon finishing. I’ve enjoyed nearly every Osamu Tezuka work I’ve read but Ayako is a definite exception, a dry and overly-dreary story about equally dry and overly-dreary people doing  bad things. Ghost Hunt (Vol. 11) was like the crescendo of the continually dwindling quality in the series including some really lazy looking artwork and a story that stops without resolution, not to mention benching almost all the main characters. Much sadness.

Most ‘Blech’ Manga of 2010:

AX: A Collection of Alternative Manga – Not only the worst book I read this year, but easily one of the most terrible manga I’ve ever read – speaking from my own personal opinion of course. This is definitely something you would say ‘is not for me’. Pretentious stories that relied on gross and gory to be edgy offered little in the way of thought-provoking stories or any especially memorable commentary of any kind past ‘look what we can do and call art!’. It felt like it expected a full pass on its mediocrity by stamping ‘artsy’ on itself. Worse off though I suppose was the surprise I felt at the mass amount of critical praise for a collection I couldn’t fathom ever touching again. Just goes to show how diverse some peoples’ tastes can be (and welcomingly so despite any disagreements).

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And that’s my semi-brief round-up of memorable 2010 reading! What were some of your favourites? Some of your least favourites? Or some of the titles  you missed that you intend to catch up with in 2011. Later this week I’ll also be posting my most-anticipated for 2011 so I hope you come by to share what titles you’re most looking forward to in the new year.

But all that said - HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2011 be a great one.

DC Comics may’ve done their darnedest to wipe their manga imprint off the face of the internet after shutting it down, but the knowledge of the books and the love of the imprint’s offerings still lingers with its fans. Now thanks to RightStuf the lovers and newly curious alike can scoop up some more of the now out-of-print books for their bookshelves with this week’s sale:

“From now through August 19, the “your price” listed is the price you pay – no coupon code required – and these new prices represent a savings of at least 33% OFF the retail prices of all titles from DC Comics and CMX Manga! (This includes items that are in stock, on order and special order!)**”

Lots to choose from and with a certain added sense of urgency since these remaining pockets of stock may not last long. Of those I’ve read, I’d highly recommend Key to the Kingdom, Kiichi and the Magic Books, King of Cards, Land of the Blindfold, Oh! My Brother, and my favourite – Stolen Hearts.

Going through the lists just reminds me how many other series I have yet to finished or start that I’ve meaning to though. Eep, time to start budgeting for some extra manga spending this month…

My local comic shop Strange Adventures is having a 20% off everything sale this month – hopefully that means lots of new books in the coming weeks!

While there this week I picked up a few different books:

Peepo Choo (Vol. 01) – This book was insane. I read it on the way home on the bus (for which thankfully I was sitting in the back because this is not the kind of book you want to think people are reading over your shoulder). Very 18+ material and pretty mean too. I liked it over all because of the sheer amount of ridiculous energy but the creator is definitely out to make a statement by being pretty insultive. But though over-emphasized, it’s still based on nerd-dom truths so you can’t hate it for that. The stereotypical anime fans versus comic fans scene is pretty entertaining and hits the nail on the head. The amount of sex and violence really surprised me though but I did very much find myself wishing it’d stick to those parts and leave the ‘weeabo’ drooling, shiney-eyed main character behind.

Black Jack (Vol. 12) – One of the series that I just cannot wait to pick-up – when I know it’s out, I must have it! This volume continues the trend of never disappointing. I do find each time I read a new volume I always think ‘this is darker than before’ in regards to how the stories end but since I have that thought every time, I think it just proves how much continuing good shock value some of the stories have, not that they’re actually getting more grim or serious over time.

And from the wonderful bargain bin I picked up volume four of Me & My Brothers and volume two of A Tale of an Unknown Country. I haven’t read either of the series before so reading through these volumes should give me an idea of if I’d like to hunt out the rest of the volumes.

And arriving in the mail for me this week was two volumes of Yuri Montogari which are really uniquely varied stories of lesbian-love stories (some with definite twists in some stories) and a copy of Moto Haigo’s Drunken Dream and Other Stories from Fantagraphics Books. I was really surprised to see Drunken Dreams is a large-trim, hardcover book with glossy decoration work.

And as a little birthday present for myself I picked up an artbook by Ken Mizuki titled Sarasa. It’s a pretty small artbook compared to the others in my collection (small page count) but the cost was cheap and the art inside still very pretty. I think this artist primarily does doujinshi so while I’ve never read any of their manga, it was neat to see some artwork in here that I remember seeing scattered across fan-forums back in the days of Gundam and Saint Seiya fandom.

And lastly, thanks to the public library, I’ve been reading the Manga Guide to Statistics. It’s admittedly weird reading something that makes me feel like I’ve been dropped back in high school yet at the same time I really have to give the book credit for being such a good teaching tool. I had to reread some parts a few times to grasp the more involved stuff yet the fact that it makes me want to learn this stuff enough to do so is impressing me in itself. I’m definitely planning on reading the other books in this series.

Manga-ka: Miku Sakamoto
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: July 2010

Synopsis: “It’s the holidays and Koguma and Shinobu plan to spend all of their time together. Unfortunately, both have to work on Christmas, but they have special New Year’s plans to look forward to. However, all of the romance and fun might come to a startling halt when Koguma’s older brother Miki takes an interest in Shinobu. Even though Shinobu’s heart belongs to Koguma, she keeps getting caught in compromising situations that quickly raise Koguma’s jealously flag.”

The height-odd couple return for another, and sadly last, volume of Miku Sakamoto’s Stolen Hearts. The tall and kind Kogamu and the short and sweet Shinobu continue their spend their days together happily, helping out of the kimono shop and slipping in some time for just the two of them. Things are moving pretty slowly – will the two ever have their first kiss? – but it’s all so fluffy we’re more than content to let them wade in the romantic shallow end to their heart’s content. But, still what’s a shoujo without some love triangle drama?

An impromptu invite over to Koguma’s house allows Shinobu to be introduced to his three older brothers. All look similar enough to presume definite physical relation to one another but have fairly distinct personalities; all are generally nice guys and attractive ones at that. The brother most focused on in this volume is the oldest, Miki – a raven-haired young man with impeccable skill at creating kimonos. When Koguma’s Grandmother makes the decision to add custom kimonos to their store’s offerings, Miki is the sole provider of the service when it comes to actually creating the product. Shinobu now finds herself working closely with Miki not only has a consult for ideas but also as a shopping buddy. What it takes her a little longer to realize however is that she’s also caught the eye of Miki in a way that goes past inspiration.

Miki’s interest in Shinobu quickly escalates. Apparently this all comes as no surprise to his family, several of whom see the warning signs possibly before even Miki himself. But, while Miki does some conniving things to create a rift between Shinobu and Koguma, he’s still not an inherently bad guy. A rival, yes; selfish, for sure – but he doesn’t take his toying too far and seems to have genuine regret for his interference. To Shinobu’s credit also, when Miki is upfront about his intent she immediately puts the obvious together that he likes her – a refreshing change of pace from too many other shoujo leads who would’ve just stood there wondering ‘why?’.

Kogamu’s responses to the situations between his girlfriend and brother seem a tad overdone at points. He jumps to conclusions and instead of getting angry or confronting them, he runs away leaving periods of awkwardness between him and Shinobu. While it isn’t to say it doesn’t feel frustratingly plausible, it can still prove maddening for readers who just want them to finally come to honest terms. It all leads to a good crescendo however when tensions rise between the whole family causing a strain not only for them but for patrons of their store as well. The element of running the store and working with clients is a still pleasant bonus to the story and seeing new kimono owners leave happy is an almost as endearing as a smile shared by the love-birds.

Miku Sakamoto’s artwork remains an integral part of the story. It’s outstanding how downright adorable this book is, wonderfully detailed and full of moments to make you stop with an ‘aww’ or a ‘wow, pretty!’. The character designs are all eye-catching, rendered in the soft art style that has a real sense of natural weight to things such as hair and clothing, making them stand out that much more. While kimonos are the most detail-oriented part of the visuals, scenes that see characters out of their formal entire are just as memorable. Most notably this goes for Miki who spends the majority of his page-time in a male-kimono. When he suddenly appears in casual clothes, not only does it take Shinobu a moment to recognize him, but it’s also a really great visual shift that gives his character a more rounded presence. It’s also nice to have a series where when the characters exclaim the attractiveness of anyone, readers have all the reason to agree. Shinobu in particular is so cute in her kimono, you can understand Kogamu’s brief moments of awe each time he sees her in a new one.

It’s such a shame that this second volume marks the end of CMX’s run of the series since DC’s untimely mob-hit of the imprint leaving nary a trace past manga fans’ memories. It’s even more depressing when the ad for the third volume of Stolen Hearts is still listed in the back of the book. Thankfully this second, and likely last English-released volume, ends on a pretty satisfying note that doesn’t leave any cliffhangers. Had the last two chapters switched places, no one would’ve had any reason to think it wasn’t the end – a fluffy, feel good end note that includes Koguma and Shinobu bowing to the audience and welcoming them into the shop after the resolution of the story’s predominant issue before following-up with Kogamu and Shinobu spending the night together in an inn for a bonus side-story.

Stolen Hearts is a must-read series for any shoujo fan, and in light of how these books are out of print the moment they hit bookstore shelves, it’s all the more reason to implore picking up a copy as soon as you can. Sweet and sublime, this now two-book series will easily steal the hearts of its readers.

Review written July 3, 2010 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased from Strange Adventures

Manga-ka: Shouko Fukaki
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: March 2010

Synopsis: “A mysterious society is stalking Jin because his father and sister, Toko, betrayed them in the past by removing Jin before he could further their cause. At the same time, long-lost brother Soichiro tries to warn Jin’s friend Fusano that Toko and their father are not the good guys they appear to be. Fusano’s not buying it and leaves with Toko, a decision she may come to regret.”

In my previous review, I recommended The Battle of Genryu as a fun martial arts manga with an intriguing plot. That remains to be true, but it’s a little difficult to recommend now with CMX’s closure. If you don’t mind not getting an ending to your manga, you might still want to check this series out, since it sports some great art, and will hopefully be revived someday.

The plot focused a little less on shock-factor this volume, though it still throws us a few interesting parts as we learn more about Jin’s brother, Soichiro, and his adoptive family. While the first volume presented a somewhat conspiratorial tone, this volume expands on the secrets of Jin’s family and the nature of their martial arts teachings. After Jin agrees to the Minamoto Dojo’s plans to train him, Toko follows him along, playing the role of the good big sister while we get sinister hints here and there about the exact nature of dojo itself.

While originally presented as an antagonist , it seems Soichiro deflected from the dojo primarily to enjoy fighting as a sport rather then as a killing technique. His renewed contact with Jin appears to be an extension of this philosophy, attempting to stop the family’s cycle of violence. With scenes revealing he’s started his own school dedicated to sports-based martial arts, the author offers a differing opinion to the more hardcore training we see Jin undertaking. This casts a darker light on the Minamoto Clan, in comparison to Soichiro‘s athletically focused dojo. Some mildly violent moments occur when these two schools get into conflict with each other, and it added another compelling element to the series.

Meanwhile, Toko seeks to protect Jin from this world in her own way, will still appearing to be a part of it. Soichiro’s past with her continues to emerge, and leads to some cute moments as she flips between girly moments and wielding a knife to his throat, which he seems to take in stride. Unfortunately, while we got to see Toko take on a more action-oriented role this volume, Fusano has seemingly settled into being the girlfriend character. This isn’t an entirely bad role, but hopefully one she won’t stay in given she did sport a fair amount of skills previously. I was a little disappointed with this development, as Jin seems to have outpaced her, failing to deliver on the promise of the earlier chapters of volume one. Given CMX’s demise, it seems unlikely we’ll get to find out if its followed through eventually, but the character interaction is still enjoyable despite the somewhat stereotypical shift for Fusano in these chapters.

Shouko Fukaki’s art continues to be the highlight of the series, taking on a stylish look that hearkens back to 90s manga with its stylized faces and a strong focus on anatomy. Characters are less cutesy and more realistically depicted, with some animated flair to emphasize the more fantastical elements. While the series is more realistic then some fighting manga in its brutal combat scenes, the somewhat-superhuman skills of some of the cast is complimented by this look. Backgrounds are solid with detailed imagery of the dojo that gives you a feeling for the exiled world of combat Jin has elected to retreat to, as well as the more traditional school environment. And yes, like many a manga protagonist, despite his strange circumstances, Jin cannot escape going to class. It seems like the cast of Flame of Recca and YuYu Hakusho were able to avoid it for fairly extended periods of time, but Jin hasn‘t lucked out on this fighting manga tradition. (Meanwhile, Naruto’s village avoided it by having a low-quality education system that disregards high school altogether.)

While very enjoyable, I have a tough time recommending this volume given the current state of CMX. Someone else might pick up the series, but since Flex’s only licensor was CMX since DC had invested in them, it remains unclear if any of their titles will find a venue among surviving licensors like VIZ, Tokyopop, Dark Horse and Vertical Inc. Checking Flex’s website, it looks like one more volume has been published in Japan, which given its 2007 release date is presumably the final one, so people who really enjoyed the series might want to track down the third volume in its original language. I’m guessing it would likely conclude some of the relationships that developed in the earlier volumes, and expanded upon the opposing dojos. The Battle of Genryu is charming enough and refreshingly action oriented for a market dominated by shojo manga and more kid-oriented shonen fare, so fans of the genre will probably want to look into it, though it’s still not quite as stellar as other CMX series I enjoyed, included finished series such as Astral Project and Emma.

Review written June 21, 2010 by Andre
Book provided by CMX Manga for review purposes

Manga-ka: Mayu Fujitaka
Publisher: CMX
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: March 2010

Synopsis: “Souka and her recently divorced mother move to a new place to start over. In looking for a school to enroll in, Souka decides to leave her preppy, private high school behind and transfers into a technical high school. To her surprise, she’s the only girl student in the entire school! The first day of school is nothing like she ever imagined — boys crashing through the window, fighting for all they are worth. One day, the school’s current “Bancho” (a term for a gang leader) ambushes Souka. What Souka didn’t know was that when someone takes down the class’ leader, you became the leader of that class. This wasn’t a role she was expecting for herself, but will she be able to relinquish it?”

After all the recent goings on regarding CMX, namely its demise, reviewing this volume was a little sad. However, while the series might go unfinished, My Darling! Miss Bancho’s first volume still has a lot to offer its readers. A decidedly off beat take on the generic Cinderella “guys transform plain girl into campus princess” genre, Souka finds herself the unwanted leader of an entire school of goofy, unrefined young men.

As Souka barely survives her first day at a new school, Mayu Fujitaka introduces us to a fun, independent heroine. Her mother newly divorced, she makes the best of her situation and decides to take the practical route with a technical school to hopefully get a good job once she‘s graduated. I really enjoyed that Souka stood up for her friends, seeking to stop the previous Bancho when he was attacking Yu, and subsequently made the best of a daunting situation.

The manga quickly went from a standard story of a plucky heroine to a hilarious, more realistic take on what it would be like to have a legion of boys at your command. It was a bit of a treat to have a shojo manga where the lead wasn’t a pushover, and the boys aren’t either cheesy romantic leads or menacing examples of why you shouldn’t use shojo manga as a guide to life (like say, any manga involving vampires). While the budding romance plotline with Yu is fairly standard, it’s handled well, and much of the humour is rooted in the absurdity of Souka’s situation. Most of the students are gleeful fans of Miss Bancho, hovering about like overprotective Moms, a strange visual considering the tough guy atmosphere. As Souka takes on would-be usurpers, campus fairs and field trips that become turf battles with other schools, the reactions of her minions offer lots of comedy and heart. Fujitaka seems to have a great understanding of the many forms of stupidity, from goofy to occasionally violent, that occupy high schools that a mostly male population won’t help.

Indeed, the minions make for much of the fun. The bancho aspect of the series had me doing a lot of flashbacks to early 90’s and late 80’s anime, where the school gangs were a common theme, and idealistic thugs headlined series like YuYu Hakusho. While some of the series reflects current shojo manga trends, the old-style basic black uniforms, pompadours, and shaved heads give the series a nice middle ground feel between shonen and shojo, and the accuracy of the setting adds another interesting aspect to the series.

This volumes’ author notes go into Fujitaka’s personal experiences, as her brother attended one of those schools which seem to function similarly to community colleges in North America. It offers a different look at the Japanese educational system. Even the silly aspect of Souka being the only girl at school seems less fantastical after the author reveals that her brother went to high school with 800 boys and 15 girls(!). It seems too often manga are set in extremely decadent schools for the elite gunning for Tokyo University, while this series gives us a heroine on a blue-collar level of training.

The creator admits that this is an early work, and it’s interesting to view things from that perspective. The self-contained nature of the initial chapters reflects the nature of manga anthologies, wherein short stories are a regular feature, and if well received, will see more stories commissioned from the author and expand the story into a series. As such, the first chapter mostly stands on its own, while subsequent chapters are self-contained and build upon the initial wacky theme. Her artwork can occasionally be clunky (mostly in the first chapter), but nonetheless pleasant, and the strong characterizations and strange premise make up for it. It’s interesting to encounter an early work of an artist, rather then the ultra-polished fare of most manga published here, adding another charming aspect to Miss Bancho. The side-notes in different spots of the book also offer a fun glimpse into the challenges and nature of a manga author‘s initial work in the Japanese industry, revealing that Bancho‘s was initially published in another magazine, with it‘s 2nd chapter debuting in the more mainstream Lala.

CMX’s presentation follows their usual standards. Clean, crisp printing on paper that’s a little lighter then other publishers but still a nice quality, which Yen Press looks to have started using on some titles like Kobato. They opted to showcase the artwork and avoid making the cover overly busy, and replace translate sound effects completely (or overlay them with a translation in a similar font), making for a natural read. I’ll miss that attention to detail, as some publishers seem to just slap on a subtitle in basic text, which can be visually distracting for some titles.

DC’s dumping of CMX was one of many recent manga publishing downfalls, but was in many ways the saddest. An imprint of a large, successful publisher, CMX seemed to be an often overlooked stepchild, a division of Wildstorm independent from DC’s primary operations that after an awkward start had become one of the more solid manga publishers, with a strong focus on quality and a diverse range of titles. Ignored by a fandom that perpetuated falsehoods about its editing standards, and by a publisher who consistently ignored the imprint, it still kept going and brought a lot of good books to the market. Some people at DC apparently were not fans of manga, and shuttered the line at last notice, with more volumes of Miss Bancho already solicited and numerous other series cut short. I hope more readers continue to discover their titles and appreciate what’s now gone and what remains. CMX has published a number of great series over the past 5 years, so be sure to check out their numerous completed series before they’re out of print.

My Darling! Miss Bancho is a great read I can easily recommend to any manga reader. The setting will be a nostalgic throwback to older manga fans, like a kinder, gentler Cromartie High School, and the light hearted nature will appeal to new shojo manga fans as well. It has a lot of crossover appeal, and even though its release has been cut short, the origins of the series in a short stories makes it easier to recommend as everything is fairly self-contained. It’s a great example of the fun, unusual titles CMX specialized in bringing to the market.

Review written June 7, 2010 by Andre
Book purchased from Strange Adventures

Manga-ka: Tamio Baba
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: February 2010

Synopsis: “Toyama, a tall and beefy detective, goes undercover as a fifth-grade teacher. The previous teacher was discovered on the ground outside of her condo and rumours say she jumped… or was she pushed? Toyama is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, but it seems like he has a more pressing task at hand: his rowdy students. One student, Makoto, is a little strange and his eccentricities make him a prime target for billies. Makoto can actually see the demons inside people, which manifest themselves as visions of horrible monsters. Will this strange student be able to help Toyama?”

The premise of Deka Kyoshi is a little odd, or at least not as clearly established as perhaps it should be. Toyama is a police officer who has gone undercover as a homeroom teacher at an elementary after his department has reason to believe the students are being targeted. How they come to this conclusion isn’t exactly established but it does come on the heels of a teacher’s suicide. Toss in a kid with some kind of psychic powers and a string of strange but socially-grounded occurrences with the kids, and you have a series that doesn’t feel like it’s got the best grasp on its audience but still has some substance for a variety of readers.

The story rushes into its own premise from the get-go, not really stopping to solidify its basis before leaping into the classroom. What makes Toyama qualified to teach a class of students is also never really brought into question, nor are the facts behind why the police force believes the kids are in danger enough to take such measures. This wouldn’t be such a distracting factor if it wasn’t for Toyama repeatedly bringing it up. At least in terms of third-party knowledge there’s numerous in-the-shadow appearances from a mysterious figure watching over the incidents that keep plaguing the school through this first volume, planting the seeds for future plot developments.

Makoto, the young student with a particular ‘gift’, is a bit of a confusing element. He immediately becomes attached to Toyama, which isn’t all that odd in itself though it does scream too-easy plot convenience. Makoto sees people’s inner demons as physical manifestations surrounding their bodies. It isn’t really clear if he’s able to see something other-worldly, or if he’s just crazy – either way, his ability to see these things tips him off to people approaching dangerous moments in their lives that Toyama is then able to intervene upon before it’s too late. These issues include bullying, puberty-related self-esteem issues and shoplifting – all poignant as looks at issues facing individuals in society but when meshed with a supernatural tip-off, feels a little conflicted in its focus. Do we feel driven to read on by the emotional duress or the conclusion of their resulting supernatural effect?

Toyama is a very passionate character, especially on issues that obviously mean the most to him such as bullying. His nobility and conviction makes him a compelling character but he still feels like he’s missing a lot of necessary substance to sustain our assumptions regarding his morale. Some of his outbursts feel a little too unfounded, even for a first volume. Yes, it’s nice to have someone who fights against a societal problem so feverishly, but there definitely feels like there’s something in his past that’s fueling these outbursts. It isn’t a flaw that the first volume hasn’t played all its cards on the table but much like Toyama’s repetitive cries regarding the threat against the children, the plot still fills a little hollow unexplored.

The art of Deka Kyoshi is more function than flash but it gets the job done- it’s very simple and sparse on unnecessary details. While this simplicity is a strong element in the storytelling, making situations really easy to follow and characters easily distinguished, it does clash somewhat with the story content. The artwork gives the book a very child-targeted look, one that doesn’t at all betray the dark content that occasionally occurs. That said, the artist is able to maneuver between quaint at-school scenarios and grotesque psychological-demons-brought-to-life in smooth-transition.

This first volume of Deka Kyoshi is a fairly intriguing start to the story. The focus of social issues facing children and young adults keeps it grounded in reality while the supernatural elements give it a special little spark that could make or break its intrigue factor in volumes to come. There’s still a lot of ground the story has yet to cover, and will need to in order to fill in some much needed areas, but for a first volume there was plenty introduced without feeling over. There’s still a lot to learn about Toyama, Makoto and the shadowy figure overlooking the school and Deka Kyoshi has offered up its share of reasons to care.

Review written May 7, 2010 by Lissa Pattillo
Book provided by CMX Manga for review purposes

Manga-ka: Makoto Tateno
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: August 2007

Synopsis: “‘Chaos’ is a trading card game that is very popular at Manami’s school. Trying to learn more about it herself, she purchases a beginner’s set, only to discover that it contains “Sahgan, The Mighty Sorcerer,” the rarest card in the game. Now every other player is out to win the card from her. But Sahgan himself begins to visit Manami in her dreams, offering her advice on how to win.”

Minami is an average schoolgirl with a budding interest in Chaos – a card game where players pit monsters against each other in a battle for remaining life points (sound a little familiar?). Fresh-faced to the game with her experienced cousin as a guide, Minami is struck with newbie-luck and when purchasing her first deck, discovers a card that’s not only rare but possibly the rarest card in the whole game.

Right off the bat it’s worth noting that King of Cards manages to be notably better than initial presumptions may imply. It helps that the story takes itself fairly seriously despite some obvious stigma that could go with it, playing out its character roles and events in a way that doesn’t fall to any preconceptions some readers may have going in. Simply put, you won’t find any bright, spiky-haired, leather-clad prepubescent Egyptians here as Minami learns the ropes of the game and quickly finds herself challenged by a slew of skilled opponents all looking to win her rare card: Sahgan the Mighty Sorcerer. There aren’t many surprises in regards to whether or not Minami wins said-battles but they’re utilized more to offer a chance for readers to learn the rules of the game via actual fights while also introducing a small but relevant cast of characters who will undoubtedly continue helping Minami as the series progresses.

While the importance of the all-powerful magician card is a fact the story really wants to drive home, it’d be nice to see to see a match won without its use however. While singular wham-blam attacks for victory seem fairly suiting for Minami being so new to the game, it’s more interesting seeing bits of actual strategy pop up. Hopefully as her skill progresses, the variety of her winning methods will evolve also and the outcomes of her battles, however predictable as they may be, will at least be accomplished by some more unpredictable moves.

The story takes an occasionally more whimsical route with the subject matter in the form of Minami’s growing connection with her cards. It does read a little corny in its lack of real basis besides her being a kind-hearted girl who cares for two-dimensional images on a piece of paper. However she soon sees the figure of Seghann in her dreams and along with making her more fond of him, he also gives Minami visual clues that aid her in her upcoming battles. While this is a nice fluffy card-bonding element to the story, it does come off a little weird that Minami never questions this (you’re communicating with a card in your dreams who can see the future – shouldn’t you be a little alarmed?) and nor does she give thought to the fact that she’s in all manners cheating at the game because of the clues.

Many of Makoto Tateno’s works have seen publication in English, and though they can be counted on to be entertaining, they’ve always lacked a certain wow factor needed to raise her books from would-likes to must-haves. King of Cards isn’t one that crosses this line just yet but it certainly puts itself up there on this reviewers list as one with some enticing potential. There’re still some elements to the plot that have dire need of exploration but volume one succeeds in laying the foundation for the rest of the books to hopefully build these points up on.

While the story is already beginning to fall on the formulaic side, there are lots of elements present to make it a series offering lots of reasons to continue and just as many to give it a try in the first place. Amiable characters, a streamlined plot and a dash of real magic all combine to make this first volume of King of Cards an entertaining read. It blends together Yu-Gi-Oh vibe-heavy card battling with sweet-shoujo style in way that has unexpectedly charming results.

Review May 12, 2010 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased from Strange Adventures

So doom may be a little grim a word but it’s a rampant sort of tone recently with all that’s going on in the English manga-industry. I popped in on this week’s ANNCast to share some of my thoughts on recent events, in particular DC’s announcement regarding CMX and the disappearance of Go!Comi.

I’m starting to feel like all my efforts to promote CMX are being intentionally smited somehow though – first CMX’s shutdown is announced mere days after we here at Kuriousity make the decision to push out a bunch of CMX reviews (since the site’s been sadly lacking them!) and then here in the ANNCast I tell everyone to go check out CMX’s site and look through the books they have – only to have DC Comics, for some inexplicable reason, strip down CMX’s website today. Yikes. And triple-boo on you, DC Comics. What the heck is going through your corporate mind over there?

Also on the ANNCast this week is a guest sharing her thoughts on the difference between Canadian and American anime conventions. Interesting ideas there. As someone who’s been staff helping run a convention and holding panels more than an attendee of any, I don’t have all that much to go on pertaining to the concept. Comparatively I’ve been to San Diego Comic Con and Fan Expo, which are ‘very’ similar in their target-audience but different in obvious ways because, well, SDCC is in California and Fan Expo is not. I am heading to Anime North next week and New York Anime Fest in October however, so for pondering’s sake, I’ll keep the concept of difference in mind. The discussion about the semi-thankless nature of running an anime convention is interesting too. Super-duper hard work but worth it for all the thank yous and happy fans? Yup!

So check out the podcast if you so feel inclined – it always makes for interesting listening! And beware my voice, which you may be doomed to hear in your mind each time you read one of my reviews from now on ;)

I recently shared my brief take on the recent manga company news in a post I titled ‘A Little Less Spring in Manga’s Step This Season’. Well, news sadly hasn’t gotten any better since then and that step has officially landed in a pile of shit (excuse the language). To no surprise, the situation stinks.

Via a brief and to-the-point announcement, DC Comics announced that as of July 2010, CMX Manga would no longer be publishing any new titles. The fate of its currently running series remains up in the air and no real reason was given short of the familiar catch-all answer of economic issue.

“Over the course of the last six years, CMX has brought a diverse list of titles to America and we value the books and creators that we helped introduce to a new audience. Given the challenges that manga is facing in the American marketplace, we have decided that CMX will cease publishing new titles as of July 1, 2010. “ (via AnimeNewsNetwork)

This comes as a shocker for sure, and as naturally distressing news not only as a loss of the series they possessed, but as a depressing loss of jobs for many and another rattle of the industry-stability cage.

But should this have surprised us as much as it did? Were there signs this was coming? It got me doing a lot of thinking about where CMX stood in my own life as a manga consumer. Has it really only been six years?

CMX is one of the companies that I always remember being there. Even though I’ve been reading and collecting manga for over ten years, it feels odd recalling a time when CMX wasn’t around. They never had a huge presence but I always knew they were there. When CMX books first started being released, they were also easier to come across then they’d ever prove to be over their next half-decade of life. Local independent stores seemed keen to bring in titles from the new company as the manga market boomed, and with DC as the backer CMX was a manga publisher able to momentarily sneak into the sight of comic retailers in a way that other companies could not.

I indulged in a number of their earlier series, most notably Land of the Blindfold, Monster Collection, Sword of the Dark Ones and Tenryu the Dragon Cycle. At the time I enjoyed these series but CMX quickly become synonymous with unpleasant production values in my mind. The paper quality was nice but the stiffness of the books was horrible and the cover designs suffered from too much consistency, the art lost in a blank canvas of white space and awkward layouts. A friend of mine was collecting Testarotho at the time (another series I predominantly liked reading) and it served as the gateway manga during CMX’s transition to a new publishing style including a visual makeover and new binding (did bug us having a series completely switch appearance mid-way though). While I was happy CMX was changing to a more eye-catching and pleasing format, their presence in the shops I visited quickly began to dwindle and no titles I caught wind of via news on the internet sounded interesting enough to seek out via the process of special order. Having only just become old enough to get a credit card, the ease of online order was still premature for me. The Tenjo Tenge censorship debacle had always exploded into fan-outrage just a short while earlier and, though originally working off an understandable base for complaint, sadly snowballed into a lifelong grudge of fan-entitlement and excuse-to-avoid-buying that haunted the company until the very end.

The trend of diminishing presence continued over the next five years for CMX. Their titles become those little surprise discoveries you’d make at conventions and were those books occasionally slid between other companies’ releases on comic store shelves, often doomed to remain there as the staple-series that were just always there (sadly because no one was buying them). It didn’t help that CMX itself never seemed to stand out much as the internet began to bubble with publisher interaction and information, ever present but generally silent. Around this time, mid-2008, I really began to follow manga blogs and enjoyed the interaction and opinions they offered with other fans. A few choice CMX titles were repeated, most notably Emma and From Erocia With Love, and it wasn’t without notice to me that CMX, though not with anything that screamed ‘you must buy me!’ to my own tastes, did impress by offering something really different from others at the time as big title fever hit the continent with best-selling-effect.

In more at-home observation, there’s been a shift in the content of Canada’s big chain bookstores , Indigo (or their branch better known to me, Chapters) in recent years. Comic books had never been a big part of their selection and here, unlike many other venues, manga actually paved the way for American-mainstream graphic novel publications. First manga sections begun to spring up and then they exploded in size and scale – walls and walls of manga in some places, always with a shelf or two of Marvel and independent graphic novels next to them. But over the last couple of years, DC had begun to filter its way in and in a big way. Today DC comics have their own walls, stocked full of trade paperbacks and hardcover editions. They still sit next to the manga section, now about equal in size as stores scale back on their manga selection. But where in all this was CMX? Nowhere to be found, unfortunately.

DC always seemed keen on holding the lease on CMX and keeping them back at a distant from consumers, even at the manga forefront. Not putting the books in bookstores and only allowing it a sliver of its own publicity, it was a sit-back-and-watch effort. In retrospect CMX was put in a very restricted position – left to be found only by the faithful who sought it out but doomed to obscurity to everyone else. It was a vicious cycle where only those who were already fans of the imprint would in turn continue to actively seek it out, the problem being the lack of effort to create these fans in the first place. What resulted was DC comics ultimately seeing CMX has an imprint not worth the effort in keeping because though it had faithful readers, it simply never gained enough.

Suddenly we come to today where CMX, which had unfortunately never made enough of a ripple in the manga-sphere to even raise the question of its stability, announcing it’s closure in a mere two months. Ironically, consumers had finally gotten the frank and decisive answer they’d been looking for from a company after numerous recent burns from those who faded into bankruptcy with so many unconfirmed statuses. On the other hand, the lack of sign or precursor to foreshadow the decision tripled the shock of the blow.

What perhaps stings the most though is the timing – what are the odds? Just in recent memory it was first Aurora Publishing, the end of print-edition Yen Plus, then Go!Comi and then the Viz layoffs. With the shaking state of the English manga industry flooding the web, is it any wonder though that the executives of DC must’ve seen this as the perfect time to make such a seemingly sudden decision? The perfect smokescreen! Blending into the proverbial crowd, they were less likely to face the scrutiny of why with so many other companies offering a pre-proven answer.

So where do we stand now? One manga publisher less and perhaps most distressingly, one who we had in honesty taken for granted would always be there. Seems little wonder the lacking cause for concern though with CMX having only just updated its website with a number of new titles, solicitations up until 2011 appearing on Amazon and a recent string of new titles that have seen renewed push in both coverage and fanfare.

I know I personally recently took a big dive into CMX’s library which made this announcement all the more ironic. After enjoying a couple new titles, I asked for recommendations of more CMX to explore. Thanks to fellow readers, the library, an amazing sale at local comic store Strange Adventures and the lovely folks at CMX itself, I found myself going from having in my possession 5 CMX titles to over 30 in a little under two weeks. And I read them all, and with only a few exceptions, I loved them. So many series I’d be missing out on! And wonderful production values as well, from the lettering to the covers to the smooth reading experience.

Alas I realized, for Kuriousity had been sorely missing out as well – fellow reviewer Andre and I took the task upon ourselves to bring more CMX titles to light on the site. Recent reviews have included The World I Create, Genghis Khan, The Battle of Genryu, Oh! My Brother, and the absolutely terrifying in an entertaining sort of way, Gon. These were only the tip of the iceberg of the titles I’ve found – I’m enraptured with Key to the Kingdom, in love with King of Cards, amused by Deka Kyoshi! and curious about The Lizard Prince. You Higuri’s old-school series Seimaden has been appeasing my inner boys’ love fangirl and Diamond Girl gave me a reason to crave baseball. Just to name a few.

There still remain so many unanswered questions in regards to the timing of this move on DC’s part. Why and why now? The perfect camouflage? A conglomeration of background circumstances? Or simply a harsh budgetary move on the eve of the fiscal year’s end? Whatever the reason, the loss is great – CMX may not have stood in the spotlight but its individual titles gave off a shine of their own with a level of charm and risk that catered well to an audience often missed even by the most forward of publishers. Whether it was that very risk that saw the imprint’s end or CMX’s restricted ability to ever to evolve past its role as simply DC’s manga-shot-in-the-dark, it’s a true loss to the manga shelves across the English-reading world. It’s a shame that CMX proved in so many ways to be that thing you never truly realize you’ve got until it’s gone, even with six years under its belt.

Now you’ll have to excuse me, I have a really long shopping list of CMX titles to put together for Anime North next week.

Manga-ka: Ayami Kazama
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: January 2010

Synopsis: “Being a “Projectionist” can bring lots of money and fame, but only if you are good at it. If you want to become one, first you need to have the power to cast a four-dimensional image. Then it’s really important to be able to hone and perfect your projecting abilities. The best place to do that, of course, is at a high school filled with other aspiring Projectionists. Step into this multidimensional world with a very special student body!”

A gentle walk into the world of fantasy and romance, The World I Create offers a bit of sweet whimsy that never overstays its welcome. Taking fairly standard school and fantasy manga aspects, its strong focus on character relationships and endearing art style makes for an appealing stand-alone volume of work. Offering a more complete story then most stand-alone manga works as well, it makes a great addition to any collection.

The work is broken up into four separate stories, but is made more cohesive by inserting either cameos or supporting roles of each stories’ protagonists into one another’s tales. This makes sense given the school setting, and allows for a great deal of interaction between the cast, while keeping focus on the stars of each chapter. Guided by their teacher, Ritsuki’s androgynous and rather meddling father, the lives of the students chronicled in this collection aren’t overly eventful but are nonetheless pleasant to follow as friendships and romantic relationships are forged.

The use of the character’s magic powers is presented as a fairly natural part of the story, working itself in way similar to how music students might interact- personality clashes caused by differences in talent, distractions that cause students to fall behind others, and jealously of those with talent by those who lack the necessary skills are themes encountered in the stories. The joy of these stories come as the characters overcome these difficulties, mature and find personal growth. The power of projection itself makes for a visual approach that really suits manga. I also liked how the tools the student used as “lanterns“ and their suitability became a part of the story, similar to how a music student finds the right instrument, and the assorted objects used as project devices – my particular favourite was the toy cash register. It’s a realistic touch that the artist uses to help build this world in a subtle way, and the second chapter, “Last Platonic Blue” really highlighted this aspect.

Focusing on Soyaka, a gifted student whose magic is weakened and has become disillusioned with the school, it’s a very touching story that provides some very satisfying moments after the fairly safe “boy meets girl” chapter the graphic novel starts off with. It grounds the rest of the work in it’s very emotional portrayal of how important these gifts can be, and the lengths people will go to hide their melancholy. The ability to create and share something is a something to be treasured, and this chapter makes one appreciative of this ability in the bittersweet nature of the gifts. Soyaka’s choices initially seem very immature but as you get to know her, it becomes one of the more solid tales, and she became my favourite character of the piece. Subsequent chapters build upon these themes, with a fairly solid finale involving a sibling of one of the other protagonists who isn’t part of the projectionist division of the school, and his realizations regarding his dislike of the division. Kazama makes some fascinating ponderings on what it means to have a special talent or skill, and how it affects you relate to others.

While each chapter presents a love story in a sense, they vary from the traditional to stories of deep friendship, and it was refreshing to see so many different viewpoints present. Relationships are never simple, and the jealousy involved in the differences in talent works its way into character interactions in an organic way, giving a different conflict then the standard woes of shojo manga. It makes The World I Create a more simple, personal tale than elaborate fantasy relationships you‘d normally expect in stories with magically powered significant others. While not excessively dramatic, and still somewhat simplistic, the honesty of the character emotions is appreciated.

Kazama’s artwork isn’t overly polished, but really supports to the story well. The characters are presented in a cute, neither shonen-nor-shojo style, and in friendly, expressive manner that makes it very engaging. It’s a friendly style that makes this a suitably all-ages book. Asides from the strong character artwork, the projections the students create aren’t overly complex, but the mood established by the art is very compelling, often reflecting the emotional states of the characters themselves.

CMX’s standard production values are provided for the work, with a colour page and their usual thinner but still solid paper choice, but did differentiate a little with the use of the interior covers for the indica, reusing some of the interior art alongside stuff like the ratings guidelines to make for an appealing presentation. Sound effects are translated, either with new lettering or complimentary fonts alongside the original Japanese sound effects. The cover artwork wraps around to the back, and the interior colour pages spotlight some of the other characters, offering a delicate watercolour piece alongside the more standard computer coloured cover.

The World I Create is something one can easily recommend, being a self-contained work that feels like a complete work rather then the usual cancelled serial effect of most single volume releases. Wrapping things up with a bonus story reuniting the leads of each chapter on a summer outing, it becomes a very satisfying read, providing many views on the nature of relationships and creative talents. The sweet, nostalgic tone and whimsical approach to the school make for a great escape, while also grounding it within the realities of life to make for a rounded read that I feel like returning to again. Given Kazama states this is her first continuing story, I’m looking forward to seeing her future output, and hope CMX considers bringing it to domestic readers. This is one of the most solid outputs I’ve encountered by Flex, and a great manga for beginners or long time fans who don’t mind if their manga is a little sentimental.

Review written May 16, 2010 by Andre
Book provided by CMX for review purposes

Manga-ka: Nakaba Higurashi
Publisher: CMX Manga
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: May 2009

Synopsis: “Temujin (later to be called Genghis Khan) was born to the leader of a Mongolian clan with all portents of greatness: a glowing face and fire in his eyes. When Temujin is 11 years old, he meets a boy from another tribe–Jamuqa–while hunting down a deer. Before they can decide who will keep the kill, they save each other from stalking wolves. To honour their newly established friendship, the two boys become blood brothers, swearing eternal loyalty to each other as long as they shall live. After some years, however, both Temujin and Jamuqa have the ambition to contend for supremacy of Mongolia, and they become enemies. ”

Adaptations can be a difficult process, and despite some solid artistic skills, Nakaba Higurashi’s presentation of Morimura’s story leaves a bit to be desired. Full of sweeping nomadic images, it’s impact is softened by frequent jumps in narrative, a lack of focus, and a more sedate pace then usual for action manga. Ultimately it emerges as a pleasant yet flawed work, conveying a fragmented tale of tragedy as Khan starts his quest for greatness.

Whether the confusing narrative is an aspect of the source work, or Higurashi cherry picking from scenes in the novels, the focus is often unclear. I had trouble keeping track of Ghengis/Temujin’s siblings early on, and the quick flash forward to his adult life and his similar subset of sons didn’t help things. I was very confused by these initial chapters, unsure if I was still following the life story of the younger Temujin we met in the initial chapters that give a brief glimpse of his early life. Higurashi quickly moves onto his later life as his tribes’ leader, and the transition isn’t as clean as it could be. In addition, the later story’s attention span keeps switching between Temujin and his son, trying to draw parallels between two sets of friends who must betray each other in what could be an intriguing tale, but unable to devote enough story time to either for it to be a full emotional experience. This narrative is further conflicted by the fairly weak approach to the action elements of the manga.

The violence of Ghengis Khan is mostly bloodless. Warriors are acknowledged as being killed in the field of war, but it isn’t precisely shown, and Higurashi shies away from showing too much onscreen violence in general. Readers accustomed to more action packed and blood-drenched historical manga set in Asia’s past will likely be disappointed. There are a few scenes where the characters actions in combat are fairly clear and brutal, such as a scene where one of Jamuqa’s minions takes on one of Ghengis’s tribe, but for the most part more attention is paid to conversational scenes, which makes for a lot of talking heads. There are lots of sweeping scenes that show Higurashi could handle action well, but by toning things down the war seems less dramatic. Perhaps she was aiming for a younger audience by keeping the violence fairly tame, but I felt a little more could have been depicted without crossing the line into gruesome territory. Given the finale of the book and it’s depiction of the futile consequences of war, Higurashi surely could of reinforced some of the book’s themes by presenting a slightly more realistic view of the aftermath of the early battles.

Despite her narrative shortfalls, Higurashi’s art is generally competent, with extensive scenes of horse riding, and a tribal setting that is visually distinct and avoids the easy trap of a more Japanese setting. Structures are clearly temporary dwellings, and reflect the nomadic lives depicted in the work. The scenery gives you a sense of a faraway civilization, set in a sprawling landscape far away from the isles of Japan. Higurashi draws excellent horses, and excels at complex scenes where riders combat while riding them, and pays attention to match the regional breed’s more squat nature. Stocky, furry and vaguely reminiscent of 80’s icon and Junko Mizuno obsession My Little Pony, with their sizeable noggins they add to the visual appeal and landscape. In terms of figure work, the costumes are detailed, and avoids anime-styling, instead focusing on giving a sense of realism in figure work and facial expressions. While the story does stray to talking heads at some points, Higurashi’s skills at figure work does surface from time to time, making me wish she had devoted more time or had more pages to depict the epic battles we only get glimpses of between scenes of family life. It left me curious about her other works, hoping CMX might opt to import future works given the promise seen in the art.

CMX’s binding and paper makes for a nice reading experience, and is spiffed up a bit by a colour insert common to their other Flex imprinted books. While CMX spine indicates this as Vol.1, it is actually a single volume adaptation of a novel of the same title, which was also adapted into a movie released by Funimation. CMX’s presentation is excellent though, with translated sound effects, no Japanese-honourifics that would have been out of place in 13th century Mongolia, and crisp, clean printing one would expect from a publishing house as venerable as DC Comics, with production work on CMX titles handled by their WildStorm imprint. CMX also includes a short essay addressing the differences between the film and the manga, as well as elaborating some of the elements left out of this edition.

Being a single volume work makes it a low commitment purchase, yet there are more entertaining historical works being published in the English manga market, so I would suggest checking out Vagabond, Lone Wolf and Cub, or even the more fantastical and not entirely historically accurate Ruroni Kenshin or Ooku first. These may be more lengthy works, but offer more solid reading experiences. Still ,if you’re really into historical manga, the artwork might make Ghengis Khan a moderately entertaining pickup for you. Otherwise, there’s better titles in CMX’s catalogue, and in this genre being published in North American.

While I was impressed with Higurashi’s strong visual style, the often confusing tale of revenge and political intrigue attempts to tell a story of two former friends who must betray one another for the sake of their chosen destiny. Rushed along and accompanied by confusing flashbacks, what could be a dramatic tale is muted, and relegated to explanatory bits, picking up a bit towards the end, but ultimately unsatisfying. While never outright bad, and featuring fairly solid artwork, Genghis Khan doesn’t really stand well on its own, acting as one of the weaker CMX releases.

Review written May 14, 2010 by Andre
Book provided by CMX for review purposes