Found via Love Manga, The Comics Journal will be devoting its 269th issue to shôjo manga. Yes, you read that properly.
I had a somewhat mixed reaction to TCJ’s Manga Masters edition, but this sounds right up my alley. Best of all, editor Dirk Deppey has picked writers who have a real passion for the material. I’m particularly excited to read Matt Thorn’s interview with Moto Hagio and Lea Hernandez’s piece on how shôjo has influenced her own work.
Sure, the prospect of TCJ reviewing shôjo titles is a little unsettling. But the range of topics and approaches listed in the solicitation indicates a sincere appreciation of a manga genre that’s a personal favorite. This edition seems like it will make up for the absence of women creators and the short shrift mainstream titles received in Manga Masters. (I hope.)
It almost makes me wish Deppey hadn’t made a “no more Dave Sim screeds on the Void” promise in the letter pages of the most recent issue. I can only imagine Sim’s reaction. Emotion! Everywhere, emotion!