Some Wednesdays seem specifically designed to make me very, very happy. This one has the added bonus of helping the More Money for Manga system give up a bountiful harvest.
Even if I weren’t delighted by the prospect of new volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist and Fruits Basket, there’s the added bonus of wondering which one will come out on top in November graphic novel sales.
The local shopkeeper made a horrible, cruel mistake by insisting that tomorrow’s volume of Sgt. Frog is the last. It isn’t. See the little grey “Volume 11” on Tokyopop’s page? (Come to think of it, I seem to remember the solicitation for the next one saying “Final Volume!” somewhere in the text. I’ll cross that bridge of despair when I come to it.)
I’ve been eagerly anticipating Queenie Chan’s The Dreaming, and now the wait is over. It looks gorgeous, and it got a very positive review at IGN.com. I’m sure Queenie is thrilled that the review page features an advertisement for butt cracks. (Speaking of manga reviews, I’ve really been enjoying Erin Finnegan’s Manga Recon columns over at Buzzscope. It’s a fun format.)
As if a bonus was needed, my copy of the first volume of Nana arrives today, too. And hey, there’s a Nana anime in the works! (Scroll down to the Nov. 28 entries.) I’d love to see Ai Yazawa’s aesthetic in motion.
While trolling around ICv2, I saw this column by Steve Bennett of Dark Star Books in Yellow Springs, OH, suggesting an alternative manga distributor to retailers. It seems like the option to return unsold product would be a big help, given the sheer volume of new titles coming out and the difficulty in predicting what will click with customers.
And on the subject of sheer volume, David Taylor at Love Manga is compiling a list of Tokyopop’s OEL titles. (And yes, David, I did notice. Just casually.)