So I got my first copy of Tokyopop’s free Manga magazine in the mail the other day. Maybe I’m tipsy over the preview chapter from the next volume of Fruits Basket, but I think it’s a very nice product. I was glad to see a preview of Dragon Head included. It’s received a number of deservedly good reviews, so I’m glad that Tokyopop is giving it an extra boost in its freebie publication. (Kami-Kaze looks kind of horrible, though.)
I think Manga might be going a little overboard on the annotations they run with their sample chapters. It’s a nice idea to give some snippets on the creative process, quotes from the creators, etc., but the text can get a little purple. It was particularly noticeable in the Sorcerers & Secretaries preview. This looks like a fun, light story, but at times the crawl read like it might have been something out of the Absolute Watchmen collection. I think they should probably lean towards breezy and informative with the running commentary. What’s there ended up actually distracting from the preview itself, which probably wasn’t the intention.
There’s a short but nice interview with Mitsuzaku Mihara that actually makes me want to take a look at Doll. Am I making a horrible mistake? I’ll have to check the lists over at MangaTrade.
In other manga news, David Taylor taunts me with an example of why television is so much better in England. (Okay, probably not all television.) He also takes a look at the latest DM manga numbers. Yay! Death Note cracked the top 100 GNs!
And lastly, it’s Monday, so it’s time for the customary self-promotion. There’s a new Flipped up where I talk about how much I like Hikaru no Go.