It’s a big week for graphic novel debuts, as has been noted by Jog, Chris Butcher, and many others.
If I were to pick a “book of the week,” I’d probably chicken out and call it a draw between American Born Chinese and Klezmer, both lovely in very different ways. Lucky residents of the San Francisco area or those who just happen to be there Sept. 20 can meet Gene Yang, creator of American Born Chinese, at an event at the Isotope. (Readers who want to meet Joann Sfar will probably have to travel to France, but really, isn’t that just a fringe benefit? The extras those people put in their manga! C’est magnifique!)
Speaking of promotional activities, Go! Comi is sponsoring a Cantarella Poetry Contest. Only one manga has ever inspired me to verse, but that shouldn’t stop you.
In other manga promotion news, Chris Butcher notes a change in the Tokyopop on-line exclusive initiative. I think one would categorize this story as “developing.”
I’ve been really negligent in giving a nod to Manga Mondays at Comics-and-More, so let me correct that. This week, Dave Ferraro throws in a list of his favorite anime (Paranoia Agent is so creepy and cool) before wondering why publishing Naruto is like printing money.
Oh, and if you were wondering about the book that provided the premise for the most recent episode of the wacky, long-running sitcom, That Darn Diamond, Tulip Tree Press has extensive preview strips available of House of Sugar by Rebecca Kratz. It looks really intriguing.