Okay, I wasn’t used to the Previews shipping list format, so I missed a couple of items by assuming that “with mature items” meant “with the kind of comics Simon Jones tirelessly champions” instead of just… well… items with mature ratings.
Anyway, two additions to yesterday’s rundown:
One is volume 9 of Nana by Ai Yazawa, the most popular manga-ka in Japan (at least according to a survey at Oricon). I was pleasantly surprised when it showed up at the comic shop. Me: “Wow, it’s thicker than usual and wrapped in plastic!” Adorable shop employee, without missing a beat: “And still only $8.99!” I love her.
My skepticism always kicks in when a wildly enthusiastic press release shows up, but this one from Tokyopop (a leading provider of wild enthusiasm) does succeed in piquing my interest in the work of Hee Jung Park. Her stories sound intriguing, and Blog@Newsarama’s Kevin Melrose had a positive initial reaction to the art in Fever, which came out yesterday. Will Tokyopop be able to build a brand around a creator?
They’ve tried before, most notably with the works of Erica Sakurazawa, which come up in Johanna Draper Carlson’s run-down of “The State of Josei Manga.”