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Comics in the wee hours

October 24, 2006 by

My tendency to become distracted by supporting characters has cropped up in Monster (Viz – Signature). I don’t mind dogged Dr. Tenma, though I find him too perfect. (Even his flaws seem calculated to make you sigh, “Oh, that poor, decent man.”) But I find any sequence featuring Nina, the sister of a serial killer who’s determined to do the right thing regardless of the cost, absolutely riveting. Nina gets lots of play in the fifth volume, so I’m a very happy reader.

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Jog notes one of the things that makes Golgo 13 (Viz – Signature) so special: the extras.

“Only in the pages of Golgo 13 could you possibly run into anything like what’s in this volume’s File 13 bonus section: a short essay by Horibe Masashi, ‘founder of the Hakukotsu School of Japanese Martial Arts,’ devoted entirely to the physiology of being kicked in the nuts. Seriously; you’ll learn the science behind what exactly happens in the body during an assault on the family jewels, some fun facts about testicles in Japanese folklore, and even the secrets behind a legendary lost karate skill of temporary bollocks retraction.”

That’s right. A Viz book features a comprehensive look at racking.

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At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson swings by the carry-out for a look at Project X – The Challengers – Seven Eleven – The Miraculous Success of Japan’s 7-Eleven Stores (Digital Manga Publishing).

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At Keromaru, Alex Scott offers more details on Books-A-Million’s Mature Graphic Novel section and gets confirmation from an employee at another B-A-M outlet.

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I’m glad to see that The Damned (Oni Press) is being received well. Mobsters and demons aren’t exactly my protagonists of choice, but I thought this book made interesting use of both. Jeff Lester at Savage Critics called it “surprisingly Good,” and Paul O’Brien at The X-Axis gave it an A-.

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After a couple of heavy weeks at the comics shop, this Wednesday is comparatively subdued. Despite a smaller number of titles of interest, the quality promises to be really, really high. I need to catch up with Josh Neufeld’s The Vagabonds (Alternative Comics), as I really enjoyed A Few Perfect Hours. Fantagraphics releases the second issue of the second volume of Linda Medley’s wonderful Castle Waiting.

But the undisputed pick of the week is Osamu Tezuka’s Ode to Kirohito (Vertical), 832 pages from the God of Manga for the ridiculously low price of $24.95. If you need more convincing, check out Jarred Pine’s review at Anime on DVD.

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I document the next step in Dark Horse’s continued (and successful) attempts to woo me in this week’s Flipped. First it was the thoughtful sci-fi of Eden: It’s an Endless World! Then it was the nostalgia-triggering charms of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Now it’s indie-flavored Ohikkoshi.

What will they roll out next? New shôjo?

Filed under: Alternative, Bookstores, ComicList, Dark Horse, DMP, Fantagraphics, Linkblogging, Oni, Vertical, Viz 3 Comments

The inside story

October 21, 2006 by

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the local Books-A-Million, but after reading Alex Scott’s report of what’s been going on at his, I might have to swing by the next time my partner goes to Lowes. A “Mature Graphic Novel” subsection? But… but… comics are for kids!

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Friday mangablogging

October 20, 2006 by

There are two recent reviews up from Brigid at MangaBlog. First up is Kye Young Chon’s Audition from DramaQueen. Second is David Roman’s Astronaut Elementary from Cryptic Press.

MangaCast’s Ed Chavez looks at some character-driven manga: Saijyo Shinji’s Iron Wok Jan! (DrMaster), Kaoru Mori’s Emma (CMX), and Key Young Chon’s DVD (DramaQueen).

Speaking of MangaCast, they’re sponsoring a contest. Simply imagine your imminent death, dredge up your most profound regret, and maybe win a copy of Reborn! (Viz – Shonen Jump Advanced). This is the point where I should say, “Enter now, or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”

The love for Drifting Classroom (Viz – Signature) keeps on coming, this time from Katherine Dacey-Tsuei at PopCultureShock.

ChunHyang sees people who see dead people in the second installment of a pre-Halloween manga spook-a-thon, mentioning many of my favorites in the process.

And now a question that comes from an e-mail conversation I was having with John Jakala. In your experience, which chain bookstore has the best manga selection? I find Barnes & Noble reliable, and the local Books-a-Million oddly always has the largest selection of Juné books, but for variety and selection, I’d have to vote for the Borders up in Pittsburgh. Of course it’s an hour away.

Edited to add: It sells a bajillion copies, but it doesn’t get reviewed that often. Bill Sherman takes a look at “the loudmouthed spud,” Naruto (Viz – Shonen Jump), at Pop Culture Gadabout.

Filed under: Bookstores, Contests and giveaways, Linkblogging 6 Comments

Power mad

October 18, 2006 by

ICv2 has released its new manga power list, putting global mangaka/Borders graphic novel buyer Kurt Hassler at the top. In July, they offered a list of the 10 most powerful people in anime, and David Taylor wondered who would make a manga-centric list. The answer is, pretty much who you’d expect:

“1. Kurt Hassler, Graphic Novel Buyer, Borders Group
2. Hidemi Fukuhara, Chief Executive Officer, Viz Media
3. Stuart Levy, Founder, CEO, Chief Creative Officer Tokyopop
4. Dallas Middaugh, Associate Publisher of Manga, Del Rey
5. Jim Killen, Graphic Novel Buyer, Barnes & Noble
6. Mike Richardson, CEO & Publisher, Dark Horse
7. Mike Kiley, Publisher, Tokyopop
8. Yumi Hoashi, EIC & VP of Magazine Division, Viz Media
9. Hikaru Sasahara, CEO, Digital Manga Publishing
10. Masashi Kishimoto, Creator of Naruto”

Kishimoto is the only full-time creator to get a nod, but it makes sense, given Naruto’s top spot in the Top Ten Manga Properties and fair enough ranking on the anime list. The presence of big-two bookstore reps makes sense, as does the higher placement for Borders than Barnes and Noble. I can understand why other retailers get irritated with those Borders exclusives that some publishers pursue, but they certainly seem to help shift books.

I was initially surprised to see Digital Manga make the cut, but their Juné books are a powerful presence in comic shops, hovering high on the graphic novel bestseller lists every time they’re released. And in my entirely anecdotal experience, they’re reliably easy to find in chain bookstores, even more than offerings from Dark Horse. (If the DMP rep had ranked higher than Dark Horse’s on this LCS-focused list, MangaCast might well have fomented another manga revolution. I can already hear the cries of “Caaaaaaaaaaaarl!”)

I’m going to have to track down a copy of this, if only for the “Shojo Rising” article about the growing anime-for-girls market. This came up in yesterday’s PWCW piece on the Cartoon Network Effect, particularly in Thomas J. McLean’s discussion with Viz’s Liza Coppola:

“Graphic novel publishers may only be beginning to benefit from TV. Consider that there is not yet any animated version of shojo manga—the wildly popular subgenre that targets teenage girls. ‘We’d love to have a shojo network out there,’ Coppola says. ‘I think that’s the dream of a lot of publishers.’”

Understandably so. In the shôjo category, Absolute Boyfriend joined Fruits Basket on the Top Ten Manga list, and Loveless represented shônen-ai all by its cat-eared self. But as far as the anime properties go, plenty of the properties are equally appealing to male and female viewers, but nothing there falls conventionally into the shôjo category.

I find it hard to believe that Cartoon Network isn’t at least considering the possibility of introducing shôjo properties into its programming. I find it irritating as hell, but Totally Spies could probably anchor at least one other girl-centric program with the right cross-promotion, and as Brigid notes at MangaBlog:

“True, but what are the girls doing? Playing with their Barbies? My daughters watched CN too, when they were that age, and I’d love to see some shoujo anime on TV.”

Maybe I’m just hoping for something to break Naruto’s monotonous dominance of the sales charts. But seriously, didn’t shôjo-rific Sailor Moon start all of this anime-manga frenzy in the first place?

Updated to note: Brigid and Simon Jones have offered reaction to the list.

And again to note: So has Ed Chavez at MangaCast.

Filed under: Awards and lists, Bookstores, ICv2 1 Comment

Consumer confidence

September 1, 2006 by

I’m trying to remember instances where I’ve ordered product directly from a publisher.

I know I’ve ordered stuff from Viz when they were having a big sale on some of their out-of-print titles. (If you like Rumiko Takahashi’s long-form stories like Maison Ikkoku, I’d recommend taking a look at the shorts in her Rumic Theater books. They’re lovely and more in the josei vein than Takahashi’s readily available work.)

Top Shelf has had big web sales before, and I took the opportunity to sample some stuff. (I ended up seeing why some of the books were on sale, to be honest, but they were so cheap that it didn’t sting too much.)

I’ve gone directly through Fantagraphics for the manga-themed Comics Journal Special Edition 2005, because it seemed like the easiest and most certain way to get it quickly.

So the reasons come down to bargain-driven curiosity (a notion put forth by Rivkah in this comment at Love Manga) and a sort of convenience, or at least certainty that I would get the product I wanted promptly, and I couldn’t get it as easily from any other source.

I’m still on the fence about what I’ll do with Dragon Head when it goes exclusive to the web. I like the book a lot, but I feel kind of badly about trying to lure people into reading it when its delivery system is going to change markedly halfway through its run. (Maybe it was just John Jakala who I lured. I still feel badly.)

And I really don’t feel like adding one more outlet to the list of places where I buy comics. I go to the comics shop because I like to throw at least some support to a local entrepreneur who’s trying hard (and it’s the only reliable source I’ve found for books from Fanfare/Ponent Mon when they eventually ship, unless I want to order them from fine purveyors in other countries). I order on-line when I’m trying to catch up with a series, have a discount, and can get free shipping. And I go to bookstores when I feel like browsing, know there’s a sale or have a discount card, and feel open to trying a new title.

And when that place doesn’t offer discounts or free or even apparently reduced cost shipping, the notion is even less attractive to me. It’s more work, and it ends up costing more than manga from anywhere else I buy it. (Even the LCS doesn’t throw in a shipping charge.) There’s also a part of me that looks at Tokyopop’s web site and screams, “You’re going to enter your credit card information there?” (Yes, I know the publisher and shop sites are run separately. I didn’t say this small part of me was logical.)

Sometimes I feel like I should consolidate my purchasing activity, maybe by looking at that Discount Comic Book Service. But I’m pretty comfortable with the pros and cons of how I buy comics now.

Filed under: Bookstores, Comic shops, On-line shopping 2 Comments
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