Pirates and zombies and ninjas, oh my! These are some of the unsavory characters who show up in the entries in Tokyopop’s Rising Stars of Manga contest. The work of twenty finalists can be found here. You can also vote for your favorite in the People’s Choice Award.

There’s some nice work in the entries on display. I found that my favorites tended to avoid ubiquitous stylistic elements (sweat drops, sound effects, etc.) and stereotypical manga subject matter (short-skirted magic girls, brawling legendary heroes). The artists took a range of approaches to the short-form entries. Some put out what seem to be pilots for ongoing series. A couple entered stories that could serve as the concluding chapter of long-form epics. The strongest were stand-alone offerings, going for a beginning, middle, and end in limited space.

The topics are all over the map, too. There’s straightforward comedy, sword-and-sorcery stuff, battle morons, slice-of-life drama, and even one that verges on ero-guru (the erotic grotesque). (One unintentionally skated near ero-guru. I’m looking at you, “Chibi Zombies.”) And there’s plenty of shôjo on display, from stand-alone romance, to the slightly supernatural, to family drama.

My vote for the People’s Choice Award went to “Can I Sit Here?” by George Alexopoulus. It’s a stand-alone story that makes excellent use of its shorter length by focusing on a small, deeply emotional story. Alexopoulus narrows in on the efforts of a college guy to actually speak to the pretty girl he sees every day at the bus station. It’s sweet, funny, and focused, and Alexopoulus’s art is very appealing. It’s like a cross between Derek Kirk Kim (Love as a Foreign Language) and Sena Aritou (IWGP). The protagonist’s increasingly frantic search for courage results in some nice flights of fancy to give variety to the otherwise clean, expressive art.

I had a lot of fun looking through the entries. Can’t wait to see what other folks think of them.

Newsarama has a couple of interviews up that intrigue me for one reason or another.

Versatile writer Andy Diggle talks about his thrilling, space based Adam Strange mini and drops an interesting nugget:

“Dan Didio said right at the outset that the whole thing was going to lead into this big Rann/Thanagar War crossover event,” Diggle said. “The only thing that wasn’t clear at the outset was whether I was supposed to actually start this war myself! I didn’t find out exactly how the war was supposed to get started until I was well into writing the series, which meant I had to do a certain amount of fancy footwork to get the ending of my story to work. But that’s just the nature of the job, you just have to roll with it.”

That sounds like a rather unsettling experience for a writer. Diggle doesn’t sound too perturbed about it, and surely no one walks into a gig at DC expecting too much autonomy of storytelling. Still… “Oh, and work this plot element in so we can do a big summer mini-series. Thanks!”

The interview with Tom Brevoort about Marvel’s upcoming House of M all but screams, “This time, we decided to use an editor.” Brevoort made some decidedly unenthusiastic remarks about Avengers: Disassembled, and he doesn’t seem to have revised his opinion much. He takes a tightrope approach this time out, saying that House of M was developed when Disassembled was well underway (avoiding tarring it with the same brush?), stressing that it won’t be the same kind of crossover story (the phrase “red skies” is never used), but stopping short of saying that every chapter will be necessary for comprehension.

This is going to be one of those projects where I’m more interested in what people are saying about it than the project itself. The actual plot – whatever are we to do with Wanda, now that bitch crazy? – doesn’t appeal to me at all, and I don’t have any faith in the way writer Brian Bendis handles this particular character set. But there should be some juicy on-line bitchery, and that’s free.

On the list of things about which I’m optimistic without qualification would be Seven Soldiers: Guardian, at least based on the preview from Pop Culture Shock. Subway… pirates? Grant Morrison is going to break my heart before all this is over, isn’t he? Just tell me. It will be easier in the long run.

Dave Carter at Yet Another Comics Blog got my week off to a good start by picking my entry as runner up in his Spider-Girl contest. Free comics for geeking out over Becky Wahlstrom? No down side. Thanks, Dave!

Now, let’s see if the comics industry will do its part to keep me cheerful. What does the New Comic Book Releases List portend for Wednesday?

DC and its various tentacles do pretty well by me: Birds of Prey 80, Ex Machina 9, and Manhunter 8. Marvel offers up Captain America 4 and Young Avengers 2, two titles I like much more than I thought I would.

None can compete with Top Shelf, however. They unleash the awesome power of Owly in its second volume, Just a Little Blue. (Speaking of Top Shelf, today is the last day of their crazy sale.)

Can you stand one more look at the CMX/Tenjho Tenge kerfuffle? Sure you can, because this time it’s by Paul O’Brien at The Ninth Art. O’Brien doesn’t generally cover manga, either critically at The X-Axis or in his Article 10 columns, but he does a very nice job hitting the low points of this particular situation. I particularly like his lawyer’s-eye view of the CMX brand statement:

“CMX advertises its material as ‘pure manga – 100% the way the original Japanese creators want you to see it’. This has the faint whiff of a slogan that was coined by an editor and then carefully revised by the legal department. You’ll note that the promise is to deliver the comics the way the creators want you – that’s American readers – to see it. It’s not a promise to deliver the comics in the form in which they were originally published, although it’s carefully phrased to look like one at first glance. In practice, it seems to mean nothing more than that the original creator has signed off on the changes.”

Elsewhere, the latest Flipped is up at Comic World News. In it, I ponder the eternal question: why should manga publishers care what the Direct Market thinks of them? It’s like a homecoming queen fighting desperately to become secretary of the gamers’ club.

Okay, so my hometown comic shopping wasn’t a raging success, but in compensation, The Comics JournalSpecial Edition:2005 (the manga-licious one) is here. Actually, it’s sitting at the post office waiting for me to pick it up, but that’s closer than it was before I left, so…

Catching up with manga happenings is sooooo much easier with bloggers like the folks at Love Manga. David Taylor does a delightful news roundup here.

Johanna Draper Carlson catches up on some of her favorite manga titles at Cognitive Dissonance. It’s always kind of spooky how close our manga tastes are, and it certainly makes me sit up and take notice when she praises a title I haven’t tried. Which means I need to pick up Cheeky Angel sometime soon.

James Shee at Reading Along reviews Doubt!! James and I always seem to diverge slightly in our reaction to certain comics; we either like the same things for different reasons, have a split opinion on a title based on the same elements, or some other variation of that. So it’s always interesting for me to read his well-written reviews about titles we’ve both read.

Yay! Lyle at Crocodile Caucus likes Whistle! Whenever I praise a book and someone tries it, I always worry their response will be, “What was he on?” So… relief!

So I’m visiting my folks this weekend, which is nice but not especially riveting, and I’m taking the opportunity to hunt down some different comic shops in the area. And if any of you were looking for the most byzantine organizational system for trade paperbacks and OGNs, you may rest now, for I have completed your quest.

Instead of a big shelf unit of trades and OGNs, there’s one long shelf that winds through the entire shop, past back issues and racks of pamphlets. It’s like one of those urban legend snakes that takes up residence in a crawlspace and grows so big that it winds all the way through a house. And it’s ordered like Previews… DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, and “the rest.” Sometimes, “the rest” is ordered alphabetically by publisher. Sometimes, not so much. And, to be honest, “the rest” (which is what I was most eager to look through) ended up fitting comfortably in the same amount of space consumed by their selection of Ultimate Spider-Man trades.

So that was disorienting. I couldn’t really let myself consider their manga selection too carefully, because it seemed to be concentrated into two categories. First, manga that has managed to make a crossover impression with comic book readers (i.e. Planetes). Second, panties-and-smackdowns manga. So that part seems to be a work in progress.

Fortunately, there was a Barnes and Noble nearby where I could grab the first volume of Buddha by Osamu Tezuka, which comes in a gorgeous hardcover package. (I know that’s not really here or there, and Tezuka would be classic wrapped in a gr0cery bag, but it seems much more sensible to give the high-end packaging treatment to work like Buddha than, say, Ultimates.)

Unrelated to comics, I love Turner Classic Movies. The cable provider back home doesn’t carry it, much to my bitter regret, so I always end up watching hours and hours when I visit the folks. (Thanks for nothing, and fix your name, American Movie Classics, because it’s a big, fat lie.) I know if I had TCM at home, I’d never again be able to say “there’s nothing on TV.” Sigh.

There’s no underlying theme this week, unless “really enjoyable comics” counts. Heck, it works for me! (Comments may contain spoilers.)

I’m over my little fit of pique with DC’s “nothing stands alone” marketing ploys and am back to being utterly taken with Adam Strange (DC), which hit its sixth issue this week. Writer Andy Diggle writes some of the best cliffhangers in the business, and the whole exercise has the compulsive excitement of a movie serial. Better still, each individual chapter is satisfying on its own terms, packed with action and story, but specific to the who’s-who cast of DC’s outer space characters. Diggle is taking tremendous advantage of the possibilities of a monthly publication schedule, and the wait to find out what happens next is a big part of the fun. Artist Pascal Ferry’s visuals are kinetic, varied, and gorgeous, as usual.

I wasn’t crazy about the first chapter of the current “Jack Be Nimble” arc in Fables (Vertigo), continued in this week’s #35. In the conclusion, writer Bill Willingham gives the events more weight and interest by focusing more closely on Jack’s motivations. He also gives the caper some unexpectedly ominous consequences, which is nice. “Jack Be Nimble” will probably never rank very highly on my list of favorite Fables stories, but I enjoyed it more than I initially thought I would. And, heck, it only took two issues, which is a nice change from the current mania for done-in-six.

The little details of police culture and character work help Gotham Central 29 (DC) overcome the kind of story I might not otherwise enjoy in this title. (It’s got a heavy focus on super-shenanigans, and I prefer more of a street-level approach.) Writer Greg Rucka follows up on the fallout from his “Half a Life” arc, and he draws some nice divisions between beat cops and detectives while reinforcing what ultimately links them. He also does a solid job of introducing some of the supporting cast of The Flash without taking readers too far out of Gotham Central’s noir-steeped world. The ending all but genuflects in the direction of Silence of the Lambs, but we’ll see how it turns out. It’s probably not the kind of compliment artists dream of receiving, but Stefano Gaudiano does a tremendous job of capturing the visual style that Michael Lark gave this book.

Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight 1 (Vertigo) takes a familiar premise (hero from the past is flung into a baffling future) but does it with such style and energy that it doesn’t really matter. Writer Grant Morrison packs the comic with action and character, and he does it in a way that’s imaginatively specific to protagonist Sir Justin and his crumbling Camelot world. Beyond being enjoyable in its own right, it bodes well for the other six diverse heroes who will get the Seven Soldiers treatment. Artist Simone Bianchi’s art is beautiful, creating a wonderfully unique take on sword and sorcery adventure. Extra points to the fine work from colorist Nathan Eyring, who employs a rich, vivid palette.

I actually liked the huge tonal shift in Street Angel 4 (Slave Labor Graphics), and I think the willingness to mix things up is one of the book’s greatest strengths. The fifth issue is back in familiar territory while taking a more focused approach to narrative than I’m used to. The sequences detailing Afrodisiac’s heroic history are creative, but the cleverness of visual choices and sly in-jokes don’t detract from their usefulness (and ultimate sincerity) as an introduction. This is apparently going to be the last issue of Street Angel for a while, and I’ll certainly miss it. Creators Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca have done splendid work with this title.

I’m still not quite prepared to talk about Vimanarama (Vertigo) at any length, preferring to wait until the whole series is out. I will say that I’m enjoying it a lot. Writer Grant Morrison has put a sweet, quirky romance in the middle of his usual mind-bending insanity, and I’m hooked. Also, if anyone can recommend other work by artist Philip Bond, please do so immediately. I. Want. More.

What is it about Ed Cunard? He wrote an absolutely awesome piece on story ideas, and now I’m strangely compelled to offer my own pitiful list. Ed, why can’t you use your powers of suggestion to get me to do something that won’t embarrass me? You’re like my personal Bad Idea Bear.

Anyway, a disclaimer at the outset: these are not stories I would be interested in writing, but ones I’d be interested in reading. I like writing fiction, but I have no illusions about its quality. If you’ve actually seen comics with these stories before, please let me know (particularly if they’re any good). That said, here goes:

1. Back-stabbing, bed-hopping, and backstage bitchery at a suburban community theatre production of Noël Coward’s Hay Fever. (Based on a number of true stories.)
2. A gay couple, college professors in very different fields, reach a crisis point in their relationship when one (out and proud but a mediocre teacher) gets tenure and the other (closeted and ultra-competent) doesn’t.
3. A defensive, withdrawn young woman comes into her own when she enrolls in a prestigious culinary school.
4. Chaos ensues at a suburban high school when a caustic, anti-social slacker gets a perfect score on his SATs.
5. A middling but dedicated vet-school student accepts an internship and is shocked to find that the rural animal shelter specializes in mythological creatures.
6. A biography of Julia Morgan, architect of the San Simeon residence of William Randolph Hearst.
7. A look at the adolescence and early adulthood of Lucrezia Borgia through the eyes of the woman herself from her perch as the Duchess of Ferrara.
8. A corporate trainee for a national newspaper conglomerate is assigned to lead the transition at a weekly, small-town newspaper that’s been recently acquired. He meets resistance on every front, particularly from the young editor. Romantic complications ensue.
9. A promising young sorcerer gets the worst assignment imaginable: mystic magistrate in a backwater town that makes Mayberry look cosmopolitan. Pointless feuds, angry young witches, and finicky familiars aren’t what he had in mind when he joined the magical hierarchy. Can middle management ever be magical?
10. At the suggestion of his therapist, a gay man attends his high school reunion to get closure by confronting the bully who made his life miserable. Unfortunately, the bully is now well into recovery and plans to use the reunion as part of his “making amends” process. Worse still, closure is further derailed when they start falling for each other.

There. That’s more than enough, I think. Thanks for your indulgence.

Fametracker compares the career tragectories of Vin Diesel and The Rock in its Battle of the Beefy Bald B-Movie Bad-Asses. As is only to be expected, The Rock emerges triumphant.

I mention this only because I saw an interview with The Rock (is it appropriate to capitalize “The”?) on a recent episode of The Daily Show, and, in addition to being a beefy, bald, b-movie bad-ass, he is adorable in ways I’m ashamed to acknowledge. Well, not too ashamed, obviously, but…

As Fametracker’s Wing Chun puts it, “The Rock will grin in a way that makes your knees melt, and when he shakes your hand with his gigantic paw, you will feel like a dainty little thing. You may blush.” And, exactly. And if there is a heart out there that could remain unmoved by the spectacle of The Rock and John Stewart geeking out over The Rock’s participation in the movie version of Doom, that heart is made of stone. I’m sorry, but it is.

Try not to judge me too harshly.

Kevin Melrose found it, Immelda Alty contemplated it. Tokyopop, having made inroads into young women, want to extend manga’s hypnotic influence to an older audience of women with its Manga After Hours line. (I’m not sure about that tag, actually. It reminds me of that clot of syndicated shows that used the hook “It’s too hot to sleep!” Moving on.)

It’s an intriguing idea, but I do wonder about a couple of things. First, there’s the quote cited by Immelda:

“Susan Hale of Tokyopop preceeded to explain, that there isn’t Manga out there at the moment for one “who’s a little bit older, intelligent, independent and discerning”.”

Hey! I like to think of myself as older, intelligent, independent, and discerning! (Okay, the discerning part is probably open to debate.) I find plenty of manga that I enjoy. But I suppose Hale’s comment could just be code for “readers who haven’t picked up a comic book since they were in elementary school, don’t have any idea that their bookstores carry graphic novels, and wouldn’t care if they did know.”

And that will make the marketing part of this launch interesting to watch. As Immelda notes in the comments section of her post, “LOL, I can see someone walking to the shelves now, and a shriek as they realise someone’s stolen all the text and replaced them with pretty pictures.”

Honestly, I’ve always thought most chick-lit cover art looked like manga to begin with, and the average digest is sized the same. It wouldn’t be difficult for a bookstore to stock a couple of manga titles in the chick-lit display, if they could be convinced to do so. Then you come to Immelda’s point.

I haven’t read a ton of chick-lit, and I’m hesitant to make any generalizations. The small sampling I have read tends to feature quirky, relatable protagonists juggling work, friends, and romantic complications that range from screwball to steamy. In other words, the subject matter is mighty similar to a lot of popular manga stories. So Tokyopop has that going for it.

But how does Tokyopop communicate that similarity to their likely audience and overcome their prose-over-pictures preference, or at least get them to make an exception or two? They sure as heck won’t be able to do it through their traditional outlets. I’m not saying that there’s no overlap between manga and chick-lit audiences, but I wouldn’t think it’s very large.

One approach that could work would be to serialize or sample some of the Manga After Hours titles in general interest publications. It works in Japan, if I’m not mistaken, with manga showing up in fashion magazines and other titles. Magazine publishers might resist the idea, though, which would leave the option of Tokyopop buying “$pecial adverti$ing $ection$” in targeted monthlies. So right there you have the advertising cost along with the probable necessity of flipping at least part of the material for that purpose.

And chick-lit gets plenty of critical coverage. Entertainment Weekly does a periodic chick-lit round-up, covering a sampling of titles. Since EW has shown a willingness to cover comics, they might be persuaded to fold in a couple of manga reviews in that context. And there isn’t exactly a shortage of interest in the “girls like manga” story in major news outlets, so Tokyopop could easily pitch this as the logical follow-up. (If The New York Times can be convinced that Identity Crisis heralds a new maturity in graphic storytelling, they’ll clearly buy just about anything.)

All this speculation might be irrelevant. It’s entirely possible that part of the existing shojo audience, which isn’t inconsiderable, is at the point that they’re ready for more mature material. Tokyopop might not need to push too hard into an indifferent customer base if they can capitalize on an existing group that might otherwise outgrow its reading choices. The “publish something for audiences at every stage of life” philosophy has worked pretty well with Japanese audiences, so maybe this is a translation of that.

Ultimately, though, I like this idea. I’m selfish, and I’ve been eager to see manga titles targeted at an older audience. (No, not the “now with more nipple” titles; stories with older protagonists.)

***

Following up on the Tenjho Tenge fiasco, you really should go read what Christopher Butcher has to say on the subject at his blog. Here’s a sample:

“I see fanpages for various manga and anime that put any North American PUBLISHER’s site to shame. These are people who are heavily invested in their fandom, and here’s the best part: They’re considerably more functional than comics fans. It’s true. I personally think it’s because manga and anime came up from nothing here, the people enjoying the material now are barely a generation removed from the people who were importing big clunky expensive video-tapes from Japan, taped right off the TV without subtitles. The fans actively defined what the medium would be in North America, and the key-word was ‘authenticity’.”

Go read.