Some recent reports from the front lines of manga’s inexorable march towards global dominance:

Scottish bookstore whispers “Tokyopop,” is promptly overrun:

“‘We have now physically run out of tickets and have started a guest list of people who want to come.’” Ottakar’s manager Mark Dear.

Alberta comic shop hosts 12-hour manga-thon:

“‘We had a comic jam a while ago, which is pretty much the same thing but not in the manga style, and I kind of half-jokingly said that we’d have more high-school age turnout if we called it a manga-thon and did it in the manga style. And then Jay (Bardyla, Happy Harbor owner) made it happen.’” Happy Harbor Comics employee Bethany Van Vliet.

Manga U draws international student body:

“Students also get on-the-job training drawing illustrations for local public offices and companies. For example, they can employ their newly learned skills on a manga-style leaflet published by the municipal government on environmental preservation and a brochure promoting the local kimono business.”

While it isn’t precisely Manga Week at Comic World News, at the very least it’s Manga Two Days In A Row. Shawn Hoke of Size Matters fame covers a couple of titles in his Past the Front Racks column, wondering if either Death Note (Viz) or Dragon Head (Tokyopop) will be the next Planetes (i.e., the manga loved by people who don’t normally read much manga).

I like both books a lot. Death Note has the edge, simply because it’s farther along and has shown no signs of flagging. (And here’s more praise for the book from Greg McElhatton.) There’s only one volume of Dragon Head so far, but it certainly off to a strong start.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Eden: It’s an Endless World! (Dark Horse) found a lot of fans in common with Planetes. It’s considerably more violent than Planetes, but it has a similarly philosophical approach to science fiction and world-building. I’m enjoying the second volume immensely.

And just because it’s been hours since I’ve mentioned it, Love Roma (Del Rey) should be getting all kinds of adoration. And hey — Jog likes it! (The second volume is on this week’s shipping list, though it showed up here last week. That almost never happens, so I’m slightly alarmed, but I’ll get over it.)

As GLAAD contemplates its nominees for comic of the year, I hope the committee takes a moment to read Rich Johnston’s look at Marvel’s overall philosophy towards titles with lead characters who are gay.

“…[M]any inferred that Joe [Quesada] was saying that Marvel could not publish a series starring a gay character without it being labeled a MAX – the same label used for comics featuring extreme swearing, extreme violence and explicit nudity.

“Something that’s now been confirmed to me.

“Joe Quesada explained to me that this was the act of a responsible publisher in the current marketplace, given a reactionary media, and widespread and increasingly vocal parental concerns.”

How spectacularly gutless. Any comic starring a gay character is automatically MAX, with or without any explicit content. (I guess it’s a relief that they killed, resurrected, and villain-ized the only gay character to have a non-MAX solo series.)

Seriously, GLAAD, do you really want to reward a publisher that has this philosophy? Do you want to reward a publisher that has anything even resembling this philosophy? Because I think that decision would have the wrong… y’know… impact.

Last week brought with it a whole bunch of Del Rey titles I like. This week, it’s Viz’s turn to strike ruthlessly at my comics budget.

Arriving Wednesday are the second volume of Nana, the first of Absolute Boyfriend, the Kamikaze Girls manga, and the sixth volume of Hikaru No Go. What would I do if manga publishers suddenly decided to pace themselves?

Looking at it now, this week’s Flipped column is all over the map. Gratuitous violence, indentured servitude, and shameless plugging of a pet title, all rolled into one barely coherent package.

It’s that time again, when I skim through the latest Previews for the manga titles debuting in April. Settle in, because it’s a long one.

ADV:
Full Metal Panic! Overload, by Tomohiro Nagai, $9.99

Antarctic Press:
Color Manga 7-Pack, by Various, $34.95

This is an interesting approach, giving a roughly 50% discount on volumes of four different titles (Legacy by Fred Perry, Junction 17 by David Hutchison, Neotopia by Rod Espinosa, and Warrior Nun Areala by Ben Dunn).

Bandai:
Eureka Seven, by Jinsei Kataoka, $9.99
Samurai Champloo Film Manga, $9.99

Blu:
Menkui!, by Suzuki Tanaka, $9.99

CMX:
Vs. (Versus), by Keiko Yamada, $9.99

Del Rey:
Pichi Pichi Pitch, by Pink Anamori and Michiko Yokote, $10.95

Digital Manga Publishing:
The Art of Loving, by Yukine Honami and Serubo Suzuki, $12.95
Il Gatto sul G, by Tooko Miyagi, $12.95
Almost Crying, by Mako Takahashi, $12.95

Dr. Master Publications, Inc.:
Real Fake Princess, by I-Huan, $9.95

Fanfare/Ponent Mon:
A Patch of Dreams, by Hideji Oda, $22.99

A little pricey for 200 black and white pages, but who am I kidding? F/PM hasn’t failed me yet.

Go! Comi:
Her Majesty’s Dog, by Tick Takeuchi, $10.99

This is the one that was initially released exclusively through Borders and Waldenbooks, right? So this is its Direct Market debut?

Graphix:
Baby-Sitters Club, by Raina Telgemeier, $16.99

I’ve been dying to see Telgemeier on a full-length graphic novel ever since gobbling up her mini-comics at SPX. I was more of a Sweet Valley High fan, because they were so lurid and horrible, but Telgemeier seems like the perfect choice for this property, so I’m there. (Update: Greg McElhatton ramps up my eager anticipation with his preview review at iComics.)

Ice Kunion:
Freak – The Legeld of the Nonblonds, by Lee DongEun and Chung Yu, $10.95

Infinity Studios:
Sweety, by Ju-Ri Kim and Jae-Sung Park, $9.95

Netcomics:
0/6, by Youjung Lee, $9.99
Boy Princess, by Seyoung Kim, $9.99
Can’t Lose You, by Wann, $9.99
Dokebi Bride, by Marley, $9.99
The Great Catsby, by Doha Kang, $17.99
The Land of Silver Rain, by Mira Lee, $9.99
Let Dai, by Sooyeon Won, $9.99
Madtown Hospital, by JTK, $9.99
Not So Bad, by E. Hae, $9.99
Pine Kiss, by Eunhye Lee, $9.99

Now, I’m not a retailer, but if I were, nothing would make me more excited than to have ten titles debut from a new publisher in a single month. I hope Netcomics does well, but this seems a little unwise.

Tokyopop:
Anima, by Natsumi Mukai, $9.99
Boys of Summer, by Chuck Austen and Hiroki Otsuka, $9.99
Confidential Confessions – Deai, by Reiko Momochi, $9.99
Death Jam, by D.J. Logic, $9.99
Made in Heaven: Juri, by Ami Sakurai and Yukari Yashiki, $9.99
Kat & Mouse, by Alex de Campi and Frederica Manfredi, $9.99
Rozen Maiden, by Peach-Pit, $9.99
Stone of the Morning Mist, Hiroki Ukawa, $9.99

Let me just say right now that the words “Art Not Final” have never been more welcome than they are on the image from Boys of Summer. Since my Chuck Austen Snark Generator is in the shop for routine maintenance, I’ll just quote part of the solicitation:

“But like all best ‘laid’ plans, nothing goes as Bud expects. His roommate turns out to be a closeted homosexual, and all the good-looking girls in the dorm are interested in somebody else.”

Life is so unfair!

Viz:
D Gray Man, by Hoshino Katsura, $7.99

Yaoi Press:
Aluria, Calissa Leigh and Yishan Li, $12.95
Pinned, by Studio Kosaru and Yamila Abraham, $12.95

The yaoi that had to happen: professional wrestlers in lust.

Digital Manga is refining its yaoi line, renaming the imprint Juné. Here’s some of what DMP had to say about the change:

“The new imprint will have a name that has a much deeper resounding relevance to yaoi and will also be including existing titles in publication by DMP as well as upcoming titles.”

It’s certainly catchier than yaoi-manga.com.

“‘We obviously have been doing very well with our Yaoi titles and felt that creating the Juné label would be the most appropriate thing for DMP’s marketing awareness and consumer appreciation,’ says Director of Operations, Isaac S. Lew. ‘This will not only give the chance for DMP to market our Yaoi books more freely, but also the opportunity to better showcase our non-Yaoi titles such as Range Murata’s Robot series, Yoshitoshi Abe’s Lain book, and the upcoming conclusion to Antique Bakery.’”

Okay, I’m just repeating a press release. Sue me. I’m a sucker for niche marketing and themed imprints.

And there’s an interesting bit on the origin of the imprint’s new name:

“Named after the famous French novelist Jean Genet, whose identity is well established amongst the yaoi community, Juné was first coined from the Japanese pronunciation of his name ‘Jan Jooneh’. Jean Genet was famous for writing several novels post World War II depicting the subtle erotica between beautiful boys. In homage to Jean Genet, a Japanese magazine was named Juné after him. Genet’s famous works include Journal du Voleur (1949), The Thief’s Journal, and Notre-Dame des Fleurs (1944), Our Lady of the Flowers.”

This seems to be my week to be crabby and overly sensitive, so I might as well just go with it and try to get it out of my system.

• Tom Spurgeon notes that Publishers Weekly buried its link to the New York Comic-con deep into the bowels of a long, flattering piece on the event. I note that a co-author of the article, Heidi MacDonald, neglected to mention that she’s a paid consultant for the event. Of course, I know she’s a paid consultant because she disclosed it on her blog, The Beat. So, partial credit on the full disclosure front, I guess. And maybe the article would have gotten too long if they had taken time to address all the potential conflicts.
• Also from PW Comics Week, Serenity writer Buzz Dixon makes the statement that, “We’ve gotten a lot of really negative feedback on our Web site and in online reviews simply because it’s Christian.” Laurel Maury, the author of the article, doesn’t really challenge Dixon’s contention, though I can think of several on-line reviews that had no problem with a story from a Christian perspective (though there were mixed reactions to the quality).
• It’s always interesting to me to try and figure out what distinguishes a parody or satire from a simple impersonation. There are a couple of recent columns that I guess are supposed to be poking fun at ridiculous gender stereotypes, but I don’t think either really makes the leap from imitation of those attitudes to insightful satire of them. One uses images of same-sex intimacy to frighten the presumably homogenous, homophobic audience. Hilarious and progressive, or insulting and clichéd? U-decide!
• Thanks to an unfortunate coincidence of what’s in my CD player and what I’m reading on-line, I’ve been forced to wonder if there’s really any moral distinction between the good wizards’ use of memory modification to conceal their existence from Muggles, and the bad wizards’ use of the Imperius curse to control behavior and achieve their ends.

The following contains spoilers for Young Avengers Special #1 (Marvel).

Can anyone remember the last time a comics character actually reported a sexual assault to the authorities? I can’t. The protagonist in Dramacon didn’t. Sue Dibny never got the opportunity in Identity Crisis. And now it’s revealed that Kate Bishop can be added to Ragnell’s depressing list of characters who have been raped.

I had switched over to trades on this title, but a friend suggested I pick up the special issue because it tied into things that have been on my mind a lot lately. I’m glad I did, because it’s an extremely well-written comic filled with nuanced observations about Allan Heinberg’s cast of young heroes. Kate’s sequence is good, too, particularly for the textured back-and-forth between Kate and former super-heroine Jessica Jones.

But I’m still left wondering if, well-written or not, comics need any more unreported rapes. Obviously, sexual assaults go unreported all the time in real life, no matter how much we all wish they didn’t. In this particular fictional context, though, it seems to be the default setting, and that makes me extremely uneasy.

In the story, Kate is assaulted by a stranger in the park. In the aftermath, she talks to a therapist about the crime and she learns self-defense, but she doesn’t inform the police or tell her family. While the crime isn’t her only motivating factor for becoming a costumed heroine (she also has her late mother’s example of social conscience, doing what one can with the means they have available), it’s significant.

“You can do your best to make sure that what happened to you ever happens to anyone else.”

Except that she didn’t, really, because she never tried to get the man who raped her off the streets.

The friend who recommended the special to me had to talk me down a bit. She pointed out that the apparent disconnect isn’t really implausible, given an adolescent’s sometimes abstract and developing concept of justice, especially in a world full of vigilantism, where the role models are often disguised and apparently unaccountable. And she noted that the crime isn’t Kate’s sole driver for what she does; she was already inclined to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

And wow, do I hope I’m not sounding like one of those twits who think young readers can’t handle anything challenging or complex, but it bothers me that there are so many instances of this. Sexual assault can be portrayed well in any medium, and Heinberg arguably does well with it here. It’s specific to Kate, and it’s portrayed with sensitivity. Even if they aren’t the choices I want Kate to make, they’re believable as her choices.

But why do writers never think to show a victim going through the justice system? Reporting the crime, getting support from their family, testifying against their attacker, and seeing the criminal punished?

(It isn’t just comics. A couple of years ago on All My Children, the soap’s premiere heroine was brutally raped, then spent roughly a week’s worth of episodes meticulously destroying any physical evidence, then months concealing it from her friends and family. When she finally did report the crime, after a near nervous breakdown, her attacker went free because of lack of evidence. The victim had another mini-breakdown, killed him while in some kind of fugue state, and was eventually acquitted.)

And maybe Heinberg will follow up on what happened to Kate down the road, show her realizing that her quest for justice and safety will be incomplete until she gets justice for what happened to her. But the initial impression of the incident will stand in ways that make me uneasy, as I said.

I think it’s because of the fact that YAS #1 is such a good comic that this nags at me so much. Beyond being crafted well, it’s thematically necessary, showing what drives the Young Avengers to do what they do. It’s a special in the very best sense of the word, providing added insight and extra layers to the ongoing series. (The sequence with Wiccan was particularly lovely for me, with its underlying themes of gay kids finding what heroes they can, and one of the only recent portrayals of the Scarlet Witch that doesn’t make me livid.)

But can’t we have one portrayal of rape in comics where the victim gets direct, conventional justice for what happened to them? Does it always have to be this way?

(Edited because verbs are our friends.)

There’s a truly ludicrous quantity of good manga arriving at comic shops this week, so just be warned. The second volume of Eden from Dark Horse, the fourth volumes of Genshiken and Nodame Cantabile and the second of Love Roma from Del Rey, and You Higuri’s Gorgeous Carat from Blu are among the offerings. At least now I know who to thank for this kind of ridiculous product dump. Hugs, Diamond! (Seriously, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the opportunity to read entertaining manga. I’d just prefer that it didn’t all show up at once.)

Speaking of entertaining reading, David Taylor takes a very thoughtful look at the recent Tokyopop layoffs and the swirl of conversation they’ve triggered. After quoting some coverage from ICv2, David notes:

“…but even they have to add the caveat at the end of the report that this isn’t anything to do with OEL and that the entire OEL scene plays only a very small part in the whole scheme that is Tokyopop (and by the way this is the second time in a Tokyopop report that they have used that paragraph), to me just draws more emphasis to the fact that OEL is a big possibility behind this. It’s like someone telling you to stand in a corner and not think about orange penguins, and that will be all you think about!”

I’m still looking for response or follow-up to Heidi MacDonald’s report of rumors about orders to stop work on projects in the OEL line.

Entirely unrelated to that whole brouhaha, I interview Jake Forbes in this week’s Flipped. Once again, a charming and intelligent comics professional was suckered into doing all the heavy lifting while I lobbed nonsensical questions at him. Come for the insight. Stay for the amphibian poetry.

Edited to add: I knew I was forgetting something. Yay! I was wrong! As Johanna Draper Carlson and Greg McElhatton note, there is more Kindaichi Case Files coming from Tokyopop, due in April.

Edited again to add: Rich Johnston has a rumor round-up on the Tokyopop situation in this week’s Lying in the Gutters.