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Brigid Alverson


Whole Lotta Viz Goin' On: New Manga for the Week of May 2

Posted 5/4/12 11:30 am EST by in Manga


Viz is the only traditional manga publisher with new releases this week, but they have a nice selection of fan-favorite Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat titles, as well as some Pokemon. The digital manga site JManga also has some new humor releases to round out the week.

My pick from the Viz batch is vol. 7 of The Story of Saiunkoku. This shoujo manga is set in an imaginary country in some imaginary past, allowing for lots of traditional-looking costumes and settings without the bother of historical accuracy. It's the story of the impossibly clever and nice Shurei, a poor woman of noble blood who was initially sent into the palace to be a consort for the emperor. That wrapped up in volume 2, leaving Sainkoku free to pursue her destiny—she wants to be a civil servant—and the emperor hopelessly smitten with her. This series puts a fresh spin on the manga cliche of the spirited girl who tries hard to overcome adversity, much to the admiration of the gaggle of handsome males that surrounds her. Also on the Shojo Beat list: Vol. 14 of We Were There. Read More...

Hetalia Manga Rescue: What Happened, and What Might Happen Next

Posted 5/3/12 12:30 pm EST by in Manga


On Tuesday, the online retailer RightStuf announced that they would be publishing the first three volumes of Hetalia: Axis Powers, which was formerly a Tokyopop property, in a print-on-demand format; the first two volumes are available now and the third will be out in June.

That's a savvy move on RightStuf's part, as Hetalia was probably Tokyopop's top-selling manga, and it has a huge fandom—it's a goldmine for cosplayers. And the good news is that, as you will read below, if this works out, RightStuf would consider bringing back more unfinished series. We talked to Alison Roberts, director of marketing and communications for RightStuf, to find out a bit more about how the Hetalia license rescue came about and what may come next.

MTV Geek: First of all, why did you choose Hetalia out of all the manga Tokyopop has licensed?

Alison Roberts: As a retailer, Hetalia is one of the manga series we get asked about most often. In addition to inquiries about the potential publication of future volumes, many fans also asked about the availability of affordable copies for the first two volumes of Hetalia... especially once they were no longer available on the wholesale level and the prices started to climb on the secondary market. Read More...

RightStuf, Tokyopop, Gentosha Partner to Publish Hetalia 3 (and 1 and 2)

Posted 5/2/12 2:01 pm EST by in Manga


In an unusual three-way partnership, the American publisher Tokyopop, the Japanese publisher Gentosha, and the retailer RightStuf are working together to publish volume 3 of Hetalia: Axis Powers and bring back the first two volumes as well.

When Tokyopop closed its doors a year ago, it left numerous series unfinished. Hetalia: Axis Powers was probably the most popular one, so it's not too surprising that someone would pick it up. What's surprising is that it's the retailer RightStuf, rather than a more traditional publisher such as Yen Press, that has picked up the license.

RightStuf announced yesterday that it would be publishing Hetalia mostly as a print-on-demand product. The first two volumes are available now for $15.99 each; if that sounds like a lot, consider that the going price for used copies on Amazon is almost $33 for vol. 1 and $23 for vol. 2, and that two-volume sets are going for $50 to $90 on eBay. For those who don't mind reading it digitally, comiXology offers the first two volumes for 99 cents a chapter (or less than $6 per volume).

Volume 3 will be a bit different. The first run will include eight color pages, and readers who pre-order are guaranteed to get those copies. After the first printing is sold out, the book will go to POD and the color pages will be in black and white. Read More...

Viz Announces Strobe Edge, Demon Love Spell Manga

Posted 4/24/12 4:30 pm EST by in Manga, VIZ


Viz is getting a jump on the summer convention season by announcing two new shoujo series now: Strobe Edge and Demon Love Spell, both in their Shojo Beat imprint.

Of the two, Demon Love Spell looks like it will be a little quirkier. We have had a couple of shrine-maiden manga in the past year or two, including Viz's Kamisama Kiss and the unfortunately incomplete Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens.

Here's the executive summary:

In the series, Miko is a shrine maiden who has never had much success at seeing or banishing spirits. Then she meets Kagura, a sexy demon who feeds off of women’s feelings of passion and love. Kagura’s insatiable appetite has left many girls brokenhearted at school, so Miko casts a spell to seal his powers. Surprisingly the spell works – sort of – but now Kagura is after her!

This has the potential to be something a little different, and the manga-ka is Mayu Shinjo, the creator of Ai Ore and Sensual Phrase, so she's got some chops. The story started as a mini-series in Margaret magazine and was popular enough to be continued as a full series, which is a good sign. Read More...

Black Butler in the Starry Sky: New Manga for the Week of April 25

Posted 4/24/12 10:15 am EST by in Digital Comics, Manga


This week brings an interesting batch of new manga, with a handful of genre titles and some oddball things as well.

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Marvel's Avengers Come To Life At New Madame Tussauds New York Exhibit

Posted 4/20/12 11:30 am EST by in Comic Books, Marvel


Arriving just in time to coincide with Marvel's Avengers movie, the world-famous Madame Tussauds New York is launching an interactive exhibit featuring Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, and more! Starting Thursday, April 26th, visitors to the Times Square tourist attraction can not only see life-like and life-size wax replicas of their favorite Marvel superheroes, but they will also be able to be immersed in the Marvel Super Heroes 4D Experience, a new short film. Read More...

"Max Payne" Brings Grit and Noir to Comics

Posted 4/17/12 2:45 pm EST by in Comic Books, Marvel


Today, Rockstar Games announced their partnership with Marvel’s Custom Studios group to produce a three-part story tying into the first and second games in the series, along with providing details about the troubled New York cop’s likely troubled early life, subsequently leading up to the events in the May release of Max Payne 3.

The miniseries will initially be released digitally on the Rockstar Newswire site, starting with the first chapter, “After the Fall,” with the plan for the first and later stories to be collected in a limited print edition sometime down the line. Writers Dan Houser and Sam Lake of Remedy (Alan Wake) are providing the scripts here with Greg Horn (Marville) providing covers and Fernando Blanco on pencils/inks. Read More...

Interview: Voice Actress Janet Varney and the Secret Origins of Korra

Posted 4/16/12 3:06 pm EST by in Animation


The one thing you quickly pick up on talking to Legend of Korra voice actress Janet Varney is that she’s just happy to be doing the work. Above all else, the actress, who lends her pipes to the show’s title character, is simply thrilled to be a part of the process of giving voice to something animated onscreen. “Just doing voices for cartoons is just a dream come true,” she explained. “For me there’s nothing closer to what magic—real magic must feel like.”


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Mondo’s Throwing 'Adventure Time' Art Show, and You're Invited

Posted 4/12/12 5:33 pm EST by in Animation, Cartoon Network



On Friday, April 27th, Mondo will be running hosting a gallery show featuring a couple of dozen artists (including regular Mondo poster creators) who’ve produced some original art featuring characters from the hit Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. Who’s gonna be there?
Andy Gonsalves
Andy Ristraino
Angie Wang
Annie Benjamin
Annie Wu
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New License Announcements from Vertical, Yen, and Dark Horse Include Some Old Friends

Posted 4/10/12 11:00 am EST by in Manga


From vampires to fashion models to Roman baths, the new titles announced this past weekend will make some interesting reading in the months to come.

Let's start on the East Coast, where Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez announced a new license at Anime Boston: Ai Yazawa's Paradise Kiss. Previously published by Tokyopop as five single volumes, the series tells the story of a bored student who becomes a model for a group of clothing designers. The series was the topic of a blogger carnival, the Manga Moveable Feast, last year, so interest has been high even though it has been almost ten years since the first volume came out in English. Yazawa is also the creator of the hugely popular ongoing series Nana.

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Sassy Girls, Space Cadets, and Wine Critics: New Manga for the Week of April 4

Posted 4/3/12 2:00 pm EST by in Manga


The girls are in control in this week's new releases, with an assortment of shoujo manga featuring heroines who don't let themselves get pushed around. But there's plenty for the guys, too, with new volumes of some Shonen Jump favorites. For the younger set, Viz launches its Voltron Force graphic novels, and for sophisticated adults, we have a new volume of Vertical's wine-tasting soap opera, Drops of God.

Viz publishes most of their Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat manga the first week of the month, and this month the standout title is vol. 2 of A Devil and Her Love Song. If you read my review of volume 1, you'll already know why: This is a high-school manga that avoids cliches and goes straight for the jugular, with a sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued girl who doesn't take any crap and a class full of hostile teenagers who are only too happy to dish it out anyway. Word on the street is that volume 2 is even better than volume 1, and I'm eager to find out. Read More...

That Magical Girl Is a Boy: New Manga for the Week of March 28

Posted 3/28/12 11:09 am EST by in Uncategorized


This is Yen Press's week to shine, with a very nice lineup of continuing series and two new ones. First up is the graphic adaptation of Gail Carriger's Soulless, the story of a Victorian vampire fighter, illustrated by the incomparable rem. This is the first book in Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, and Yen has three volumes planned. The other new series is vol. 1 of Is This a Zombie?, the story of a zombie high school boy who accidentally becomes a chainsaw-weilding magical girl. If you like zombies, chainsaws, and pink, frilly dresses, then this is the manga for you. Read More...

Yakuza, Tanuki, and a Giant Hammer: New Manga for the Week of March 21

Posted 3/21/12 1:28 pm EST by in Manga


It's a light week for print releases, but that makes it a good week to check out the latest digital offerings. Also, more Natsume Ono is always a good thing!

The sole Viz release this week is one of their more interesting titles, vol. 6 of House of Five Leaves, Natsume Ono's tale of a diffident ronin who falls in with a gang of kidnappers. From the description, it sounds like the story is starting to set up the final confrontation, as the series has just two more volumes to go. Read More...

New Manga for the Week of March 14: Girl Power!!

Posted 3/13/12 11:33 am EST by in Manga


The girls are in charge in this week's new manga releases, from aspiring astronaut Asumi to Amazing Agent Luna—and of course, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

Usagi is back! This week brings vol. 4 of Sailor Moon, which seems to have captivated a new generation of readers—every volume has made the New York Times manga best-seller list, and the first two volumes, along with the two volumes of Codename Sailor V, were Kodansha's top sellers last year. And look at that pretty cover with the spring colors! Kodansha has two more new releases this week, vol. 3 of Negima! (the omnibus edition) and vol. 9 of Ninja Girls. Read More...

Manga Review: A Devil and Her Love Song is Sharp-Tongued Shoujo

Posted 3/8/12 1:07 pm EST by in Manga, Reviews


Maria Kawai is a straight-talking heroine who skewers the phony facades of high school society in the new Viz series A Devil and Her Love Song. Yet while Maria is confident when criticizing others, she suffers from a deep fear that she is a bad person, and a strong desire to reform and do the right thing, a desire that often runs at cross purposes to the situation she finds herself in.

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