Archive for February, 2006

Goodies for this week 01/03/06

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

As usual from the Comiclist.

ANTARCTIC PRESS
Gold Digger Color Remix #3 (Of 4) $2.99
Mischief & Mayhem Field Trip To Heck $3.50

DARK HORSE COMICS
Domu A Childs Dream 2nd Ed TPB (AA) $17.95
Harlequin Violet Holding On To Alex TPB $9.95

SEVEN SEAS
Captain Nemo Vol 1 GN $10.99

TOKYOPOP
Blazin Barrels Vol 4 GN (Of 18) $9.99
Dragon Knights Vol 22 GN (Of 23) $9.99
Faeries Landing Vol 12 GN (Of 15) $9.99
Girls Bravo Vol 3 GN (Of 10) $9.99
I Luv Halloween Vol 2 GN (Of 3) (resolicited) $9.99
Kamichama Karin Vol 3 GN (Of 6) $9.99
Last Fantasy Vol 1 GN (Of 5) $9.99
Psychic Academy Vol 1 (Of 10) GN $9.99
Psychic Academy Vol 11 GN (Of 11) $9.99
Shaolin Sisters Reborn Vol 4 GN (Of 4) $9.99
Telepathic Wanderers Vol 2 GN $9.99
Tsukuyomi Moon Phase Vol 2 GN (Of 8) $9.99

VIZ MEDIA LLC
Shonen Jump April 06 #40 $4.99

The Great Slow Love Manga Experiment

Monday, February 27th, 2006

Well I survived my first week at my new job, so with this week I’ll see if I can work and post at the same time… ^.^

Goodies for this week 22/02/06

Tuesday, February 21st, 2006

As usual from the Comics List.

ANTARCTIC PRESS
Duel #2 (Of 4) $2.99
Oz The Manga #8 (Of 8) $2.99

DC COMICS
Gals Vol 5 $9.99
Young Magician Vol 3 $9.99

DEL REY
Ghost Hunt Vol 2 GN $10.95
Othello Vol 6 GN $10.95

DR MASTER PUBLICATIONS INC
Iron Wok Jan GN #16 $9.95
Journal Of Vampire Hunter 1 Claws Of Darkness #1 $5.95
Journal Of Vampire Hunter 1 Claws Of Darkness #2 $5.95
King Of Fighters 2003 Vol 3 TPB (resolicited) $13.95
Snk Vs Capcom Vol 3 Svc Chaos TPB $13.95

ICARUS PUBLISHING
A G Super Erotic Anthology #29 (adult) $4.99

TOKYOPOP
Ai Yori Aoshi Vol 12 GN (Of 15) $9.99
Battle Club Vol 1 GN (Of 2) $9.99
Beck Mongolian Chop Squad Vol 3 GN (Of 19) $9.99
Clamp No Kiseki Vol 6 Magazine Collectable (Of 12) 2 $29.99
Gatcha Gacha Vol 1 GN (Of 5) $9.99
Gravitation Novel $7.99
Love Mode Vol 2 GN $9.99
Never Give Up Vol 1 GN (Of 13) $9.99
Pita Ten Official Fan Book Vol 2 GN $9.99
Rave Master Vol 19 GN (Of 32) $9.99
Saiyuki Reload Vol 3 GN (Of 4) $9.99
Samurai Champloo Vol 2 GN $9.99
Snow Drop Vol 12 GN (Of 12) $9.99
Somedays Dreamers Vol 1 GN (Of 2) $9.99
Vampire Game Vol 14 GN (Of 15) $9.99
Warcraft Vol 2 GN (Of 3) $9.99

VIZ MEDIA LLC
Beyblade Vol 9 TPB $7.99
Golgo 13 Vol 1 GN $9.99
Hana Kimi Vol 10 GN $9.99
Inu Yasha Ani Manga Vol 13 GN $11.99
Naoki Urasawas Monster Vol 1 TPB $9.99
Naruto Vol 1 TPB (AA) $7.95
Zatch Bell Vol 5 GN $9.99

March Previews from Diamonds

Monday, February 20th, 2006

Diamond Previews

ADV Manga
MAR06 2875 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION ANGELIC DAYS VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 2876 CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL VOL 6 TP SRP: $10.99
MAR06 2877 FULL METAL PANIC OVERLOAD VOL 5 TP SRP: $9.99
MAR06 2878 ORPHEN VOL 5 SRP: $9.99

ANTARCTIC PRESS
MAR06 2937 ALICE IN WONDERLAND #4 SRP: $3.50
MAR06 2938 GOLD DIGGER CVR A HEROES #75 SRP: $2.99
MAR06 2939 GOLD DIGGER CVR B VILLIANS #75 SRP: $2.99
MAR06 2940 GOLD DIGGER THRONE OF SHADOWS #1 SRP: $2.99
MAR06 2941 GOLD DIGGER VOL 8 SRP: $12.95
MAR06 2942 GOLD DIGGER SWIMSUIT SPECIAL 2006 SRP: $4.50
MAR06 2945 NINJA HIGH SCHOOL #139 SRP: $2.99
MAR06 2946 TWILIGHT X WAR #6 SRP: $3.50

BANG! ENTERTAINMENT
MAR06 2948 AP HOW TO DRAW HENTAI DOUBLE TEAM TWO PACK (Adult) SRP: $8.95
MAR06 2950 KAMI TORA DOUBLE DOUJIN TWO PACK (Adult) SRP: $8.95

Bandai Entertainment
AR06 3060 COWBOY BEBOP FILM MANGA VOL 1 SRP: $9.99 ** I don’t usually put in AniManga but I’ll make an exception this time just to remind people that Bandai finally releasing manga

BLU Manga
MAR06 3426 GORGEOUS CARAT VOL 2 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3427 MANS BEST FRIEND INU MO ARUKE BA FALL IN LOVE (MR) SRP: $9.99

BOYCHILD/RUSSELL-COTES MUSEUM
MAR06 3078 JAPANESE DRAWING ROOM GN SRP: $9.99

Broccoli Books
MAR06 3083 GALAXY ANGEL PARTY VOL 3 SRP: $9.99

CMX
MAR06 0355 OYAYUBIHIME INFINITY VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 0356 TENJHO TENGE VOL 8 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 0357 LAND OF THE BLINDFOLDED VOL 8 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 0358 SEIMADEN VOL 5 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 0359 MOON CHILD VOL 3 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 0360 MONSTER COLLECTION VOL 6 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 0361 PIECES OF A SPIRAL VOL 4 SRP: $9.99

Dark Horse
MAR06 0017 PATH OF THE ASSASSIN VOL 1 (MR) SRP: $9.95
MAR06 0018 CRYING FREEMAN VOL 2 (MR) SRP: $14.95
MAR06 0019 LADY SNOWBLOOD VOL 4 (MR) SRP: $14.95
MAR06 0020 HARLEQUIN PINK THE BACHELOR PRINCE SRP: $9.95
MAR06 0021 HARLEQUIN VIOLET BLIND DATE SRP: $9.95
MAR06 0022 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #113 (MR) SRP: $2.99
MAR06 0023 CANNON GOD EXAXXION VOL 5 SRP: $15.95
MAR06 0024 OCTOPUS GIRL VOL 2 (MR) SRP: $12.95
MAR06 0025 SCHOOL ZONE VOL 2 SRP: $12.95
MAR06 0026 OH MY GODDESS VOL 3 SRP: $10.95
MAR06 0027 WHATS MICHAEL VOL 11 SRP: $9.95
MAR06 0028 REIKO THE ZOMBIE SHOP VOL 3 SRP: $12.95

Del Rey
MAR06 3130 BASILISK VOL 1 GN (MR) SRP: $13.95
MAR06 3131 ES VOL 1 GN (MR) SRP: $10.95
MAR06 3132 GACHA GACHA VOL 4 GN (MR) SRP: $10.95
MAR06 3134 NEGIMA VOL 10 GN (MR) SRP: $10.95
MAR06 3135 SCHOOL RUMBLE VOL 2 GN SRP: $10.95
MAR06 3137 XXXHOLIC VOL 7 GN SRP: $10.95

Digital Manga Publishing
MAR06 3161 ANTIQUE BAKERY VOL 4 SRP: $12.95
MAR06 3162 YELLOW VOL 4 (MR) SRP: $12.95
MAR06 3163 YELLOW BOX SET (MR) SRP: $17.95
MAR06 3164 CAFE KICHIJOUJI DE VOL 3 SRP: $12.95
MAR06 3165 EDU MANGA ANN FRANK SRP: $9.95
MAR06 3166 LITTLE BUTTERFLY (MR) SRP: $12.95
MAR06 3167 YOU & HARUJON (MR) SRP: $12.95
MAR06 3168 YOSHITOSHI ABES LAIN ARTBOOK SRP: $24.95
MAR06 3169 YOSHITOSHI ABES LAIN SP ED SLIPCASE HC SRP: $39.95

DrMaster
MAR06 3177 JOURNAL OF VAMPIRE HUNTER 1 #5 SRP: $9.95
MAR06 3178 SNK VS CAPCOM VOL 4 SVC CHAOS TP SRP: $9.95
MAR06 3179 STRAY LITTLE DEVIL VOL 1 SRP: $9.95

Icarus Publishing
MAR06 3252 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #35 (ADULT) SRP: $4.99
MAR06 3253 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #36 (ADULT) SRP: $4.99
MAR06 3254 MIKUS SEXUAL ORGY DIARY TP (ADULT) SRP: $19.95
MAR06 3255 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY MEGA (ADULT) SRP: $18.00

ICE Kunion
MAR06 3256 ANTIQUE GIFT SHOP VOL 3 SRP: $10.95
MAR06 3257 GOONG VOL 1 SRP: $10.95
MAR06 3258 HEAVENLY EXECUTIONER CHIWOO VOL 3 SRP: $10.95

Infinity Studios
MAR06 3294 NININ GA SHINOBUDEN VOL 1 SRP: $9.95

NetComics
MAR06 3331 LAND OF SILVER RAIN VOL 2 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3332 HOTEL CALIFORNIA SRP: $14.99
MAR06 3333 MADTOWN HOSPITAL VOL 2 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3334 PINE KISS VOL 2 SRP: $9.99

Seven Seas
MAR06 3363 AOI HOUSE VOL 1 SRP: $10.99
MAR06 3364 INVERLOCH VOL 1 SRP: $14.99

TOYKOPOP
MAR06 3398 MAIL ORDER NINJA VOL 1 SRP: $5.99
MAR06 3397 DOGBY WALKS ALONE VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3390 BIZENGHAST VOL 2 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3391 .HACK//SIGN ANOTHER BIRTH VOL 1 NOVEL SRP: $7.99
MAR06 3392 DEVIL MAY CRY VOL 1 NOVEL SRP: $7.99
MAR06 3393 ANGEL CUP VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3394 PLATINUM GARDEN VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3395 BEYOND THE BEYOND VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3396 BLOOD SUCKER VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3399 SECRET CHASER VOL 1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3400 GTO EARLY YEARS SHONAN JUNAI GUMI VOL 1 SRP: $10.99
MAR06 3403 AI YORI AOSHI VOL 13 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3404 BECK MONGOLIAN CHOP SQUAD VOL 4 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3405 BLAZIN BARRELS VOL 5 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3406 BROKEN ANGELS VOL 2 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3407 CULDCEPT VOL 5 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3408 FAERIES LANDING VOL 13 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3409 GIRLS BRAVO VOL 4 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3410 HONEY MUSTARD VOL 4 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3411 KAMI KAZE VOL 2 GN SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3412 KAMICHAMA KARIN VOL 4 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3413 LOVELESS VOL 2 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3414 MS GUNDAM LOST WAR CHRONICLES VOL 2 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3415 QUEENS KNIGHT VOL 6 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3416 RAVE MASTER VOL 20 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3417 REMOTE VOL 9 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3418 SAIYUKI RELOAD VOL 4 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3419 SORCERER HUNTERS VOL 6 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3420 THREADS OF TIME VOL 7 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3421 TRAMPS LIKE US VOL 9 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3422 TSUKUYOMI MOON PHASE VOL 3 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3425 CLAMP NO KISEKI VOL 8 COLLECTABLE SRP: $29.99

Vertical Books
MAR06 3136 TEZUKA’S BUDDHA VOL 1 SoftCover SRP: $14.95

Viz Media
MAR06 3474 NARUTO COLLECTOR MAGAZINE #1 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3475 SHOJO BEAT VOL 2 #8 SRP: $5.99
MAR06 3476 SHONEN JUMP #43 SRP: $4.99
MAR06 3477 BLEACH VOL 13 SRP: $7.95
MAR06 3478 CLAYMORE VOL 2 SRP: $7.99
MAR06 3479 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 26 SRP: $7.95
MAR06 3480 NARUTO VOL 10 TP SRP: $7.95
MAR06 3481 RUROUNI KENSHIN VOL 27 SRP: $7.95
MAR06 3482 YU GI OH DUELIST VOL 15 SRP: $7.95
MAR06 3483 EYESHIELD 21 VOL 8 SRP: $7.99
MAR06 3484 JOJOS BIZARRE ADVENTURE VOL 4 SRP: $7.99
MAR06 3485 BATTLE ANGEL ALITA LAST ORDER VOL 7 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3486 BEYBLADE VOL 11 SRP: $7.99
MAR06 3487 FIREFIGHTER VOL 15 SRP: $9.95
MAR06 3488 FLAME OF RECCA VOL 18 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3489 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 4 BOXED SET ALPHONSE FIGURINE SRP: $19.99
MAR06 3490 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 4 BOXED SET EDWARD FIGURINE SRP: $19.99
MAR06 3491 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST PROFILES SRP: $14.99
MAR06 3493 MIDORI DAYS VOL 6 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3494 ZATCH BELL VOL 7 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3497 ANGEL SANCTUARY VOL 14 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3498 BANANA FISH VOL 14 TP SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3499 BASARA VOL 18 TP SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3500 BOYS OVER FLOWERS VOL 18 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3501 HANA KIMI VOL 12 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3502 HOT GIMMICK VOL 11 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3503 KARE FIRST LOVE VOL 8 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3504 SENSUAL PHRASE VOL 14 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3505 AISHITERUZE BABY VOL 2 SRP: $8.99
MAR06 3506 KAZE HIKARU VOL 2 SRP: $8.99
MAR06 3507 NANA VOL 3 SRP: $8.99
MAR06 3508 GOLGO 13 VOL 3 (MR) SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3509 NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER VOL 3 SRP: $9.99
MAR06 3510 PHOENIX VOL 7 SRP: $15.99
MAR06 3511 VAGABOND VOL 21 (MR) SRP: $9.95

YAOI PRESS
MAR06 3529 YAOI HENTAI VOL 2 GN (ADULT) SRP: $12.95

Kiriko Kubo and the South Bank Show

Sunday, February 19th, 2006

A good weekend for Manga here in the UK, well for me anyway ^.^
I finally managed to get to the Japanese Embassy here in London on Friday to see the Manga Manufacturing exhibition showcasing the work of manga-ka Kiriko Kubo. Obviously for security and logistical purposes the event could only be held in the reception area so was relatively small but it didn’t lesson the beauty or comprehensiveness of her work.

There was an introduction from Paul Gravett and Kiriko Kubo with various full colour examples dotted around the hall but for me the exciting part was seeing the breakdown of a single manga page from rough sketches through to the final published version. It was fascinating to actually see the changes a simple page layout goes through, in the few examples given you could actually see where Kiriko Kubo moved characters around or modified before the final version.
It was great because you just don’t get to see this sort of thing that often. Hopefully we could get more of some exhibitions here in the future, certainly the signed guest book seemed to suggest that lots of people from various age groups expressing delight and interest.

Secondly the South Bank Show here on terrestrial TV has a program dedicated to Manga and Anime tonight which is pretty awesome!
Like I did when the greatest 100 cartoons was shown here in the UK I’ll probably update this whilst I’m watching the program.

About 10 mins in

haha started off showing a young girl reading Nana!! hehehe. Okay sorry that tickled me for some reason. Paul Gravett features heavily in it so far which greatly reassures me in the quality of this program. Also featured a nice piece on Osamu Tezuka including showing his 1986 interview, just had Kirikio Kubo too.

About 20 mins in

Quite a good portrayal of the effect the bomb had on Japan, in particular the story of Barefoot Gen. What I also liked was the quick spin through of a select group of people in Japan and why they read Manga. The only female (the Nana reader) was interested in the relationship aspect of Manga whereas the male readers likened it to a portable movie which you could take with you anywhere and loose a few hours to it, or that the action scenes could be so much more dynamic then real-life.

After advert break

OH YES! Hit all the right buttons for me in the second half that might or might not have anything to do with the interview with Kazuo Koike!!! First off we had the coverage of Hokkusai prints which I don’t think you could avoid or should avoid mentioning when talking about Manga, and again it just reminded me how beautiful some of them are, courtesy of the British Museum’s examples, then a switch from old historical Japan we get Lone Wolf and Cub as the modern day example. Not only do we get Kazuo Koike but also Junko Mizuno who seems just as reticent in real-life as she does in her TCJ interview recently. Though I did like her part about the fact that her Western fans were far more vocal then her native Japanese fans even if the comments were too superficial for her.
If that wasn’t enough for me, we even got Paul Gravett mentioning ero-manga which sparked my interest, mainly because I was interested in how they’d handle it. But Gravett sensibly drew the attention more on the fact that anime was the front-runner for Japanese pop-culture here in the UK and a lot of the original works imported were adult orientated. Saying that the program has mentioned many times the influence that Manga has on all age-ranges throughout Japan, there is Manga for just about anyone.
And here is where I immediately thought of the Mangacast guys in that the next “random person to talk to on the street” highlighted a golf manga as his personal favourite.

Phew, finally proof (not that I’ve gone looking for it!) that the Gorillaz video Feel Good Inc does own some credit to Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

The Last Part

Concentrated quiet a bit on Production IG and the links they had with Quentin Tarantino for the Kill Bill animation sequence and the gradual absorbtation into mainstream culture with the likes of Gorillaz and Chase Studios.
Also quiet interesting to see GOSH comics talking about how they have expanded their Manga shelves with the introduction of more genres being translated, in particular the shoujo genre.
Finally finished with Paul Gravett and an interesting thought on how much the younger generation are being brought up on Manga.

We don’t often get programs here on terrestrial TV devoted to Manga or Anime so I was pretty excited about this and rightly so. It was well presented as an introduction to what could be a very scary scene to the uninitiated.

Top 50 Manga for January 2006

Saturday, February 18th, 2006

Using a mixture of Comic Book Resources and ICV2 articles, here is the compiled Top 50 Manga chart according to Diamond’s direct market sales in the US.

These are sales from the direct market only, e.g. Local Comic Shops, this chart isn’t the same as the weekly bookscan top ten listing which is complied by Neilsen and reflects sales in bookstores, e.g. Borders, Barnes & Noble.
There are two charts complied, Top 300 comics (i.e. Monthly floppy format) and Top 100 graphic novels (i.e. Trades, Paperbacks, Mangas). Recently there has also been a Top 50 Manga chart which takes the titles that made it into the Top 100 graphic novels and then rounds it out at 50. This is the chart that I publish here on Love Manga.

On to this months, as before the emphasised titles at the beginning are those that were in the Top 100 Graphic Novel chart, in the position column the parenthesis number is where they placed in that chart. Using ICV2’s article I also have the estimated quantities too, but as ICV2 does not run the Top 50 manga chart the numbers only last for those that made the Top 100 Graphic Novel chart.

(These will be added on Monday when ICV2 publish their chart! ^.^)

Position Title Publisher Estimate
01(10) Samurai Executioner vol.08 Dark Horse 4816
02(16) Fullmetal Alchemist vol.05 Viz Media 3942
03(17) Berserk vol.10 Dark Horse 3805
04(21) Inu Yasha vol.24 Viz Media 3294
05(27) Oh My Goddess vol.22 Dark Horse 2576
06(–) Vampire Hunter D nov.03 Dark Horse
07(40) Rurouni Kenshin vol.22 Viz Media 1709
08(47) Tenjho Tenge vol.05 DC/CMX 1616
09(48) Full Metal Panic vol.03 ADV Manga 1603
10(53) Fushigi Yugi vol.17 Viz Media 1460
11(59) Descendants of Darkness vol.09 Viz Media 1235
12(64) Lady Snowblood vol.02 Dark Horse 1179
13(72) Video Girl AI vol.14 Viz Media 1085
14(74) Yu Gi Oh! Duelist vol.12 Viz Media 1054
15(75) One Piece vol.09 Viz Media 1042
16(78) Death Note vol.03 Viz Media 986
17(79) Saikano vol.07 Viz Media 986
18(85) Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne vol.02 DC/CMX 948
19(88) Bastard vol.10 Viz Media 936
20(91) Glass Wings Tokyopop 898
21(95) Land of the Blindfolded vol.06 DC/CMX 836
22(98) Beautiful People Tokyopop 823
23 Seraphic Feather vol.06 Dark Horse
24 Sequence Tokyopop
25 W Juliet vol.08 Viz Media
26 Cheeky Angel vol.10 Viz Media
27 Tramps Like Us vol.08 Tokyopop
28 Blame vol.03 Tokyopop
29 Rebirth vol.017 Tokyopop
30 Here Is Greenwood vol.08 Viz Media
31 Doubt vol.06 Viz Media
32 Case Closed vol.09 Viz Media
33 Shaman King vol.08 Viz Media
34 Boys Be vol.08 Tokyopop
35 Tokyo Boys & Girls vol.03 Viz Media
36 Naruto vol.06 Viz Media
37 Red River vol.10 Viz Media
38 I’s vol.05 Viz Media
39 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon vol.12 HK Comics
40 From Far Away vol.08 Viz Media
41 Cantarella vol.02 Go!Comi
42 Fruits Basket vol.12 Tokyopop
43 Naruto vol.03 Viz Media
44 Mar vol.05 Viz Media
45 Naruto vol.05 Viz Media
46 Tenshi Ja Nai vol.02 Go!Comi
47 Kingdom Hearts vol.02 Tokyopop
48 Naruto vol.07 Viz Media
49 Kikaider Code 02 vol.02 DC/CMX
50 Tenryu Dragon Cycle vol.04 DC/CMX

After all the excitement of the last few months of 2005 it looks like Manga took a break in January and puts its feet up. Luckily Viz Media kept itself slowly ticking over providing nearly half of all titles published throughout that month, in fact if it wasn’t for Viz we’d have only just 34 titles out in January from everyone else. Partly due to so few titles being available certain publishers have really taken advantage of this, for example DC’s imprint CMX really capitalised with 5 of their 6 titles from January all making the Top 50, only Seimaden vol.03 misses out (can you believe Tenjho Tenge vol.04 nearly places higher then vol.01 did, I’d be interested to see the estimates on that one!!!). Alongside the publishers free for all is another chance for those titles that just will not disappear in the bookscan charts to suddenly reappear in the direct market; of course I’m talking about Naruto. The last wholesale occurrence of Naruto was all the way back in October which coincided with the start of the bookscan phenomenon and that was it, this month though sees four volumes of Naruto creep back into the lower regions of the Top 50; vol.06 #36, vol.03 #43, vol.05 #45 and vol.07 #48.
Coinciding with a slow manga release month pretty much also means a relatively low showing in the Top 100 Graphic Novel chart with just 22 titles making the grade across the 7 publishers present. What is surprising though is the poor performance from Tokyopop, only 2 titles barely scraping the Top 100 and only 9 making the Top 50 overall. I know it was a quiet month for them with only 18 releases but not even half of their output made the chart; before you question 9 titles into 18 does make 50% but one of those was Fruits Basket vol.12 which made #1 in November, skipped December but decided to come out of early retirement and make an re-appearance again in January.

You have to feel sorry for Crossroad from Go!comi, on the same release schedule as Cantarella and Tenshi Ja Nai can it get a look in edgeways? Nope, but it does see its two rivals both place higher on their second volume over their first which can only hopefully mean good things for Go!Comi, Her Majesty’s Dog could muck up all the figures though. ^.^
The two publishers that have had a field day this month has to be Dark Horse and Viz Media. Dark Horse had 6 releases in January and sees 6 titles make the chart (okay slightly cheating, one of them was Blade of the Immortal #109 which would never make the GN chart, but it does give way to Lady Snowblood vol.02 which is its second time in the charts and both times placing in the Top 100 Graphic Novel chart, highly impressive!) and apart from claiming the top spot with Samurai Executioner only Seraphic Feather just misses out on Dark Horse nearly getting a clean sweep of all its titles in the Top 100 GN chart.

Viz Media on the other hand had a very big release schedule for January with 38 titles and it goes on to see 26 of those make the Top 50 Manga chart (bare in mind the Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat will not be included in the Top 50 manga chart as they are anthology/magazine releases so the figure is even more impressive, about 72%). This Top 50 Manga chart has slowly been tipping over into Viz’s favour the last few months and February doesn’t look like the situation will change much (so far the releases for February are Tokyopop 12 Viz Media 29). Not only are they dominating the bookscan charts but they are slowly flexing their collective muscle in the direct market too.

Goodies for this week 15/02/06

Tuesday, February 14th, 2006

As usual from the Comiclist.

ANTARCTIC PRESS
Alice In Wonderland #1 (Of 4), $3.50
Fist Full Of Dollars Alice In Wonderland #1, AR

DARK HORSE COMICS
Blade Of The Immortal Vol 15 Trickster TPB, $16.95
Super Manga Blast #59, $5.99

DC COMICS
Devil Does Exist Vol 5, $9.99

DEL REY
Gacha Gacha Vol 2 GN, $10.95
Nodame Cantiabile Vol 3 GN, $10.95
Pastel Vol 1 GN, $10.95
Perfect Day For Love Letters Vol 2 GN (Of 3), $10.95
Wallflower Vol 6 GN, $10.95

ICARUS PUBLISHING
A G Super Erotic Anthology #28 (adult), $4.99

VIZ MEDIA LLC
Kekkaishi Vol 4 GN, $9.99
Midori Days Vol 4 GN, $9.99
Sensual Phrase Vol 12 TPB, $9.99
Shojo Beat Mar 06 Vol 2 #3, $5.99