So that left me pondering what should I write about on my last post here, and well I ‘d thought I’d talk about one title that has been published this year which made an impression or just stood out for me. Boy that was a stupid idea.

Okay so I’m stuck on Dark Horse really. I mean the ultimate title for me from them would have to be the re-release of Crying Freeman, I mean it is a no-brainer for anyone who reads this site. But that was too easy so I moved on to Banya, Eden and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service all fantastic books and greatly enjoyed, though something about them just wasn’t standing out enough for me. I tried Del Rey and their titles Basilisk and ES but ran across the same problem.
So instead I’ve decided to talk about a title which though I like (and I only read it yesterday) is actually in a format I really do not like.

Yes it is an anthology and it’s DramaQueen’s RUSH.

Being involved in talking about RUSH for a little while now I was already anticipating that I would like it, but as they say the proof is in the pudding, so with much glee I devoured the copy that arrived for me yesterday.

I loved it, it was every bit as good as i hoped it would be and in some ways better (there are only so many times you can look at a preview on screen before you want to physically hold it in your hands), so that’s basically it, you can skip to the end.

First off I just wanted to quickly talk about the presentation, because I know you’d all just rather hear about the content. RUSH is essentially a DramaQueen book and well that brings with it an automatic level of quality which surpasses many other publishers so I was very happy to see that this level did indeed carry over to their global title too. The cover features a drool worthy duo character piece of artwork from the Master creator Lara Yokoshima and really sets the level of quality right there and then, which doesn’t stop all the way through to the back cover which features Akira Atsushi’s character Adder. It’s a nice little picture which becomes my next focus of interest as it is also repeated in all its full colour glory as the colour insert. Yes even though this is an anthology, DQ have not skimped on those little fancy extras we’ve all come to appreciate in the standard manga books. Alongside that there are pinups, alternate cover pages even a Roulette Factoid page (which I’d love to see more off, just for the sheer geekiness of it!) dotted throughout the anthology which all make for nice touches in my opinion. It’s the little things like this which help it to stand out.
The book itself is really nice to physically hold with good paper stock which helps to capture the inks and tones nicely on the page (just take a quick flick through the opening story Night and Day to get a good view of that) and whilst I don’t want to talk about the artwork or text as a whole it is a brilliant example of the varied talents that live in the global BL scene today. Guess I should probably talk about the stories themselves.

Issue 00 starts with just four stories but they represent such a vast array of story tropes that it is almost guaranteed that there is a story somewhere in RUSH that would intrigue you. The opening title Night and Day by Akira Atsushi about a bet taken up by the dashing Adder to turn the otaku Jin into a social butterfly is delightfully hilarious and promises to just get better in each instalment. The artwork though is a real treat and almost makes the need for the text irrelevant it is just that great to look at.
Which leads nicely into the story Children of Bones by Theresa Zysk, which ironically has the exact opposite effect on me then Night and Day. The story is about the put upon Taxi who gets the kick from his mothers apartment only to find he has to move in with a man, a remarkably gay man. If that wasn’t enough to cause a frown on his face the streets are crawling with soldiers who are less then friendly to his machete carrying appearance.
This is just great and I could read this one all day long, in fact I cannot wait till issue 01 comes out just so I can continue reading what happens it is just that good. Though this is not to say the artwork is any lacking either with some gorgeous action scenes and my favourite character drawing in Luce, great stuff.

Next up is the cover image title Master by Lara Yokoshima which runs at well the longest instalment in the whole of RUSH but is certainly worth it. The story about the doctor Sho who has a most interesting pet at home in Kin is just great and features a real healthy dose of sex for the first chapter, but this is where Lara really shines. In not only does her writing keep up with what she wants to portray but the artwork is quite simply gorgeous and makes the scenes a whole lot of interesting. ^.^

The final story is the joint collaboration between Tina Anderson and Laura ‘Zel’ Carboni in Roulette and is so manly even Carl would be reading this. Hell its a mafia story which already gets my vote, it features characters which could have easily oozed out of any 70’s 80’s film set and it looks and reads so gorgeously. Yes okay I rather liked this title. The artwork and writing is quite different from all the other titles in RUSH but that just helps it to stand out even more and I’m very curious to see how this one progresses through its remaining chapters. Either way you cut it, it is going to look pretty. ^.^

Strangely for me where an anthology is concerned there really isn’t a weak title for me and for a debut issue that is good thing, and you can tell that all those involved have put a lot of love and effort into RUSH and it has paid off. Issue 01 is only going to get better.

But with all things there is a downside, and that is that issue 00 is a web exclusive only (unless you were one of the lucky people that got their copy at Yaoicon), so poodle on over to the DQ Store and nab yourself a copy before they all disappear. Trust me you wont regret it, and if you don’t well that’ll just make Riley angry and we don’t want Riley angry now do we…

Over at Mangacast Ed runs with a pre-con podcast which is well worth a quick listen just to get a taste of all the various panels that are happening over the next 3 days.

Friday night saw the launch party of 801 Media, but not a huge amount of details have so far been forthcoming. You know, those all important questions like Who are they?! ^.^
Anyway, both Jen at YaoiSuki and Ed pick up on their first title announcement with the possibility of another potential title;

	801 Media
Affair by Kano Shiuko	Bondz by Toko Kawai	Ichigenme by Yoshinaga Fumi
Tonari no Heya no Paranoia by Minami Haruka	Sky Over My Spectacles by Tennouji Mio	Love Is Like A Hurricane by Shimazaki Tokiya

The other potential new title is probably going to be coming through from Kawai Touko.

The next update was from the DramaQueen panel where we were treated to three new licenses which appear so far to be vastly more hardcore then anything which has come out from 801 Media at the moment. ^.~ (Missing Road is probably my pick of title out of that lot, even though I remember Angel and Devil as rather funny story wise with some ridiculous threesome and I’m reliably informed that Cage of Thorns is very smutty, so that’ll be two copies then!)
As yet no news on how RUSH wad perceived so I guess we’ll have to wait on Ed for that one. Anyway here are the cover images (the DQ ones!) for their new licenses.

	DramaQueen
Cage of Thorns by Sakuragawa Sonoko	Angel and Devil by Uzuki Jun	Missing Road by Sakurai Shushushu

Next up was BeBeautiful, or rather at the same time as DramaQueen, who also announced three licenses. Now to be perfectly honest I’d still be fairly sceptical about this until I actually see them on the shelves, because their track record just isn’t that great for me regardless of their assurances otherwise. Then again these titles are all one-shots so the risk isn’t really that great on us the readers if were tempted to buy them. Much as I hate to see a publisher disappear I hope this at least means a reversal of fortunes for BB, then again these were all annouced at NYCC so really who cares. ^.~

The final panel so far was Blu Manga who in the same vein as everyone else also announced three titles. June Pride is of particular interest consider it is book 6 in a series, as yet I’ve no details on whether they plan to release anymore of the other titles.

	Blu Manga
Innocent Bird by Saragi Hirotakaki	June Pride by Gotou Shinobu	Bokura no Onsel by Matsumoto Temari

And now even more updates from the June Manga panel. ^.~

	June Manga
Love Recipe by Higashizato Kiriko	In The Walnut by Kawai Toko	Picnic by Yamada Yugi
Othello by Hasumi Toui	Sweet Whisper by Furiyama Hyouta	Worlds End by Eiki Eiki
Ordinary Crush by Fujiyama Hyouta	Can’t Win With You by Honami Yukino	Nakimushi na Little by Kinoshita Keiko
	Lovers In 1K Apartment by Fujiyama Hyouta

As more information comes through I’ll add to this post.

Mangacast put up its Con Alert! details for yaoi-con a few days back with all the schedule times of the panels but it seems that one of them has changed already.

DQ which was rather bizarrely stuck in a graveyard area on midday Sunday, especially considering the clout of them as a yaoi publisher has now been moved to the more entertaining placed midday slot on Saturday. Even more interestingly it is in direct competition with the BeBeautiful Panel which gets held at the same time.

I use direct comparison in the most loosest of terms considering the raving glut of titles that BeBeautiful have been releasing recently, of course that is one of the points of a panel, but as many people have said we’ve been here before with BB and excuse me for having a little scepticism.

Anyway courtesy of the now new improved time and position, DQ are looking at spilling the beans on several new titles which should be a lot of fun. But the real juicy part is the DramaQueen Talks RUSH by
Promotional Director Laila and Rush artist Lara Yokoshima which I’m really looking forward to hear about (yes I’m looking at you Ed and Jen). Talking of RUSH though it is now up and available at the DQ Shop

Anyway that’s not going to stop me picking up on this topic which was emailed to me recently, because well it is something that I had hoped that would happen here.

Remember back in July I wrote a post on Del Rey’s edit of volume 02 of Air Gear. Okay, so it wasn’t a major thing really but still it was a cover edit outside the original Japanese release. I wrote back then that I was wondering if it wasn’t time we could allow a little thong through on a cover, it is hardly more sexually explicit then any other type of material you could see just walking down a busy high street. But many people did make pertinent arguments about the fact that a title like this would get shelved amongst many other “safer” titles and really in the end it is just one change to an otherwise good manga so should we just lump it anyway?

Well Tanoshimi (the UK version of Del Rey) it seems has decided that it doesn’t have the same social concerns that the US market faces and is planning their release of volume 02 in all its thongy goodness.

From Justine Taylor;

I know that there was some talk about the Del Rey putting stockings on the girl on their edition on your website a few months ago. I’m pleased to say that Tanoshimi has decided to go with the original Japanese artwork. We take the view that we’re a different market to the US, and - although I can’t say that we would never amend artwork - we’ll try to go with the original if we think it’s appropriate, although changing the inside material is always going to be tricky as it comes from Del Rey.

I was fairly staggered by this. I had secretly really hoped that something like this would happen. As I wrote back in July, the UK doesn’t always have the same concerns about material like this and we are exposed to it more frequently through magazine covers and advertising that it seems rather futile to suddenly become shy when it is a manga cover, but I was still a little sceptical considering Tanoshimi, much like Del Rey, is also part of Random House. Thankfully it looks like my fears were unfounded, and if anyone was looking for a reason to support the UK releases then this is it.

This is the real reason why I am so keen to see a UK manga scene take off over here (outside of price too!). Whilst even here in the UK we could not get away with some of the works that Japan releases, there is a certain proclivity towards the material which allows a greater flexibility and understanding; the Air Gear cover is a perfect example of this in action. Could we get to see future titles here in the UK which aren’t edited compared to their US counterparts? I don’t think its unrealistic to suggest so.

Of course, I am curious now. Will Tanoshimi shift more copies of volume 02 then Del Rey? The insides are pretty much identical so it is just the cover image you are buying. Will Tanoshimi see a large export of volume 02’s to the US?
Wouldn’t that be a reversal of the usual trend. ^.~
Can’t say I’m entirely upset with that idea either.

A. D. VISION
Cromartie High School Manga Vol 8 TPB, $10.95

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Tenjho Tenge Vol 10, $9.99

DEL REY
Ghost Hunt Vol 5 GN, $10.95
Kagetora Vol 3 GN, $10.95
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Pastel Vol 4 GN, $10.95
Q-Ko-Chan Vol 2 Earth Invader Girl GN, $10.95
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ICE KUNION
Angel Diary Vol 4, $10.95

TOHAN CORPORATION
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Final Fantasy XII Official Guide Book, $24.99
Goth Loli Vol 7, $18.99
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He Is My Master Marumie Maid Works, $59.99
Hobby Japan Oct 2006, $12.99
Hyper Hobby Sept 2006 #0, $16.99
Kow Yokoyama Mak Sketchbook, $75.99
Megami Sept 2006, $14.99
Mobil Suits Gundam Character Encyclopedia, $65.99
Modeloid Vol 3, $24.99
Nanakusa No Ballad Ballad For Innocence, $63.99
Neon Genesis Evangelion Iron Maiden Special Edition Visual F, $39.99
Newtype Sept 2006 #104, $10.99
Petit Mania Petite Blythe Collections 1, $37.99
Replicant Vol 24, $23.99
Sf Illustrator Naoyuki Kato Bijo Mecha Powered Suit, $51.99
Shuffle Anime Complete Album, $43.99

VIZ MEDIA LLC
Cain Saga Vol 1 TPB, $8.99
Drifting Classroom Vol 2 TPB, $9.99
Flame Of Recca Vol 20 TPB, $9.99
Golgo 13 Vol 5 GN, $9.99
Hana Kimi Vol 14 GN, $9.99
Inu Yasha Ani Manga Vol 17 GN, $11.99
Inu Yasha Vol 27 TPB, $8.95
Naoki Urasawas Monster Vol 5 TPB, $9.99
Pokemon Lets Find Pokemon Special Complete Ed, $14.99
Rurouni Kenshin Novel, $9.99
Vagabond Vol 23 TPB, $9.95

Celeste Monroe with;

Having sampled a few manhwa titles at my local public library recently, I have to say I find manhwa to be a bit more fun and stylish compared to its Japanese counterpart. I myself haven’t quite taken the initiative to add any manhwa titles to my book collection, but I would love to start with DVD. Judging from the book introduction alone, I liked what I read, and the book preview has left me wanting more. I’d also like to add that the artwork for the book cover is freakin’ awesome! (Kinda reminds me of The Rocky Horror Picture Show). Aside from the character Ddam’s hallucinations and the wanting to off herself, I’ve also experienced a somewhat lackluster year so far and could use a nice little diversion … in the form of a new, interesting, strange, and very stylish manhwa book. Thanks!

Thanks again to everyone who made it such a fun competition week. ^.^

ChunHyang72:

I dutifully clicked on the preview for Volume 1 of “Bring It On!” and felt my heart sink: the author’s description of the story sounded like pure shojo formula. (Tomboy falls for popular, unattainable bishonen. Angst and hijinks ensue.) But this all-too-familiar set-up actually yields a fresh and funny read. Miha and Seung-suh’s battle o’ the sexes plays like a giddy mash-up of “Woman of the Year,” “The Matrix,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Never Been Kissed,” and “Hana-Kimi.” The heroine’s butt-kicking abilities teeter on the edge of plausibility, but her attempts to camoflague her vulnerability with fisticuffs… well, as a lifelong tomboy, that detail felt just right. I’d love to see what develops from their (verbal) sparring.

sleepykitten13:

I’ve heard of the title a few times before, but I never knew what it was about.
I’m really glad I took a look at the previews; they had me laughing the whole time. The style is great, sometimes a style can distract you, but reading this was pretty smooth for me. I love Mi-ha! Her character is pretty outrageous, but that’s what makes even the simplest story a great one to read. I haven’t been able to figure Seung-Suh out though, if he is supposedly this tough, trouble-making gang member (will any more info be given about his past I wonder ), then why is he kind of nice to Mi-ha, aside from using her as a servant that is… I’m halfway expecting their relationship to take a turn towards romance, but who knows…
The part about the grandmother in book two was hilarious… although sad at the same time, because she reminds me of my own grandmother. She was the type to tell you to keep your elbows off the table while eating, but now is rather senile and does things like mixing up who people are…
That was kind of long…I have nothing witty to say, but the previews were fun to read and I’m interested to know more about these characters.. Plus I’m poor and would like some free manga to read too! *wink wink*

Well done to you both. (Yes, okay I suck at picking winners!)

Anyway, as it is the final day of this little competition I’d thought I’d save my favourite title to the end. In fact this is not just my favourite manhwa title of the moment it is well up there to be my favourite title of this year, but we’ll see how that pans out in the end of year Best Of post.

Publisher: DramaQueen Writer: Kye Young Chon Artist: Kye Young Chon Paperback: 180 pages ISBN: 1-933809-35-3 Age: 16+ RRP: $11.99 ($10.19 from the DQ Shop) Buy from the DQ Shop Reviews:

Yes the final title up for grabs is DramaQueen’s DVD by Kye Young Chon.

With only the first volume out it is unusual for me to be so hooked on a series. I try and least wait for a couple of volumes before making an opinion but with DVD I was hooked pretty much from the get go. Again I won’t go into the story details, but here is the summary from the DQ site, along with preview.

Ddam Shim is not having a good year. She failed to enter the specialized university for prosecutors, so she’s studying to re-take the exam, and living in a dorm room that’s no bigger than a bathroom. Of course bad things always come in three’s — the final straw that broke Ddam’s back was getting dumped by her boyfriend on their date.

His reason for the breakup? Well… aside from her not getting into university, he’s not too happy about her hallucinations. Sure — Ddam sees grape vines growing from ceilings and flowers drifting about in the air, but so what? Who doesn’t? It’s only natural if you’ve got an active imagination….

Alas, the breakup pushes Ddam over the edge, and she decides to kill herself. But—! Not before she makes the last day of her life count! So she dresses up, calls the number on her padded bra, heads out to the club to meet up with the guys from the number — and at the end of the evening, she’s wondering how she ended up… as their roommate…?

Welcome to DVD – the world of Ddam (spunky future prosecutor), Venu (the face that is the envy of all males), and DD (a punk rocker DJ): a story about a girl, two guys, and their motto of “living life miserably!”

I talked about Audition earlier this week which is the other Kye Young Chon title that DQ are currently releasing (Unplugged Boy is out in 2007), and as much as I love it, it cannot compare to DVD.

This title is everything that I love about Manhwa, the artwork is gorgeous with both DD and Venu looking just so beautiful and then adding Ddam to the mix makes this an extremely good looking read.
But even the pretty artwork fades into the background when compared to the story and the characters. Both are irreverent, funny and just downright strange that I could not help but love them instantly.

The situations they get into, the way they handle them and just the most simplest of conversations are all just so bizarre its so hard not to like it. This is just the type of title that I could re-read again and still enjoy it just as much as the first time.

Quite simply I love DVD, it is just great.

The rules are simple. If you’d like to pick up the first volume of DVD from DramaQueen then just drop me an email letting me know why you’d like to read it yourself.

It does not matter if you have entered the competition and won either.

The email and contact details are available from the top left contact page, or use lovemanga @ lovemanga . co . uk

I’ll announce the winner tomorrow. ^.^

Houston, Texas, 12th October 2006. Last week, DramaQueen announced two new titles at MangaNext in New Jersey.

During the panels at MangaNext, DramaQueen gave the audience a sneak preview of two new titles that DramaQueen acquired. Starting with the yaoi/BL title:

- Aijin Ichimanyen by Dr. Ten

This titles promises to give the readers a whole new perspective on the term “hardcore Yaoi.” For the readers who have been fans of Dr. Ten, don’t miss out on her first English debut!

Next up is the “poor-little rich boy” manhwa romantic comedy:

- 8 MM by You Na

Sun-Hyuk Cho inherited a fortune from his grandfather. Unfortunately, he learns that there’s one condition: he must finish college! Using an 8mm camcorder, Sun chronicles his life as a “poor” boy. Entering his viewfinder is a girl who claims she’s his live-in?!

Our DQ team has an incentive to bring out these great titles… to put it simply―we want to read them too!! As always, we thank you for all your support and enthusiasm.

Thank you for your support and check back with us soon.

Until next time….

ABOUT US: DramaQueen, L.L.C. is a publisher founded by manga fans from both The United States and Europe. DramaQueen aims to release the best quality manga and manhwa to the American and European market. Our titles are for the mature and discerning readers who enjoy indulging in life’s little pleasures. For more information on our current and upcoming releases are available at the DramaQueen website (http://www.onedramaqueen.com).

The best answer I picked was from Tyron but I cannot get to my emails at the moment, so I shall post the response in a bit.

Publisher: Ice Kunion Writer: Hae-Kyung Baek Artist: Hae-Kyung Baek Paperback: 180 pages ISBN: 8952744519 Age: 13+ RRP: $7.50 Buy from Amazon Reviews: Anime on DVD

Up for grabs today are the first two volumes of Ice Kunion’s Bring It On.

This one is real quick and easy to recommend. The art is good, it can be a little over stylised for some peoples tastes (here are the previews for vol.01 and vol.02) but for me I’m quite enjoying it.
The story is really only based around the two main characters Miha and Seung-suh, and their constant fighting and really shouldn’t be lasting for that many volumes, so why on earth am I putting this one up today.

Well quite simply it is a lot of fun. The whole manga is a lot of fun and whilst the premise is ultimately basic it is hilariously executed. I’m hoping that the whole battle of the sexes approach lasts for a little while longer and that it keeps up the intenese pace because this is almost perfect for me.

The rules are simple. If you’d like to pick up the first 2 volumes of Bring It On from Ice Kunion then just drop me an email letting me know why’d you like to read it yourself.

The email and contact details are available from the top left contact page, or use lovemanga @ lovemanga . co . uk

I’ll announce the winner tomorrow along with that day’s choice manhwa title. ^.^

From reading the synopsis alone, I’m not sure I’d buy Hissing. I’ve come across many instances where lovers found out their parents had an affair with eachother, so what makes this story so special? After only being able to preview the first 28 pages of volume 1, I’m still not sure about the story itself, but there are positives that make me want to read more. The artwork for one, is very beautiful and I’m also someone who likes to oogle at pretty artwork(lol). Secondly, the fact that one of the main characters is an aspiring female comic artist draws me in because I too am working towards becoming a pro comic artist. And finally, in the 28 pages I went back and forth between liking and hating the characters, and laughing out loud at some parts. So, if you can get me to do that in 28 pages, then I think it’s a story worth reading more of. I don’t own any Manhwa myself, so maybe this could be the start of something new :) Make a new fan out of me~

How could I refuse that. ^.^

Now today’s entry…

Publisher: NETCOMICS Writer: Marley Artist: Marley Paperback: 165 pages ISBN: 1600090753 Age: 13+ RRP: $9.99 Buy from Amazon Reviews: Comic World News Propsero’s Manga

I wanted to include Dokebi Bride in this weeks competition as my NetComics choice, not because it’s the best title that they have but because I’d like to see more people enjoying it.

I wasn’t familiar with Dokebi Bride until I began seeing quite positive reviews on the web. After a few good reviews even the cynical me thinks that maybe this might be worth checking out, and thats were Netcomics really comes into its own. With such a great community based site that they have it is an easy experience to grab a first chapter preview or for a really nominal fee grab the other chapters online. It is really a great model that other certain sites could do well to learn from.

Anyway, on to Dokebi Bride, again I don’t really want to give the plot away, but for me this is building up to be an entertaining story. The main character Sunbi is so well crafted by Marley that you can almost feel the emotional charged atmosphere coming off the pages as you read. Plus the whole Shamen aspect itself is something which is really appalling to me as a reader.
As I’ve said many times before the story and characters are what keep me going back to a series volume after volume and in Dokebi Bride’s case this isn’t going to be a problem. But even if we do have the occasional filler volume then the artwork will carry me through. Marley’s drawings are beautifully crafted and accompany the story just so well it makes it just as enjoying to view let alone read.

Once again, if you’d like to try and win yourself a copy of Dokebi Bride (and maybe volume 02 as well) then just drop me an email telling me why you’d like to read this series.

The best answer I picked was from vexdragmire with;

I want Audition because it seems so bizarre. The premise is strange; a mixture of detective work and boy bandry with a dash of crazy? Sounds like something my friends would be convinced I made up. I feel vaguely guilty for not owning any manhwa and even more guilty for not owning anything from DramaQueen. You could ease a guilty conscious! And what’s not to love about that?

My thoughts exactly. ^.^

Now on to today’s title…

Publisher: Ice Kunion Writer: Eun-Young Kang Artist: Eun-Young Kang Paperback: 200 pages ISBN: 89-527-4463-2 Age: 11+ RRP: $7.50 Buy from Amazon Reviews:

Up for grabs today are the first two volumes of Hissing by Eun-Young Kang. Now this is a bit of an odd one for me as I’ve not actually read it all myself yet, but I’m offering it up here because of the overwhelmingly positive comments that various people have made to me about this series.

Yes I’ve read a few chapters online and enjoyed what I’ve seen so far (or you could look at the previews provided on the Ice Kunion site Volume 01 and Volume 02).

Again whilst I’ve not read enough yet to really get into the story, which is nearly always the biggest hook for me, I have to say the artwork is beautiful. It is definitely something that would keep me going for a few good chapters because it simply is just so pretty.

The rules are simple. If you’d like to pick up the first 2 volumes of Hissing from Ice Kunion then just drop me an email letting me know why’d you like to read it yourself.

The email and contact details are available from the top left contact page, or use lovemanga @ lovemanga . co . uk

I’ll announce the winner tomorrow along with that day’s choice manhwa title. ^.^

ANTARCTIC PRESS
AP How To Draw Supersize Super 3 Pack, $34.95
How To Draw Manga Supersize 3 Pack, $39.95
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Luftwaffe Pkt Manga 4 Pack, $19.99

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Blade Of The Immortal #118, $2.99
Coffin Art Of Vampire Hunter D SC Slipcase Edition 1-2, $39.95
Old Boy Vol 2 TPB, $12.95
School Zone Vol 3 TPB, $12.95

DC COMICS
Densha Otoko Vol 1, $9.99

GO! MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT LLC
After School Nightmare Vol 1 GN, $10.99
Night Of The Beasts Vol 1 GN, $10.99

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King Of Kings #1 Cover A, $2.95
King Of Kings #1 Cover B, $2.95

ICARUS PUBLISHING
A G Super Erotic Anthology #44 (adult), $4.99

JUNE MANGA
Our Kingdom Vol 4 GN, $12.95

NETCOMICS
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Cant Lose You Vol 3 GN (Of 6), $9.99
Dokebi Bride Vol 3 GN, $9.99
Great Catsby Vol 3 (Of 6), $19.99
Manhwa Novella Collection Vol 2 GN, $11.99
Your Lover Vol 1 GN, $9.99

TOKYOPOP
Angel Cup Vol 2 GN (Of 5), $9.99
Blood Sucker Legend Of Zipangu Vol 2 GN (Of 8), $9.99
Dot Hack Sign Another Birth Vol 2 Novel (Of 3), $7.99
Dramacon Vol 2 GN (Of 3), $9.99
Earthlight Vol 1 GN, $9.99
Et Cetera Vol 8 GN (Of 9), $9.99
Gorgeous Carat Vol 3 GN (Of 4), $9.99
Gto Early Years Shonan Junai Gumi Vol 2 GN (Of 15), $12.99
Judas Vol 1 GN, $9.99
Kamichama Karin Vol 5 GN (Of 7), $9.99
Kingdom Hearts Chain Of Memories Vol 1 GN, $9.99
Loveless Vol 3 GN (Of 6), $9.99
Mitsukazu Mihara Haunted House GN, $9.99
Peach Fuzz Vol 2 GN (Of 3), $9.99
Planet Blood Vol 5 GN (Of 11), $9.99
Princess Ai Boxed Set, $24.99
Ra-I GN, $9.99
Saiyuki Reload Vol 5 GN (Of 6), $9.99
Snow Vol 1 GN, $9.99
Sokora Refugees Vol 2 GN, $9.99
Steady Beat Vol 2 GN (Of 3), $9.99
Welcome To The Nhk Vol 1 GN, $9.99

VIZ MEDIA LLC
Art Of Fullmetal Alchemist The Anime, $19.99
Bastard Vol 13 TPB, $9.99
Pokemon Best Of Pokemon Adventures Red, $7.99
Shojo Beat Manga Artist Academy, $14.99
Shojo Beat Nov 06 Vol 2 #11, $5.99

Aijin Ichimanyen by Dr. Ten

Now I’d be the first to admit I’m absolutely staggered that they managed to find a Dr Ten title that they could release over here (if you’re wondering why just google her name or remain blissfully unaware ^.^).

But its a fun choice and I should think go down hugely popular with a large section of the yaoi fans. It’s just a shame that we are not likely to see many more of Dr Ten works licensed over here.

Pleasure Dome by Minami Megumu	A King’s Lesson by Aoi Futaba Kurenai Mitsuba
Thunderbolt Boys - Excite by Toujou Asami	Thunderbolt Boys - Excite by Toujou Asami

The Thunderbolt Boys or Chouhatsu - Denkou Sekka Boys is the second series to well Chouhatsu - Denkou Sekka Boys but as yet there is no word on whether Mediablaster is going to pick it up.

If you add these four to the recently announced Crimson Spell, Because I’m a Boy and Poison Cherry Drive it’s quite an intriguing lineup of yaoi works that’s heading out for 2007.

Le Chevalier d’Eon by Tou Ubukata Kiriko Yumeji

There was one other potential new license in Kujibiki Unbalance but Dallas could not make any official announcement.

I’d have to say whilst I’m not familiar with Le Chevalier d’Eon (the manga that is…) the author Tou Ubukata is a particular favourite of mine after Pilgrim Jäger.

Colour me interested at least until I see the preview up on Del Rey’s site. ^.^

My first choice this week comes DramaQueen.

It may seem an odd choice at first to pick a publisher which seems predominantly a Yaoi/BL focused one, but DQ has quietly been releasing some excellent non-yaoi titles since its inception, which is why the focus today is on their Manhwa works.
At the recent Otakon where they announced 6 licenses the split was 4 BL to 2 Manhwa, those being Peter Panda and Promise and in the future I’m very, very much looking forward to The Summit, so it is looking mightily rosy for us Manhwa fans where DQ is concerned.

Today’s first book though is one of 2 series that DQ have so far released from the creator Kye Young Chon…

Publisher: DramaQueen Writer: Kye Young Chon Artist: Kye Young Chon Paperback: 180 pages ISBN: 1-933809-43-4 Age: 16+ RRP: $11.99 ($10.19 from the DQ Shop) Buy from the DQ Shop Reviews: Okazu

Buok Pak runs her own detective agency, but she’s without a case. Business is slow and she needs to make rent. As luck would have it, she gets a visit from her first potential client. Too bad it’s none other than her old high-school rival, the beautiful and spoiled Myung-ja Song.

It turns out that Myung-ja’s father, head of Song-Song Records, has just passed away. An eccentric man, he had put a crazy stipulation in his will that keeps Myung-ja from inheriting the company outright! In order to claim her inheritance, she has to find four genius boys that he met in the past and bring them together to form Korea’s greatest boy band!

The four “geniuses” have grown up into talented young men — but their personalities are not exactly “star” quality…. Can Buok and Myung-ja find them in time to sign up for Song-Song’s Audition?

I’ll be honest here and say this wasn’t a title that I picked up straight away, sheerly because it just didn’t really register on my manga purchasing radar until I got prompted by a friend to go read it. Oh fool me for listening to my friend, I’ve now been suckered into a 10 volume series, and what’s even worse, I don’t mind. ^.^

Currently only the first volume is out from DQ but oh my word was this a fun start. There is something about Manhwa which I haven’t quite put my finger on yet, sometimes it is the quirky artwork which is just so different from its Japanese counterpart, and sometimes it is the irreverent stories, or for me it can be that they are just chock full of characters who are strange, fun, weird, very mad and just so very entertaining all at the same time, and in Audition all those elements combine in the first volume, with much promise that its unlikely to change in the following 09.

If anyone has been following my rare chats about titles that I like then you will know I have more then a passing fancy for secondary characters and Audition doesn’t disappoint. In particular the character of Myung-ja’s father told in flashbacks is just hilarious, there is a scene where he is talking to one of the potential audition boys when he was much younger, and well it was just hilarious. It is scenes like those that make me love this book.

I don’t really want to talk about the story or plot, you can just read the blurb quoted above, but I’m hooked. The concept of getting 4 disparate geniuses together to form a band to take part in an audition is probably enough to certainly fill a few volumes of a regular work. Add to the mix the obvious pretty boy looks too and you’d be forgiven for wondering into territory I’d be usually backing away from.
But this is Audition. You know its going to go horribly and funnily wrong somewhere down the line and yes the boys are super pretty, but these aren’t the type you’d want to throw yourselves at, unless armed with a straight jacket.

Add to that, I have to say this is a DQ release and that to me automatically means a certain level of quality above many other established manga publishers. Be it from the sumptuous dust jacket, all the way through to the translation notes at the end of the book with the good quality paper and printing in the middle. The DQ releases are consistently good everything single time and I’m really looking forward to when I can have all 10 volumes of Audition on my shelves.

In short, I really liked this opening volume, and I hope you do too.

If you want to try and see whether you’d love this first volume of Audition as much as I did, and for FREE. Then just send me an email stating the reason why you’d love to read this title.

Yes, it’s just that simple. Just tell me why you’d you like to read this title and you could win yourself a free copy of volume 01.

The email and contact details are available from the top left contact page, or use lovemanga @ lovemanga . co . uk

I’ll announce the winner tomorrow along with that day’s choice manhwa title. ^.^

Over the last few months my interest in Manhwa has been peeked by a handful of really good titles that are seriously running the risk of becoming my favourites for this year. In fact this year has been fantastic for Manhwa as a whole.
We’ve had NetComics and Ice Kunion both settle down and start churning out dozens of titles, probably a bit too many really but that’s a topic for another day.
We’ve had the arrival of DramaQueen’s manhwa titles, which has been long awaited. If they handle the manhwa with the same due care and attention they lavish on their Yaoi we are in for a real treat. Plus to me it is reassuring to see them continue with their other lines outside the Yaoi/BL after their shoujo release of Visions of the Other Side.
Then if those three were not enough we get the announcement that Dark Horse are to create a new Manhwa line, which, well you can probably guess my excitement at that. With titles like Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man and Shaman Warrior set for release soon, I sincerely doubt I’m going to be disappointed.

Anyway, I know its not December yet when I do my big Advent Competition, but I’d thought it would be fun to have a week dedicated to giving away just some of those Manhwa titles I’ve been enjoying.

So each day I’ll throw open a different title (I’ll even give the reasons for why I like it, how’s that for a first!) and then all that’s left for you to do is email me a reason why you’d want this particular title.

Simple really. The best answer wins.

Just to give you a quick taster of potential prizes we have Netcomics, Ice Kunion and DramaQueen titles all scattered throughout the week. See you all on Monday.

Once again only 1 manga makes the chart this week and that’s right its Naruto vol.11 into its 7th week. It doesn’t fair so well this time around as it plummets over 60 places to #109 from #46.

It should be interesting now to see whether it can last another 4 weeks to break the 10 week run its proceeding volume set.

First up was some details on a new Hiroki Endo (Eden) title called Tanpenshu, which is a collection of three short stories and is something that I’ve been really looking forward to ever since DH started releasing Eden. It’s an excellent book and a must buy for me.
The webcomic title Red String by Gina Biggs is something that I am less keen on, though I’ve never read the webcomic it probably isn’t my type of story. What will be interesting though is how well this does for Dark Horse after the loss of Megatokyo.
The final big announcement was the new Akira Club described as;

The collection includes over 100 title-page illos created for the original serialization but not included with the manga volumes, alternate art, preliminary drawings, production sketches, posters, ads, and products, all with commentary by Otomo himself.

I was all Akira’d out a few years back so this might be good timing for me to try and get back into a manga and anime that I really did enjoy once. I’d certainly be interested in the illos, that sort of thing really appeals to me, but the commentary by Katsuhiro Otomo could be fascinating, hopefully.

Tucked away at the end of the article though is some equally good news. The best part being that Dark Horse are looking at repackaging (i.e. releasing in the Manga format we have come to expect nowadays) some Masamune Shirow works. I am a huge fan of Intron Depot books and so to have titles like Dominion, Dominion Conflict 1, Orion, Appleseed, and Black Magic is a god send.
The final part was some more news on the up and coming Gunsmith Cats release. The Gunsmith Cats Onmibus will be a large 464 page monster of a book and whilst GC isn’t a big favourite of mine I am very much for these extended size volumes, in the same vein as Crying Freeman or Museum of Terror. I’ve yet to find something that I don’t like about them and I hope Dark Horse considers more titles in this fashion.

In the Comics Briefly section there were some parts on the new MangaNEXT which opens its doors for the first time this weekend, of which I’m particularly interested in the manwha panel. Also there is the launch of MG Press which is a combination of Japanime and Top Line Creative who are creating a publishing imprint focused on original manga publications aimed at the teenage to twenty-plus market. The first two releases are The Manga Guide to Sudoku and The Manga Guide to Double Sudoku which are fairly self-explanatory, though for me the real kicker is their next book Lafacadio Hearn’s Kwaidan. Now that I’m really interested in.

The only other article which is worth pointing out was the PW Debuts Comics Bestseller List. In their words;

In this week’s issue, Publishers Weekly launches a monthly bestseller list for comics and graphic novels. The list is compiled from data from bookstores and comics shops and will appear in the first issue of each month.

I’m in complete agreement here with David and Ed, it would be nice to know the methodology behind their chart. We can assume it is a mixture of bookscan and Diamond monthly sales charts, but nothing is said on how such information is processed.
Also I’m guessing the chart is really for September and not actually the October chart, unless the PWCW crew know something we don’t.
As for the actual chart itself, I’m now doubly keen to know how they work out the results. The chart is made up of all new releases only, but in September alone Naruto vol.01 has consistently been selling more then many listed, certainly in the bookscan chart. Hopefully Calvin or someone can just give us some idea as to how they work it out.
For the idea though, I’m all for it, a combination chart has been long overdue, and if this is going to be done it seems a shame to stick at just the top 10. Much like Ed says, give us access to the information and we’ll knock up charts (even Manga dedicated ones) until your sick to your back teeth. ^.^

The first up was the recent posting over at Newsarama called Colleen Doran on Drawing Shojo Manga.

The article itself is actually quite a good interview with Colleen Doran, focusing on her reasons behind the creation of the book, in particular I liked the sentiments about how she deliberately listed all the techniques as non computer based;

Second, the work is drawn with simple tools that anyone can use. This is not a book about how to draw on $10,000 of computer equipment. This is a book about how to draw with pen, pencil, paper, and magic marker. Almost all of the work is drawn with simple tools. A few pieces are painted or cleaned up on computer, but almost all instructional material is drawn by hand.

or her opinions on the quintessential shojo creators;

Banana Fish was groundbreaking stuff. Akimi Yoshida broke the mold when she moved away from the typical sugary shoujo material and created this gritty drama about street kids and mobsters. The art is not at all pretty, either. You read this one for the drama of the story.

Outside the interview though I have real problems with the book itself.

The title is the best place to start; Girl to Grrrl Manga: How to Draw the Hottest Shoujo Manga, is so hideous to me. I’m not even sure that “grrrl” was ever popular when it first arrived and it definitely isn’t now. The title for me draws up too many parallels to a recent yaoi book found on Amazon called Zowie its Yaoi (do not click that link if you value your eyesight). Anyway, its just a title, the content is what should be much more interesting.

Already I’m on the defensive because of my general dislike of “how-to” books, but for me this one seems to miss the mark, unlike say the up and coming Mangaka America.
When I see a how-to book which is positively encouraging people to draw in a fashion which imitates the Japanese Shojo style it makes me cringe slightly. If I wanted a book like this I’d prefer to have one from a Japanese Shojo creator. It just seems to miss a trick to me where the whole Global manga concept is. While I guess it isn’t hideously bad to want to teach people how to draw like their favourite mangaka, I’d have thought maybe just concentrating on the technical skills required to draw would have been more preferable then jumping on any manga bandwagon.

ANTARCTIC PRESS
AP Premium Manga Paper (AA), $21.99
Gold Digger Halloween Special #1 (AA), $2.99
How To Draw Manga The Fred Perry Way DVD (AA), AR
Legends From Darkwood Summer Fun Special (AA), $2.99

BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT INC
Tomb Raider Vol 2 TPB (Bandai), $9.99

DC COMICS
Cipher Vol 5, $9.99
Emma Vol 1, $9.99

DR MASTERS PUBLICATIONS INC
Snk Vs Capcom Vol 4 Svc Chaos TPB (resolicited), $9.95

JUNE MANGA
Il Gatto Sul G Vol 2 GN, $12.95

SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT LLC
Last Hope Vol 2 GN, $10.99

TOKYOPOP
Ai Yori Aoshi Vol 14 GN (Of 17), $9.99
Daphne In The Brilliant Blue GN, $9.99
Dragon Head Vol 4 GN (Of 10), $9.99
Duan Surk Vol 1 Witches Forest Novel (Of 4) (resolicited), $10.99
Good Witch O/T West Vol 1 GN, $9.99
Junjo Romantica Vol 1 GN, $9.99
Kino No Tabi Book One O/T Beautiful World Vol 1 Novel (Of 8), $7.99
Lights Out Vol 5 GN (Of 9), $9.99
Magic Moon Vol 1 Novel (Of 3), $10.99
Phd Phantasy Degree Vol 7 GN (Of 10), $9.99
Queens Knight Vol 7 GN (Of 15), $9.99
Rg Veda Vol 7 GN (Of 10), $9.99
Scrapped Princess Novel Vol 1 GN (Of 13), $7.99
Sorcerer Hunters Vol 7 GN New Ptg (Of 13), $9.99
Threads Of Time Vol 8 GN (Of 11), $9.99
Tramps Like Us Vol 10 GN (Of 14), $9.99
Ultra Cute Vol 4 GN (Of 9), $9.99

VIZ MEDIA LLC
Aishiteruze Baby Vol 4 TPB, $8.99
Eyeshield 21 Vol 10 TPB, $7.99
Nana Vol 4 TPB, $8.99

Regular readers of Love Manga won’t need any introduction as to who Icarus Publishing is, but for me they have fast become the premier publisher of ero-manga here in the West. Not a small feat by any stretch of the imagination.

I’ve long been a follower of their AG Anthology but its the recent paperback explosion which has really sealed my interest in Icarus Publishing.

So what better way to further my understanding then by plaguing Simon with lots of email questions… ^.^

Love Manga: Hi Simon, Before we delve into the wholesome delights that ero-manga can bring, can you tell us a little about yourself? Simon Jones: I’m 27 years old, I drive a 97 Saturn, and I’m available, ladies. Come on, everyone expected this kind of answer, just getting it out of the way. =) LM: As niche manga markets go here in the West, erotic comics is right up there so what for you was the impetus behind the creation of Icarus Publishing? SJ: My motivation is pretty simple, and it’s a sentiment which I think is shared by many working in indy comics, and thankfully in manga publishing… I’m a fan. I genuinely enjoy these books. I think we’re filling a void, a missing chapter in the book about manga in the West. All true fans aspire to be closer to their hobby, and in some way, to show others a glimpse of the greatness that they themselves see. Publishing is my way of proslytizing manga. LM: The first AG anthology arrived in about 2002, but the first trade paperback Blue Eyes wasn’t until 2004. Why did you pick the Anthology route for Icarus rather then just go with the collected volumes? SJ: The main reason is, early on, we knew we would have to crack the direct market. Tokyopop’s trade boom was just over the horizon; periodicals was still the bread and butter for comic shops. As a new publisher, we were an unknown quantity to retailers. Had we started trying to shove $20 books into the market with no track record whatsoever, most consumers and retailers probably would have just looked at us and thought “hey, who are these jokers?” (In fact, Blue Eyes was an anomoly… we had always planned our major trade paperback push near the end of 2005.) Price concerns is another big reason, of course. Knowing that we’d appeal to a niche market, and we’d have limited options in distribution, we had to price our books accordingly. Having an anthology “floppy” means there’s an inexpensive option for casual readers. Everyone jokes about anthologies as a way to get people to pay for the same thing twice, but it’s definitely not the case in practice. We don’t make a profit on Comic AG. I mean, who else releases 80-page comics of fresh material for 5 quids? (Other than Viz, damn it.) It’s all about building confidence in readers, and retailers. If our circulation goes up, we’d start adding pages to it. As for choosing an anthology format over single issues? We just wanted to be cool… we wanted to release comics like the Japanese. It allowed us to do a lot of experimentation. Early issues featured works from American artists, and even comics that stylistically were decidedly not ‘manga-inspired.’ LM: As I said above the first AG was out in 2002, and now in 2006 it’s still going strong. Anything special planned for its big 5 0? SJ: Sorry to dissappoint, but we have nothing planned specifically for issue 50, although this Winter we hope to release a small bonus issue of AG at no cost to retailers. Now, as for issue 69… ;) LM: 2006 has seen a veritable explosion in Trade Paperbacks from Icarus (I think about 7 this year alone). Is this something that we can (hopefully) see continuing in 2007? SJ: Definitely. Trades are released after they finish serialization in the magazine, and right now we have a good rhythm going. Most books are about 160 pages long, and we release around two 80-page issues of Comic AG each month. The math works out nicely, doesn’t it? LM: The anthology and collected volumes route seems to work well for yourselves. Is this something you plan to stick with for the future, or are you conjuring up new schemes for Icarus. What can we expect from Icarus in 2007? SJ: This is going to sound boring, but our current motto is “stay the course.” (Look, I’m even doing that Bill Clinton hand gesture.) We’ve done a lot of experimentation early on. We’ve settled on what we feel is a good format for our books. Now we’re just concentrating on getting more awesome titles and making sure we continue to match and exceed the level of quality our readers demand, and do so on schedule. That’s one area where we still need a lot of improvement. LM: Just moving away from Icarus for a while. As I mentioned above the ero-manga market is pretty under-represented here in the West. Do you ever envision a time when erotic comics might break the stigma they currently attract? SJ: I certainly hope so, but this issue isn’t just about comics. It’s much bigger than that… it’s about how adult entertainment in general is perceived and handled. It’s about personal rights versus that of the state. Erotic comics will be but a small part of this ongoing discussion. On the other hand, what we publish isn’t just erotica… it’s pornography. There will always be a stigma around porn, because porn is supposed to push the boundaries of mainstream taste. As the boundary widens, porn will push even harder against it. In other words, our books will always be the kind you hide under your bed. LM: At LoveManga I love my charts as you know, but I’m still ever hopeful I can type Icarus Publishing in them one day. How damaging has it been the idea that people would rather get their porn for free? SJ: You know, Yumisuke Kotoyoshi’s Midara not only broke into the top 50 manga list in April, it was number 5 in retail rank. That was when you took your first “vacation!” The perception that ero manga should be free does make it difficult for legitimate publishers like ourselves. It’s a selfish, childish notion… but people do grow up. So hopefully more will realize that if we want a more meaningful relationship with creators, for producers to pay more attention to our needs, to be real fans… you must support artists by buying legitimate product. Instead of going to a pirate site with a bunch of CG images, go purchase the actual game or anime. Instead of bittorrenting a manga or doujinshi, get the real thing whenever you can. Yes, it’s expensive… fandom is not supposed to be a cakewalk. That’s why it’s a point of pride for true otaku. LM: The scanlation circuits are rife with hentai scanning groups, even Icarus books have started appearing. Does Icarus follow the scanning scene closely? SJ: Ooh, this ol’ can of worms… We do follow it somewhat. As far as scanning our books, I myself have pretty much resigned to the fact that people will scan, will take advantage of us, will share with their friends, and look for their 15 minutes of spotlight within their own little cliques. It’s best to be laid back about this (I’d have a heart attack if I didn’t,) and just concentrate on doing the best we can do to please the consumers who do choose to support us. (Oh, and to the rippers who are scanning our books… at least have the decency to scan the copyright and credits page, too. Bastage.) You know, I’m going to get a lot of hate mail for saying this, but I feel a signifant part anime fansubbing has largely moved away from its roots and ideals. But scanlation isn’t quite there it. I certainly believe that the benefits of scanlations have been overstated, and most general arguments for them have been little more than rationalizations. But one thing I don’t question is their passion… they truly love the manga they work on. Like I said in the second question, fans want to show other people just what they’re so psyched about, and scanlation is one way to do it. And it’s no secret that many who work in the industry now were once scanlators themselves. It requires most of the same skills needed for publishing. At this point you just can’t divorce the fan and professional world. And thankfully most scanlators are still quite civil. Just a couple of months ago, we had requested an individual scanlator to withdraw a manga which we had just licensed. It was a book that took us a lot of work to get, and unique terms were involved. I asked him if he would retract the release, and he was an absolute gentleman about it. There’s a code, a form of chivary that most scanlators and publishers understand. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for all of the new readers just coming into it. LM: With the recent controversy other one BL publisher and a printers refusal to touch homoerotic material, how has issues like that affected Icarus in the printing and distribution? SJ: Incredibly, we’ve never had a problem with a printer turning us down. The printers we have worked with have all been very professional. And strangely, they all seemed to be staffed by very nice ladies. I always feel awful whenever I have to describe which panels has errors… but they’ve all been very good natured about it. As far as distribution goes, we haven’t had too much problems either, but that’s mainly because we knew who we could approach in the first place. Again, the larger issue is that our avenues of distribution are so limited to begin with. LM: Boys’ Love manga is currently enjoy a lot of attention at the moment whilst still remaining a relatively small market. Has Icarus ever been tempted? How does an Icarus Bara line sound? SJ: I’m going to let you in on a little secret. From the very beginning, in 2001, we had thought of a Boy’s Love anthology, a sister magazine for AG. And we’d called it G-A. (Aren’t I clever?) It didn’t happen though because, for one, I had no personal connections with any real BL artist, and two, if we were ever going to do anything like that, I would want to do it right. At the time I felt it would have been a financial distraction to our raison detre, ero manga for men, and we probably wouldn’t have been able to devote enough energy to make a BL mag proper. Now, we certainly still have the capability to license BL… our current licensors publish a whole bunch. But while other publishers are jumping into it now that it’s found mainstream success, my personal view is, why join the fray when it’s already in very capable hands? The best way to publish manga is with staff who are truely dedicated fans, and there’s plenty of good work being done in the genre. So am I tempted? No. It’s not about the money, never will be. As for Bara… please interview me again in another 6 to 8 months. =) LM: Back to Icarus. You’ve already got the anthology topic sorted out successfully, how about the other perennial hot manga topic, global manga. When AG first started it almost appeared that you would consider work from all sources both Japanese and English whereas the later issues seem to be strictly licensed work (outside the covers), was this a conscious decision or was the global work just not available? SJ: To be clear, it’s not that there wasn’t good American artists producing good work for us. We had a lot of amazing original stuff in those early issues. But soon it was clear to me that I lacked something real anthology editors needed… a pair of big brass balls. It’s the editor’s job to make sure artists finish their work within the deadline, and on spec. That means sometimes, you have to be a total jerk. One minute you’re sweet-talking an artist to submit something, the next you’re pulling out a whip to get those last 4 pages done. I don’t want to be like Haraguchi in Genshiken. Moving to doing only completed, licensed material meant that I didn’t have to play good cop, bad cop anymore. I’ll leave artist-wrangling to the despots. LM: On the distribution front I know that Icarus use both Diamond and Coldcut. There is also the website store and quite a good relationship with Fantagraphics site, and I’m sure other distributors that I’m not aware of. How easy has it been to get places like those to carry Icarus titles? SJ: Fanta’s great… they were among the first to release ero manga in the West (co-publishing with Studio Proteus) and they produce their own mail order catalog, so they already had a big customer base who were interested in our products. J-List also distributes our books… in fact, they’re one of our first major non-Diamond accounts. Not only do they carry a full line of our products, they were also instrumental in helping us acquire some licenses. We’ve also got Right Stuf, Bud Plant, and soon AAA Anime Distribution as partners. With these guys, trade paperbacks are a better fit for them than the AG magazines, which are comic store-oriented. So as we released more and more trades, they began to show more interest. That’s perhaps the major impediment we faced in trying to get more “manga-oriented” stores to play with us… we effectively did not exist to them until we ramped up our trade schedule in 2005~2006. LM: Thanks for taking the time for this little chat Simon. Anything else you want to add? SJ: Absolutely. Buy more books from Icarus Publishing. Papa needs money for a Playstation 3. The premium one.

Only one title is still lurking within the chart and that not surprisingly is VIZ Media’s Naruto. Volume 11 drops just a few places in it’s 6th week from #43 to #46 which puts it well on course to beating the 10 weeks in a row set by its predecessor volume 10.

From Shelf Awareness (and Mangacast) comes details of DramaQueen and CPM Manga (again) signing up distribution deals with Consortium starting in Spring 2007;

Central Park Media, New York, N.Y., a 16-year-old video and book publisher focused on Japanese and Korean animation and graphic novels and a leading North American publisher of Japanese manga and Korean manhwa.
DramaQueen, Houston, Tex., a relatively new publisher of graphic novels, manhwa and yaoi from Korea and Taiwan.

From CPM’s point of view I’m not entirely sure what this means. They press released about signing with Consortium, and then the following day they fold up and stopped distributing, and now Consortium are announcing that they have CPM Manga back again for a Spring 2007 catalogue and yet no word from CPM themselves.
To be honest I’m not really sure what to make of it, and after all this time I’m truly wondering if I still care. I will admit an interest in seeing what this means for the Be Beautiful imprint as that seemed about the only section successfully working for CPM. We know they have the titles, we even had new licenses mentioned back in February, but I’m beginning not to care if they see the light of day. It is going to have to be a fairly consistent release of titles from then over many months before I’d consider getting back with them, there is just so much other good titles out there that I don’t really need to go looking.

Talking of good titles, the other distribution partner is DramaQueen. I’ve said many times before how much I love and respect DramaQueen and the people that work there, if I had to pick my favourite manga publisher the two D’s, DramaQueen and Dark Horse would be fighting for the top spot; so when I see news like this it makes me genuinely happy for them.

Since their inception the distribution has been relatively solid (or at least for me in the UK) with both Baker & Taylor and AAAAnime and with their own website store; but Consortium will bring them something else. Like Ed says over at Mangacast, So Consortium could be that step needed to get the word and the pulp out there. Good thing for these pubs and I hope a good thing for readers and I couldn’t agree more. The idea that DramaQueen and to an extent CPM Manga can enjoy a much wider distribution, or more simply, get their great quality titles out to an even bigger audience is fantastic.

Or a better way, what Ed said. ^.^

As an aside to that distribution fun comes news of VIZ Media opening up Death Note to the European market with;
Ediciones Glenat España in Spain,
Panini in Italy,
Tokyopop in Germany,
Dargaud Lombard in France

All set for release in 2006, it is a good example of just how important the European manga market really is.