X-MEN MISFITS By Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman Art by Anzu (New York: Del Rey, 2009, 192 pp., $12.99 paperback) “X-men Misfits†ironically describes itself by its title succinctly. The comic is a misfit in itself within the world of Marvel’s hit X-Men series. Through the frame of a shoujo-manga artist, this original English manga […]
MANGA REVIEW: Time to get schooled
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
ROSARIO + VAMPIRE: SEASON II VOL. 1 By Akihisa Ikeda (San Francisco: Viz Media, 2010, 184 pp., $9.99 paperback) School is back in session. “Rosario + Vampire: Season II†is back for its second year. This continuation of the original series starts off with Tsukune Aono returning to Yokai Academy for his second year. All […]
MANGA REVIEW: A walk on the wild side
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
ARATA: THE LEGEND VOL. 1 By Yuu Watase (San Francisco: Viz Media, 2010, 208 pp., $9.99 paperback) Yuu Watase, the acclaimed author of other manga series such as “Fushigi Yuugi†and “Ayashi no Ceres,†is no stranger to fantasy settings, but “Arata: The Legend†serves as her first foray into comics for boys. In “Arata,†[…]
MANGA REVIEW: A collection from the legend
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
A DRUNKEN DREAM AND OTHER STORIES By Moto Hagio (Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, 2010, 288 pp., $24.99, hardcover) Moto Hagio is certainly one of the world’s leading artists when it comes to shoujo manga (comics for and about girls). Born in 1949, she is one of “the magnificent forty-niners,†a group of shoujo manga artists that […]
State of the Industry A Q & A with Fred Schodt on the end of the anime and manga boom
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Fred Schodt is a well-known expert on Japanese popular culture. He was one of the first to write about manga in English, and was Osamu Tezuka’s personal translator for both the man and his comics. His first book, “Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics,†was published in 1983, and is still an invaluable resource […]
Cosplay, transcending the fourth wall and more
July 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
With the rising popularity of anime and the subsequent rise in popularity at such anime conventions as Anime Expo and Fanime Con in California, the practice of cosplay became a largely popular activity among fans. Cosplay, a contraction of the words “costume†and “play†is a fan-activity where people dress up as characters from anime, […]
‘One Piece’ Manga Enjoys Unprecedented Popularity
December 17, 2009 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — The popularity of a manga comic titled “One Piece†remains unceasing with the circulation of the latest 56th volume put on sale this month totaling 2.85 million copies, marking the highest number for a first printing in the history of comic publications. The figure brought the total circulation of “One Piece†(featuring a […]
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