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Batman Manga from 1966

Date: 2008 October 29 18:52 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Boing Boing have posted an article about the discovery of a manga version of Batman from 1966. Apparently these comics have been lost for ages and have recently been found and compiled into a new book Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan.

The book features the authentic manga by Jiro Kuwata, who was commissioned to do a regular Japanese version of Batman. It's aimed at a Japanese audience with different expectations than those in the west.

"The result was stunning: a weird blend of genius suspense and gonzo weirdness, as villains turn into dinosaurs, commit strange crimes, rise from the dead, and rampage through a mangified Gotham City that has the streamlined wonderfulness of space-age Japanese pop culture."

Souce: Boing Boing

Could Manga Inspire A Murder?

Date: 2008 October 24 18:46 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

Sky News are running an article about the possibility that manga could inspire murder, and how it frustrates anime fans. It cites the current case of Meredith Kercher, a 21 year old student who was stabbed to death in Italy in a house she shared with other students. It mentions that the prosecution of the case are highlighting that Raffaele Sollecito (one of the accused) was acting out a "dark fantasy", inspired by his manga collection. BBC News have more coverage of the same story.

Kitacon Fan Choice Awards

Date: 2008 September 18 18:53 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

UK anime fans looking for convention fun in April 2009 will be pleased to hear that Kitacon will be holding a Fan Choice Awards, where fans get to vote for their favourites, anime, manga, characters and more. They'll even be able to collect them on behalf of the nominees. This does sound like an interesting concept.

Fanboys wanted for MTV's True Life

Date: 2008 August 19 16:09 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Fandom

Our US based readers who like the idea of appearing on TV should consider this request from MTV who are keen to do a True Life episode on Fanboys.

Kami-shibai - Japanese Paper Theatre in the UK

Date: 2008 August 12 16:50 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've received some interesting details about a very special Kami-shibai showing in the UK. The paper theatre performances from Japan used to entertain children in an age before television. This is form of story telling had a direct influence on the evolution of manga.

Fans in the UK should keep their September free to attend at least one of these extremely rare events:

Friday 19 September: Chester Beatty Library, Dublin www.cbl.ie
Saturday 20 September: Urbis, Manchester www.urbis.org.uk
Sunday 21 September: Liverpool Biennial 08 at "Atelier Bow Wow" www.biennial.com/content/LiverpoolBiennial2008MADEUP/Artists1.aspx
Monday 22 September: Japan Foundation Language Centre, London workshop for Japanese language teachers
Tuesday 23 September: Barbican Centre, London, as part of "Osamu Tezuka 80th Anniversary Season (18 - 23 Sept 2008)" www.barbican.org.uk/ilm/series.asp?id=600

As always with popular events we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.

London Barbican Osamu Tezuka Season

Date: 2008 July 17 15:37 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime > Film

We've received some exciting news from the London Barbican about a special Osamu Tezuka Season they'll be running from Thursday 18th to Wednesday 24th of September 2008.

The season is curated by anime expert Helen McCarthy (who's written tons of good books and articles on anime and manga). The line is up a great showcase of Tezuka's work, with The Film Is Alive: Osamu Tezuka Filmography looking especially interesting, as it we're certain Helen will bring an informative take on the panel with the event.

Osamu Tezuka is the granddaddy of anime and manga, without doubt the most influential and inspiration artist, as always with these events we suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.

PiQ To Stop

Date: 2008 June 17 17:31 | Posted By: LittleWoodenBoy

Category > Culture

PiQ's July issue to be its last.

Manga Jiman '150'- Japanese Embassy in UK launch manga competition

Date: 2008 June 16 06:28 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Culture

Time to get drawing! The Japanese embassy in the UK has launched another manga contest. This time on the theme of '150'. Entrants must be over fourteen and live in the U.K, the manga must be between six and eight pages. The closing date is the 26 September.
Prizes are as follows:
The amazing First Prize is two (2) return air tickets to Japan, courtesy of All Nippon Airways!

The Second Prize is a fabulous TOSHIBA laptop computer.

Third Prize is a superb RICOH digital camera.

Souce: Embassy of Japan (UK)

Heroes Graphic Artist Jason Badower London Signings

Date: 2008 May 31 17:33 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Fans of the graphic novel version of Heroes who can get to London next week will want to head to Orbital Manga, just in-between Leicester Square and Covent Garden, where they'll be having a signing with graphic artist Jason Badower.

New Non Photographic Law is a bit vague

Date: 2008 May 29 18:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

Some anime and manga fans in the UK might have heard about the new proposals which would ban obscene images of children. The proposals mainly cover drawings and computer-generated images, however due to certain parts of the proposals being a bit vague, it's not exactly certain what images are classed as obscene. The mainstream press are keen to wrongly cite manga as one such example.

Bleach Creator Tite Kubo to attend 2008 San Diego Comic-Con

Date: 2008 May 21 16:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

We've got some exciting news for American anime fans who can get to the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International, where Tite Kubo the creator of Bleach will be making an appearance from July 25th.

King's College London Japan's Manga and Anime Industries seminar

Date: 2008 May 01 17:14 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Readers who can get into London on Friday 16th of May 2008 will want to get to King's College London, from 1pm to 6pm to attend a seminar on Japanese comic book and animation industries.

The line up of speakers looks good, but Yoko Ono is not THAT Yoko Ono. It'll be interesting if they mention the difference between manga and manga style artwork in the talks too.

To go to the talk you will need to register via e-mail.

From Maids to Mothers

Date: 2008 April 15 16:35 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Freaky Things

Mainichi Daily News have an interesting news story about the new craze in Otaku Cafe, the Mother Cafe.

Mother Cafe is in the new Mandarake outlet in Osaka (Mandarake are a chain of shops for anime and manga fans, and are evil as they are often packed full of delights to tempt otaku). Apparently the maids take on a maternal air, as they greet guests in motherly tones. Staff's age range from 19 to in their 40's, and they look older than they actually are. The aim is to become a therapeutic cafe, where people can open their hearts to the staff.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Chinese Manhua and the state

Date: 2008 March 14 18:04 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

BBC News are currently running an interesting story about Chinese comics or Manhua and how the publications in the Chinese mainland have to be government approved.

Souce: BBC News

NewType USA's replacement PiQ out now

Date: 2008 March 13 18:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Press Releases

We've received a press release from PiQ LLC, the magazine which is essentially the replacement for NewType USA. The magazine is due out from March 14th 2008. Issue 1 will feature articles about Appleseed: Ex Machina, Code Geass and xxxHOLiC.

Happy 6th Birthday Sweatdrop Studios!

Date: 2008 January 25 18:59 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Manga

Today the UK's largest group of manga-style pioneers, Sweatdrop Studios turned six years old! And to celebrate, they're offering some of the biggest discounts off their catalogue and a few more bonuses:

- Huge 50% off comics until February 2008
- Free international shipping on orders over £15/$30

Book Signing at Orbital Manga, London

Date: 2008 January 23 10:15 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Manga

Those intending to buy the latest volume of The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga, might want to turn up at the Orbital Manga store on 23rd February. Four of the artists featured in the book Karen Rubins, Chie Kutsuwada, Nana Li and John A Short will be present.

There will also be a chance to get signed illustrations from the artists themselves, as well as an art competition!

How Manga Took Over the World - exhibition in Manchester

Date: 2008 January 16 13:43 | Posted By: Voxie

Category > Events

Starting from March later this year, the Manchester's huge exhibition center will be displaying it's own "How Manga Took over the World" exhibition on Level 1 of the venue.

The event will be running from 13th March to 27th September 2008.

Viz reveal manga line up for the first quarter of 2008

Date: 2008 January 09 17:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The good folk at Viz have sent us the details for their new manga releases for the first quarter of 2008. They include:

Sand Chronicles
High School Debut
Ral Ω Grad
Monkey High
Honey and Clover
Switch

Plus they’ll be launching Library Editions of popular titles, these hard cover versions will be the first volumes of successful manga series including Bleach, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, Naruto and Ranma ½, and are intended to be a bit more rugged to withstand long term library use.

U.S. Manga Sales Up, Anime DVD Sales Down

Date: 2007 December 07 14:00 | Posted By: Queen Of Swords

Category > Manga

News from the first annual New York Anime Festival this weekend: Manga sales in the U.S. are up, but sales of anime DVDs are down.

Wired for manga

Date: 2007 November 06 19:26 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

This months (November 2007) issue of Wired Magazine has an excellent feature called Japan Ink about the manga industry, the impact dojinshi has on the copyright of manga and how an unspoken agreement benefits fans and companies alike, suggesting that the model can be spread out to other media industries like the music biz.

Wired have also made manga their cover feature for this month and have produced an article in manga format about the history of manga in America, although it's very biased towards Viz, being written by a former Viz senior editor, it practically ignores the fact fandom exists.

Souce: Wired

Anime Insider Hits 50!

Date: 2007 October 26 09:32 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Fandom

Anime Insider, the anime and manga oriented spin-off of Wizard, has just reached its 50th issue! And they're going all out to celebrate. In addition to their regular monthly features (including articles about the new season of Black Lagoon and the upcoming Pumpkin Scissors), the commemorative issue sports a ranking of the 50 best anime ever (check to see where and if your favorite title made the list), and a cover featuring two of the beauties of Evangelion, pilots Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu offering a special cake.

Anime Insider is also offering their biggest contest to date with this issue. For a huge grand prize of a pack of anime goodies worth over $1500, all you have to do is write a haiku. That's right, the Japanese-style poem of three lines and 17 syllables (5, 7, 5). The poem can be about the magazine, fandom, giant robots, or your favorite character. Winners will be chosen from each category, with one grand prize winner for the big one. Grab a copy of the magazine for rules and entry form. And also enjoy the magazine in general.

Souce: Anime Insider

Manga is conquering Britain

Date: 2007 October 17 17:00 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Times on-line are currently running an article written by Paul Gravett, about how manga is conquering Britain. It focuses on how groups outside of Japan are creating works in a manga style and calling it manga (in a subject frequently debated by fans, if the artist isn't Japanese does that make it manga). The article also mentions up and coming Sweatdrop Studios and how manga style artwork is increasingly being produced in the UK. The article mentions a few titles, but it is rather short on sales figures, so it's hard to measure how successful the local publications are.

Souce: Times On-line

Ghost In the Shell 1.5 Human-Error Processor manga release details

Date: 2007 October 15 18:05 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

UK fans of Ghost in The Shell will be pleased to hear the details Titan Books have sent us about the release of Ghost In the Shell 1.5 Human-Error Processor. The manga is due out in the UK on 23rd November 2007. It bridges the gap between the Ghost in the Shell 1 and 2 manga (hence the 1.5 name). We've been waiting for this to come out as one book ever since we heard about it and highly recommend it to Ghost in the Shell fans.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Sweatdrop launch self-help manga

Date: 2007 September 18 16:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Sweatdrop crew have always been inventive with the titles they've released and they've sent us details for some titles due in April 2008 and June 2008 (that's a while away isn't it? We don't normally get details for titles that are 6 months ahead anyway...).

They'll be releasing 4 books next year:

- Be creative by R. Bevan, J. Middleton & T. Wright
- Find true love by S. Dosani, L. Helmanis and P. Cross
- Beauty secrets for babes by L.Helmanis
- Sort out your money by J. Middleton

All the lovely artwork will be done by Sonia Leong, and we'll be curious to see how they do this.

Will they have an otaku take on things? Eg: Sort out your money - buy less DVDs and manga to save money. Beauty secrets for babes - wear cat ears. Be creative - draw more stuff. Find true love - ermmm, otaku aren't exactly good at that, erm, join a relatives house which happens to be populated by lots of hot babes and enjoy the hilarity that ensues.

We look forward to seeing what these guides will look like next year.

Manga shares gain in Japan

Date: 2007 September 13 08:49 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

As a slightly strange side effect of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announcing his exit, shares in manga retailers in Japan have surged with speculation that manga fan Taro Aso is the leading candidate to replace Mr Abe.

According to BBC News, Mr Aso is a big promoter of manga abroad. They cite the rise of manga publisher Broccoli gaining 71% and Mandarake (a retail store in Japan which is a treasure trove for otaku), jumping 13%.

The article states that Mr Aso served as foreign minister, and suggested that embracing Japanese pop culture was an important step in cultivating ties with other countries. If this is the case the Otaku News crew would like an invite to Japan to meet with Mr Aso to help promote manga and anime. ^_-

Sadly the BBC gets some facts wrong about anime and manga stating that they have "psychedelic colours and outlandish story lines", and emphasises the more explicit side of anime and manga. They also manage to mention Spirited Away and Quentin Tarantino in the same sentence, which I'm sure can lead to all sorts of associations for those who haven't actually seen the wonderful family film that is Spirited Away.

The article also states that Mr Aso created an International Manga Award to honour non-Japanese cartoonists.

Souce: BBC News

September 2007 Shojo Beat magazine features Yuu Watase cover

Date: 2007 August 14 16:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The folks at Viz Media have sent us details about a special Yuu Watase Absolute Boyfriend cover for the September 2007 issue of Shojo Beat Magazine.

Dark Horse and CLAMP Team Up For New Title

Date: 2007 August 03 20:17 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

Dark Horse signs CLAMP to make new manga for 2009!

New old manga licences at Comic-Con

Date: 2007 July 29 09:07 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

Hooray it seems to be the season to rescue manga I wanted to buy from rights hell. Viz announced at Comic-con that it will be publishing basket ball classic Slam Dunk. There will be an initial preview in Shonen Jump before collected volumes in 2008.

CMX are rescuing fowl mouth manga Crayon Shin-chan presumably after FUNimation's success the anime on US adult swim.

I am already predicting I will be broke in 2008.

Souce: Anime News Network

Megatokyo goes to Japan

Date: 2007 July 11 17:03 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

Smash hit webcomic Megatokyo is set to be published in Japan by Kodansha. Japanese readers will get their first peak at Megatokyo via a 30 page preview in Faust magazine.

It will be interesting to guage Japanese fans reactions. Especially since volume one contains the very first Megatokyo strips in a four panel format.

Souce: Publishers Weekly

..and the theme is teeth

Date: 2007 July 02 10:39 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

The Yomiuri Shimbun is holding a cartoon contest, and this year the theme is teeth According to the site:

"Teeth are hard and sharp, and sometimes can work as a weapon"

The contest is open to international readers as well as those in Japan.

Souce: Yomiuri Shimbun

Comic Yell, girl's manga for men

Date: 2007 June 22 22:56 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

The Mainichi Daily News have posted an interesting article about a new manga publication called Comic Yell, Japan's first girl's manga for men. With girly titles like Honey and Clover and Nana proving to be popular with male readers and 50% of Shonen Jump's readership being female, it shows people are attracted to good stories, regardless of it's intended target gender.

Targeted at men from their 20s to 40s, the magazine doesn't have girls in maid's outfits or girls wearing animal ears. There is however the occasional panty shot to keep the male reader happy.

Feedback has been mixed, with hardcore otaku readers wanting more "zing", and mainstream readers happy that it isn't pandering to hardcore otaku tastes. Some readers have even requested that it made more girly. The official Comic Yell Website can be found here.

Souce: Mainichi Daily News

Akira Club art book UK release details

Date: 2007 May 15 14:24 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

UK publisher Titan Books have sent us details about the UK release of the Akira Club artbook. It's one of those nice additions for fans of the movie and manga collection. It's due to hit the shelves on the 27th July 2007 and is priced at £24.99. Hunting around Play.com have it on pre-order for £14.99.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Naruto Explosion

Date: 2007 April 27 10:19 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Manga

No, the hero of the popular manga and anime series isn't going to die in a fiery death. But his fans may want to start saving their money over the summer. Starting this September and through December, VIZ Media plans to release not 1, but 3 new volumes of the Naruto manga a month. With a total of 12 volumes, 16 to 27, that means fans will have 3 years worth of new material in those 4 months, as opposed to simply 1 volume every 3 months as in 2006.

The reason for the boost is to catch the American releases up with their original Japanese counterpart before a new storyarc begins in Volume 28 of the Naruto manga. Set 2 years after the storyline ending in Volume 27, the storyline will focus on an older, wiser and taller Naruto and his new adventures. This move will enable American fans to enjoy the series with a bit of surprise without getting a hold of spoilers from the internet.

Souce: ICv2

National Office for Vocation use manga to promote vocations

Date: 2007 April 26 17:12 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Current Affairs

Following on from our story about the Manga Bible, it seems that many religions want to remain accessible to a wider audience, according to the Catholic News Agency manga will be used to promote vocations in the UK.

The article states: "We have chosen the Manga cartoons for the 2007 campaign, because we hope it will appeal to young people under twenty as well as people in their thirties," Fr. Paul Embery, Director of the National Office for Vocation, explained to the Italian Religious Service.

A new website has been launched too - www.calledtoday.com which features artwork in a manga style and tells the stories of various people dedicated to the church.

Souce: Catholic News Agency

Manga events at the Bristol Comics Expo

Date: 2007 April 11 13:34 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Following on from our earlier story about the Bristol Comics Expo (on 12th and 13th of May 2007), we've got some more details regarding their coverage of manga stuff. They'll have:

- Tokyo Pop
- Sweatdrop Studios
- Selfmadehero
- Yishan Li
- Umisen-Yamasen
- Siku
- Boychild Books
- Ilya
- Misako Rocks

They've bundled everyone together into a Manga Ally too, as always it's good to see Sweatdrop attending these events.

Hokusai: First Manga Master

Date: 2007 April 02 15:38 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Art

The good folks at Abrams have sent us details of a new book they're publishing about the groundbreaking artist Hokusai. The book contains lots of lovely selection artwork from Hokusai and is a great example of the variety of work he did. The book is well worth £10, for curiosity or academic interests. It hits the shops on 30th April 2007.

Oh My Goddess! Manga hits the UK

Date: 2007 March 15 14:57 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've got news from Titan Books that they'll be releasing the hugely popular Oh My Goddess! manga in the UK. On April 27th 2007 Volume 1 and 2 should be released. We think it's great that Titan Books are doing this, we just hope they pick up the rights to What's Michael? too.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

MegaTokyo Volume 4 UK release details

Date: 2007 March 14 17:06 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent a press release from the folks at Titan Books, detailing the release of MegaTokyo Volume 4 in the UK. Why should we care when volume 5 is almost out in the US and most bookshops stock it volume 4 already? Well this is actually great news as some places like libraries and their book suppliers will only deal with books that have an official UK release. Now that MegaTokyo has an official UK release you should be able to pester your local librarian to get a copy in. ^_- This also applies to the other Titan books we've put press releases up for as they've already had US releases, but would be hard to stock in some places.

MegaTokyo Volume 4 is due to hit the bookshelves on 27th April 2007.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Anime Encyclopedia UK release details

Date: 2007 March 14 16:43 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Anime

We've been sent a press release from the folks at Titan Books. They'll be releasing a new updated edition of the Anime Encyclopedia for the UK on 27th April 2007. This edition has a black cover, along with over 40% new material. The Anime Encyclopedia is a must for otaku, as it's a accurate and well researched guide to the subject unlike a few other books which are nowhere near as good. Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy know their stuff and we highly recomend this guide. Hunting around on Amazon.co.uk will produce a bargain price below the suggested retail price. You'll save money by reading about the type of anime you'd want to avoid, but the only trouble is you'd want to watch more of the titles you've discovered by reading it.

Eden: It's An Endless World - UK release details

Date: 2007 March 14 16:27 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent a press release from the good folks at Titan Books. They've aquired the rights for the Dark Horse version of Eden. It's due to hit the bookshelves on 27th April 2007.

Read More... | Souce: Titan Books

Manga Toilet Paper

Date: 2007 March 09 08:56 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Freaky Things

Up until now, whenever you wanted to read manga while doing your business in the bathroom, you had to take the actual book and/or magazine with you, then set it somewhere while you got started and finished. You still can do that, but now there's an alternative. At least in Japan, there is, because now manga can now be found on... toilet paper.

Famous 4-panel manga artist and TV talent Yakumi Tsuru recently made a deal with paper goods company Banbix to sell toilet paper that have his manga illustrations and 4-panel comics printed on it. Called Food Toipe, the toilet paper can be purchased in cases of 50 rolls for 8,500 yen (approximately 80 US dollars) from the Banbix website. You can also find images of the paper at the same website. No word, though, as to whether or not the illustrations featured on the paper are new material or reprints of Tsuru's previous work.

Souce: Anime News Network

AmeCon 2007 open for registration

Date: 2007 February 26 10:18 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Events

Anime fans will be pleased to know that Leicester based UK anime convention AmeCon 2007 is now open for registration. So book now to avoid disappointment. The convention is scheduled for 10th-12th August 2007 and is the third convention held by the AmeCon crew.

Souce: AmeCon

The Manga Bible release details

Date: 2007 February 26 09:21 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've received a details from publishing house Hodder and Stoughton regarding the Manga Bible. We're not talking about some sort of ultimate must have guide to manga, but the New Testament produced in a manga style. Using the TNIV (Today's New International Version) as the basis, London based artist Siku, who is best know for his work on 2000AD.

New manga shop opens in London

Date: 2007 February 20 13:39 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Retail

Hidden away just around the corner from Leicester Square and short walk from Covent Garden, on Upper Saint Martin's Lane is Orbital Manga, a new little manga shop from the same people behind Orbital Comics on Charing Cross Road. Although Orbital Manga is small, it's worth looking around and is a refreshing change from comic shops that stock some manga. They've got a good range of manga and the usual selection of merchandise and trinkets.

Udon release Megaman and Street Fighter artbooks

Date: 2007 February 20 12:41 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Capcom fans will pleased to hear about Udon Entertainment's new artbooks, one for Megaman Zero and another on Street Fighter.

Artist Accused of Plagiarism

Date: 2007 February 09 22:03 | Posted By: Jeremy

Category > Current Affairs

Manga artist Rin Yoshi has been accused of committing plagiarism in the pages of her manga, Switch. According to Umeo Kamitsuo, Editor-in-Chief of Cookie, the manga magazine that serializes Switch, the opening pages of the manga were reproductions of images from the fashion magazine Gravure.

As a result of the accusations, the Switch manga will no longer appear in Cookie as of the April issue. Shueisha, the publisher behind the magazine, has also stopped distribution of Yoshi’s other works, including Kurabeyou mo nai Hodo ni (Uncomparable) and Silent Summer Snow, due to further instances of possible plagiarism. To prevent future incidents from happening, Umeo has stated that Cookie will step up their checks for potential copyright violations and make sure that their staff are aware of the problems associated with such issues.

Souce: Anime News Network

Tanoshimi let fans vote for manga

Date: 2007 January 31 09:19 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

Random House UK imprint Tanoshimi have sent us some details about a nice fan oriented campaign. From February 7th Fans and vote on their website and select which title they want Tanoshimi to publish next, the people behind Tanoshimi have confirmed that it is likely they will only publish the winning title.

Fans can vote for the following:

Genshiken
Kagetora
Othello
Wallflower

All voters will go into a draw for a chance to win a Nintendo DS Lite.

Tanoshimi UK February 2007 releases

Date: 2007 January 24 05:01 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've just been sent a press release from Random House imprint Tanoshimi detailing their releases in the UK for this February 2007. They'll be releasing the following titles:

Free Collars Kingdom Volume 1
Airgear Volume 3
School Rumble Volume 3 and 4
Guru Guru Pon Chan Volume 7

All are due to hit the shelves on 1st February 2007.

Free Collars Kingdom is a new title to Tanoshimi that should interest the furry fan readers with lots of catboy antics.

Manga Shakespeare

Date: 2007 January 16 16:17 | Posted By: Joe

Category > Manga

We've been sent an interesting press release from SelfMadeHero about their Manga Shakespeare series. The bard's classic tales have been reinterpreted into a manga style. With Romeo and Juliet the action has relocated to Shibuya in Tokyo, with yakuza talking the place of the more traditional families in the original. Hamlet is still set in Denmark, but in the future cyber world of 2017. SelfMadeHero inform us that the series keeps true to the text of Shakespeare, but is specially abridged for use in the manga. Sweatdrop Studio's very own Sonia Leong illustrated Romeo and Juliet, while Emma Vicieli illustrated Hamlet.

Both Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet are due for release on 1st March 2007, priced at £6.99. The Tempest and Richard III are due to be published in Autumn 2007. Othello, Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are planned, but no release date is mentioned.

Our readers still in education might want to show this to their English and drama teachers, while our other readers might just enjoy reading a new interpretation of Shakespeare's works.

This is not the first time Hamlet has been made into a manga in English, our good friend Amethyst Angel has done a fan version using characters from Slayers, entitled Hamlet: The Manga.

Rising Stars of Manga UK results

Date: 2006 December 16 08:31 | Posted By: Azure

Category > Manga

Tokyo Pop UK's talent hunt Rising Stars of Manga UK and Ireland hasn't been totally smooth sailing; there have been numerous resets of the vote, not to mention the judges decision to eliminate a finalist after announcing their inclusion in the people's choice.

Despite that, all that the winners have been announced. Their work will be included in the RSOM UK Volume 2 book.

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