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Making a Living in Manga Part 3: The Skills to Pay the Bills?
In Making a Living in Manga Part 1, I explained nine reasons why the manga-making economy in North America is broken. In Part 2, we discussed the issue of fan and creator perception of original English language (OEL) manga, and whether it was "real" or "fake" manga.
about.com | 16-May-2012 05:49
Making a Living in Manga Part 2: Is OEL 'Real' or 'Fake' Manga?
In Making a Living in Manga Part 1, I spelled out nine reasons why the manga-making economy in North America is broken. One aspect of the currently dysfunctional system is that there are lots of up-and-coming Western creators who want to draw comics inspired by manga, but they're finding it difficult to get their original works picked up by publishers and getting their stories read and accepted by manga readers.
about.com | 14-May-2012 06:05
Making a Living in Manga: 9 Reasons Why The U.S. Manga-Making Biz is Broken
In Bakuman, the manga about making manga created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, two teenage boys pursue their dreams to become professional manga creators. Over the course of 20 volumes, the teens become young men who toil over their drawing boards to reach their goal: to get a popular series featured in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.
about.com | 13-May-2012 20:32
Shonen Jump Editor-in-Chief Andy Nakatani on the Return of Rurouni Kenshin
Now that the final chapter of Bakuman has been featured in the pages of Shonen Jump Alpha, the big question many readers had was, 'What new Shonen Jump series will take its place in the weekly manga magazine?'
about.com | 10-May-2012 14:32
Freebies, Interviews Marks Bakuman Manga's End in Shonen Jump Alpha
After almost four years and 20 volumes, Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata came to an end. The May 7, 2012 issue of Shonen Jump Alpha featured the final chapter of the 'how to make it in manga' series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
about.com | 10-May-2012 06:42
Manga Must-Sees and More at Toronto Comics Festival 2012
This weekend, comics creators from throughout North America, Europe and even Asia are converging on the Toronto Reference Library (and nearby venues) for Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2012 for several days of comickin' fun: panels, parties, workshops, and lots and lots of graphic novels, comics, mini-comics, and yes, manga too!
about.com | 01-May-2012 06:36
Shonen Jump Trivia Contest: Win Tickets to Comic-Con 2012
So you think you know everything about Shonen Jump? Put your knowledge to the test, and you could win two tickets to San Diego Comic-Con 2012! Just answer three questions in the Shonen Jump Alpha Trivia Contest before May 23, and you could score two four-day tickets to attend this sold-out show from July 12-15, 2012, or you could win a 1-year subscription to Shonen Jump Alpha.
about.com | 30-Apr-2012 01:40
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Tenjo Tenge Lays Claim to #1 Spot
Ruling the roost over this week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List is the sixth volume of VIZ Media's uncensored, three-in-one version of Tenjo Tenge by Oh! Great. In fact, action-packed fare dominated this week's top 10, with nine shonen/seinen titles and one (Skip Beat) representin' for shojo manga in the #10 slot.
about.com | 30-Apr-2012 01:09
Manga Creator Moto Hagio Awarded Japan Medal of Honor
From The Mainichi: Every year since 1881, the Japanese government recognizes citizens who have made significant contributions in the fields of art/culture, science, public service, and academia with the Medal of Honor.
about.com | 28-Apr-2012 07:58
Draw and Win a Dark Horse Mega Manga Prize Pack
To celebrate the upcoming release of the FLCL omnibus (due in stores on May 16, 2012), the folks at Dark Horse are putting a call out to manga fans and aspiring comics creators to enter their "Inspired by Manga" art contest. You're invited to create a 2-4 page comics story that is 1) inspired by manga, and 2) be about Dark Horse Comics.
about.com | 28-Apr-2012 01:56
Yen Press Adds Thermae Romae, Plus 8 New Manga to 2012 Lineup
With the arrival of Spring flowers and warmer weather comes comic/anime convention season, and a whole mess of new title announcements. Yen Press recently made their first trip to Sakura-Con in Seattle, and to celebrate the occasion, they announced a full roster of fascinating new titles that will be available at a book or comic shop near you in Fall/Winter 2012.
about.com | 26-Apr-2012 13:22
Kodansha Comics Adds New Natsume Ono Manga Plus 3 New Titles
Kodansha Comics, the North America-based branch of Japanese publisher Kodansha announced three new titles for Fall 2012, to go along with the sequel to Genshiken that they announced earlier this month. With romance, sci-fi, comedy and slice-of-life drama, these diverse titles have something to please almost everyone.
about.com | 24-Apr-2012 16:57
Shojo Beat Announces Two New Titles for Fall 2012
Yesterday, Shojo Beat, VIZ Media's shojo manga imprint, announced two new series due to debut "later this year" on their Twitter feed: Demon Love Spell (Ayakashi Koi Emaki) by Mayu Shinjo (creator of Ai Ore! and Sensual Phrase) and Strobe Edge by Io Sakisaka.
about.com | 20-Apr-2012 12:39
New Manga Roundup: Vertical Adds Paradise Kiss to 2012 Lineup
With PAX East in Boston, Anime Boston, and Sakura-Con in Seattle this past weekend, convention season is off to a roaring start. And with the arrival of anime, comics and gaming conventions comes a slew of new license announcements from manga publishers. VIZ Media, Dark Horse, Yen Press, Kodansha and Vertical have all made exciting new title announcements in recent weeks. Here's a closer look at one batch of 4 new coming attractions for Fall 2012 from Vertical.
about.com | 10-Apr-2012 11:22
Want to Work in Manga? Summer Internships at VIZ Media
So you want to take your love of manga and anime and turn it into your career, but you say you don't know how to draw? If you're currently attending college, and you live or are willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area for a few months, you can explore the possibilities as an intern at VIZ Media.
about.com | 06-Apr-2012 05:05
2012 Eisner Awards Nominations: 7 New Manga Make the Cut
After being read, reviewed and rated by a jury of six comics and publishing industry pros, this year's batch of nominees for the Will Eisner Awards have been announced. This year, seven manga titles made the cut in three categories, including a two-fer nomination nod for Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, Shigeru Mizuki's semi-autobiographical World War II graphic novel published by Drawn & Quarterly. Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths is nominated in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia and Best Reality-Based Work categories.
about.com | 05-Apr-2012 06:18
Yen Press April Giveaway: Black Butler DVDs and Manga
To celebrate FUNimation's release of the second season of the Black Butler anime, Yen Press is offering a giveaway via their Facebook page for April.
Just 'like' Yen Press on Facebook, and submit your name and address on Yen Press' Black Butler contest page before April 30, 2012. You could be one of three lucky grand prize winners who'll get the Black Butler Season 1 Blu-Ray box set along with Black Butler Volume 1, the first volume of the bestselling action/comedy/supernatural/drama manga series by Yana Toboso. 10 additional first prize winners will get a copy of Black Butler Volume 1.
...about.com | 04-Apr-2012 23:47
2012 Manga Readers' Choice Awards: Blue Exorcist Takes Top Honors
You nominated them, you voted for them, and now you'll know, which new manga is your choice for the 2012 About.com Manga Readers' Choice Awards winners!
Like last year when Bakuman took home two awards, the clear winner in this year's Readers Choice Awards is a new shonen manga series that swept both the Best New Manga title (an overall award for the best new title released in 2011) and Best New Shonen Manga polls: Blue Exorcist by Kazue Kato from Shonen Jump Advanced / VIZ Media.
...about.com | 04-Apr-2012 03:47
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: 3 Seven Seas Titles Debut in Top 10
While Sailor Moon continued its reign at the top of this week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List, there were also a lot of notable newcomers to the top 10, including two more titles from Kodansha, one from VIZ Media, and three new titles from Seven Seas Manga.
about.com | 30-Mar-2012 21:34
Akira Creator, Katsuhiro Otomo Reveals Plans for New Shonen Manga Series
From Anime News Network: Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of seminal cyberpunk sci-fi manga series Akira recently announced that he will soon be debuting a new shonen manga series set in Japan's Meiji Era for an as-yet-unnamed manga magazine. This new series will be his first long manga series since ending Akira back in 1993, and his first shonen manga series (his other series, including Domu and Legend of Mother Sarah were all for seinen (men's) manga magazines).
about.com | 27-Mar-2012 11:38
Konami Kanata, Creator of Chi's Sweet Home Coming to TCAF
Toronto Comic Arts Festival recently announced a very special addition to their international line-up of special guests for their 2012 show: Konami Kanata, the creator of Chi's Sweet Home.
Kanata's visit to TCAF in May 2012 will be mark her first visit to a North American comics show. In addition to participating in TCAF programming and autograph sessions at the Vertical booth (the North American publisher of Chi's Sweet Home), Kanata will also be participating in a special fundraising event for earthquake/tsunami recovery efforts in Tohoku to be held on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at The Japan Foundation Gallery in Toronto.
...about.com | 27-Mar-2012 11:12
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Sailor Moon Bumps Shonen Jump from #1
After Shonen Jump's dominance at the top of the charts last week, it was time for a little girl power in this week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List, as the latest volume of Sailor Moon bumped off Naruto and One Piece from their #1 and #2 spots.
about.com | 23-Mar-2012 19:13
Manga/Anime Fans' Guide to WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim
This weekend, WonderCon rolls into town, albeit not its usual town. Yep, this year WonderCon will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California instead of its usual venue, the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
about.com | 16-Mar-2012 07:21
JManga Opens To Readers Worldwide, Offers Sign-Up Deals
Thanks to responses from readers, JManga.com recently began offering its array of Japanese comics in English to readers worldwide. While there are a handful of titles that are still region-blocked, most of previews and full volumes posted on JManga are accessible to readers everywhere. To celebrate, JManga is offering a sign-up special to new readers. If you sign up for a new 1,000 or 2,500 point subscription before Wednesday, March 14 (Pacific Time), you'll get a sign-up bonus good for up to five volumes of manga.
about.com | 13-Mar-2012 21:24
2012 Readers' Choice Awards: Vote for the Best New Comedy/Slice of Life Manga
There's still time to vote in the 2012 About.com Manga Readers' Choice Awards polls. Today, the spotlight is on the second of two polls devoted to "manga for grown-ups": Best ...
about.com | 13-Mar-2012 04:46
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Soulless, GTO Make Strong Debuts
If there's one thing I've noticed about the New York Times Manga Bestseller list lately is that one week a title can be at the top of the heap, only to be missing in action the next. That's true of this week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List too, as last week's #1 title, 20th Century Boys isn't even in the top 10 anymore. Same goes for the three titles that debuted last week, Tenjo Tenge Volume 3, Pokemon Black and White Volume 5 and Ai Ore Volume 4.
about.com | 11-Mar-2012 05:16
2012 Readers' Choice Awards: Vote for the Best New Action/Drama Manga
There's still time to vote in the 2012 About.com Manga Readers' Choice Awards polls. Today, the spotlight is on the first of two polls devoted to "manga for grown-ups": Best ...
about.com | 07-Mar-2012 22:26
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Urasawa On Top, Plus 4 New Debuts
After debuting at #5 this week, the latest volume of 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa leaped to the top of the heap in this week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List. But that wasn't the only change in this week's Top 10: We've got four debuts and two returning titles too.
about.com | 04-Mar-2012 20:01
2012 Readers' Choice Awards: Vote for the Best New Shojo Manga
A few weeks ago, I asked About.com readers to nominate their favorite new manga of 2011. Now it's time to see which of the five finalists will be the Readers' Choice Awards winner for Best New Shojo Manga in the 2012 About.com Manga Readers' Choice Awards polls...
about.com | 26-Feb-2012 13:02
2012 Readers' Choice Awards: Vote for the Best New Shonen Manga
You picked 'em, now it's time to see which of the five nominees will be the Readers' Choice Awards winner for Best New Shonen Manga in the 2012 About.com Manga Readers' Choice Awards polls...
about.com | 25-Feb-2012 19:22
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: A Puzzling Pokemon Debut
Topping the chart on this week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List are a foursome of Shonen Jump titles: Bleach, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, Bakuman and Blue Exorcist.
That's not too surprising, and neither is seeing the latest volume of Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys making its debut in the top 10 at the #5 spot or historical romance The Story of Saiunkoku at #6 . However, there was one entry in this week's New York Times Manga Top 10 that made me scratch my head a bit: The mysterious "return" of Pokemon Adventures Diamond and Pearl Platinum Volume 3.
...about.com | 25-Feb-2012 04:30
Interview: VIZ Productions' Jason Hoffs Talks About Bleach Manga Movie
Since its debut in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 2001, Bleach by Tite Kubo has been one of the most popular series in the Shonen Jump manga pantheon.
about.com | 25-Feb-2012 02:01
Vote for the Best New Manga in 2012 Manga Readers' Choice Awards
You picked 'em, now it's time to see which titles made the cut as the five nominees for the Best New Manga of 2011 in the 2012 About.com Manga Readers' Choice Awards polls...
about.com | 24-Feb-2012 19:54
Bandai Namco Games Previews New Webcomics Venture, ShiftyLook
Bandai Namco Games (creators of hit games like Tekken, Pac-Man and more recently, the Naruto Shippuden games) recently announced that they would be delving into the world of webcomics with their new venture: ShiftyLook.
about.com | 20-Feb-2012 08:27
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Bleach, New VIZ Debuts Dominate
After a few weeks of Kodansha and Yen Press titles dominating the top 10, VIZ Media titles come back in a big way, with six new titles making their debut in this week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List. Topping the list is the latest volume of Bleach by Tite Kubo, which, at 38 volumes and counting, shows little sign of slowing down.
about.com | 18-Feb-2012 03:57
Fan Fury Unleashed As Scan Site Pulls 7 Shonen Jump Manga
It's been almost three weeks since the the first issue of Shonen Jump Alpha, the VIZ Media's digital-only manga weekly version of Shonen Jump Magazine made its debut. Many North American readers greeted this new arrival warmly, while some were skeptical, and others were downright hostile. This was pretty much how any new product is greeted in anime / manga fandom. I've yet to see a single launch of a new title or publishing initiative that was met with 100% approval from fans.
about.com | 14-Feb-2012 06:51
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Fairy Tail, Negima Claim Top Spots
Kodansha Comics enjoys a fourth week dominating the top of the New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List, with the arrival of the latest volumes of Fairy Tail and Negima! claiming the top spots, and nudging last week's number 1 title, Sailor Moon Volume 3 to the #3 slot.
about.com | 13-Feb-2012 06:13
SuBLime Manga Releases First Digital-Only Yaoi Titles
After a few delays and a few technical hiccups, SuBLime Manga released their first four digital-only titles to readers via their website last week. Now boys love manga fans from all over the world (not just North America) can purchase and download the first volumes of Love Pistols by Tarako Kotobuki and Husband, Honeymoon by Haruka Minami, and two one-shots: The Bed of My Dear King by Sakae Kusama and Oku-San's Daily Fantasies by Noboru Takatsuki.
about.com | 06-Feb-2012 05:00
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Sailor Moon, Black Butler Rule Top 10
After debuting at #1 last week, the third volume of Sailor Moon hangs on for a second week at the top of the New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List. But coming in strong in the #2 slot is perennial NYT Top 10 fave, Black Butler by Yana Toboso.
about.com | 06-Feb-2012 03:13
Digital-Only Manga Magazine Shonen Jump Alpha Debuts
The day that North American shonen manga fans have been waiting for has arrived: on Monday, January 30, 2012, the first full issue of Shonen Jump Alpha made its debut on VIZManga.com for viewing on the web, or via iOS devices like the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
about.com | 31-Jan-2012 05:15
Dark Horse Digital Adds Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service + 6 More Manga/Manhwa
Now that Dark Horse has added right-to-left reading capabilities to their Dark Horse Digital website and apps for tablets and smart phones running Apple's iOS (iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch) and Google's Android operating system, they're adding more and more titles from their extensive back catalog of manga from Japan and manhwa from Korea to their online offerings.
about.com | 24-Jan-2012 07:39
JManga Launches Japanese/English Translation Contest on Facebook
So you say you can speak and read Japanese. Heck, you maybe even do a little manga translating on the side. Now here's your chance to put your nihongo -> eigo skillz to the test with JManga's First Translation Contest on Facebook.
about.com | 24-Jan-2012 06:47
Saturday in L.A.: VIZ Media Hosts Shonen Jump Alpha Launch Party
The countdown has started: It's only a week until the first full issue of Shonen Jump Alpha, the new digital-only weekly edition of Shonen Jump Magazine makes its debut. But if you live in Southern California, you can get a sneak peek of this new manga magazine at the Shonen Jump Alpha Launch Party on Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm at the West Hollywood Library in Los Angeles.
about.com | 23-Jan-2012 04:55
This Week's Online Manga Deals from Dark Horse, VIZ and JManga
If 2011 was the year that North American publishers got on board with online/digital manga in a big way, 2012 is looking to be the year that publishers want you to get on board with the program too. To nudge you in that direction, VIZ Media wants to give you some free manga to read just for downloading their apps for iPad / iPhone / iPod Touch. Meanwhile, Dark Horse Digital wants to make you a killer deal on a bundle of Lone Wolf and Cub manga for your iPad/iPhone/Android device or computer. To celebrate the Year of the Dragon, JManga is giving new subscribers a gift of bonus points to get even more manga to read online.
about.com | 23-Jan-2012 03:14
Manga Chatter on This Week's The Live Show on Crunchyroll.com
Over the past year, I've been invited to chat on a few podcasts and convention panels -- but this weekend was the first time I was invited to be a guest on a live TV show (ok, broadcast on the Internetz) to talk about manga. This was all thanks to the nice folks at The Live Show, a regular feature on anime website Crunchyroll.com.
about.com | 22-Jan-2012 03:40
NY Times Manga Bestsellers: Evangelion Makes Its Top 10 Debut at #1
This week's New York Times Graphic Books Manga Bestseller List brings a newcomer to the Top 10 that is a perennial favorite with anime/manga fans in the know: Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, to clear up some confusion -- this Dark Horse-published title is NOT the manga adaptation of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion storyline (that Evangelion manga series by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is currently published by VIZ Media in both print as Neon Genesis Evangelion and as a digital editions as Neon Genesis Evangelion: Stages). Nope, it's the 10th volume of the slightly more light-hearted alternate reality take on the Evangelion universe, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project by Osamu Takahashi.
about.com | 21-Jan-2012 20:58