No, you aren’t hallucinating: the Feb/March Tokyopop releases still aren’t out at Midtown, or from Diamond. I’m not certain if the hole they fell into has anything to do with the deal TP made to leave HarperCollins for Diamond, but it’s not a good start, especially for those of us who buy our manga in comic shops. Hopefully we’ll see them soon.
Meanwhile, there’s Dark Horse, which has Volume 8 of its Evangelion AU manga The Shinji Ikari Raising Project. Which, despite the best effort of those of us with long memories of Eva fanfics in the 1990s, still does not feature the words ‘mighty oak’.
And Viz has its second week wave. The one I’m most interested in here is Vol. 17 of Hayate the Combat Butler, which may be trapped in twice-a-year ‘you sell badly’ land now, but has finally reached what may, along with Vol. 18, be the most important set of its run. Viz notes, in their ‘must not upset fans of the wacky comedy’ blurb on the back, that ‘the drama tag will be pulled’, and they’re not kidding – there’s some heartbreaking stuff coming up. It’s fantastic, and recommended.
Other than that, there’s other new Shonen Sunday titles. Arata, Kurozakuro, and Rin-Ne. Rin-Ne is my pick of those three, if only for its Takahashi ‘comfort food’ feeling. Detroit Metal City hits Volume 8, and will no doubt feature more humor that crosses the line, then goes back and assaults the line’s daughter. Fans of shoujo exorcists will be happy to hear there’s a new Rasetsu, though I believe this is the second to last volume. And we get a new volume of Dogs: Bullets & Carnage. Recommended for those who like bullets, carnage, or bullets and carnage. But, well, not dogs. For dog fans, stick with the just hiatused Inubaka.
What appeals to you?
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