You know, for a 2nd week of the month, it’s pretty packed with stuff. There’s a lot here for almost any type of fan. Let’s get started.

First off, non-manga releases that interest me. There’s a new Complete Peanuts coming out from Fantagraphics. It may have hit the 1980s, but the quality still seems to be quite high. Can’t wait. Also, IDW is releasing a new Archie hardcover. Unlike their previous ‘Best of ‘ collections, this one focuses on a single weird Archie title from the 1960s: Archie’s Mad House. As you might guess, this comic started out with the Archie gang, focusing on really bizarre adventures. After about 20 issues or so, it dropped them and began running its own stories, including the debut of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I’m quite interested to see what IDW does with this.

Now back to manga. Dark Horse may be delaying every other manga title in its catalogue from now till doomsday, but its bestsellers keep coming out like clockwork. This week we have Vol. 18 of Gantz, from our friends at Shueisha’s Young Jump. For a more media-oriented title, there’s The Shinji Ikari Raising Project, now up to Vol. 9. It runs in Shonen Ace and will be sure to please Evangelion fans. Well, most. Well, some. A few? All right, it will inspire arguments. But it’s popular!

Bandai has a debut this week with Tales of the Abyss: Asch the Bloody. It’s based on a video game, and is one of about 10,000 manga spinoffs of said game. Given all that, can you guess where it originally ran? If you said Comp Ace, you’re a true Manga Geek! I suspect it will be tie-in-tastic.

Kodansha is, as ever, absent from Midtown’s list. Again. However, my local shop indicates two titles coming in next week. The debut of Deltora Quest, a fantasy manga that ran in the late Comic BonBon, a magazine geared towards elementary school boys. You know, like Shonen Magazine should be but isn’t. and the 2nd and final omnibus volume of I Am Here!, which saw Vol. 1 from Del Rey and is thankfully getting a conclusion. Like all Kodansha shoujo these days, it ran in Nakayoshi.

Udon has the 2nd volume of Megaman Gigamix, which is based on a video game as well. Though, despite its name, it’s not from Konami.

Viz has the 3rd volume of Blue Exorcist, which I think most of us got this week from Diamond. There’s a new Inu Yasha omnibus, the 27th volume of the energetic and likeable Kekkaishi, and the 6th Maoh: Juvenile Remix, which this time I believe is remixed by Saint Etienne. Blue Exorcist is from Jump, the other three from Sunday. And there’s the 7th volume of Ikigami, for fans of Bokurano who want to see more series where people die nobly over and over again.

And there’s a huge pile from Yen. The biggie for me this week is the 3rd Book Girl novel, Book Girl and the Captive Fool. I’ve been thrilled with the first two in the series, a dark high school thriller with an intriguing backstory, and definitely want more. Aside from that, there’s the conclusion of the Eye-Opening Arc in Higurashi (Gangan Wing), which will no doubt be filled with gore. But don’t worry, kids, a new arc starts in October! And I have it on good authority that the Eye-Opening arc is the low ebb. It’s all uphill from here! … mostly. There’s new K-On! (Manga Time Kirara Carat), Haruhi Suzumiya (Shonen Ace), AND Haruhi Suzumiya-chan (ditto) for all your moe needs. Oh yes, and Omamori Himari 4 (Dragon Age), which I don’t read, but certainly looks moe as well. There’s the 9th volume of Sumomomo Momomo, which lost me after the first volume but I understand gets better. And there’s the 4th and last volume of Ugly Duckling’s Love Revolution, the reverse harem manga from Enterbrain’s B’s Log. I found its comedic antics more annoying than heartwarming, but admit I was not remotely its target audience. Also (last time this week, I promise) based on a game!

See what I mean? That’s a lot. What are you getting?