Manga the week of 5/11

After a huge first week from the folks at Diamond, things calm down considerably for Week 2. Good, because my wallet needs a break.

Dark Horse has Volume 38 of Oh My Goddess. I’m sort of running out of ways to joke about this series. It’s a comfort manga, and I won’t stop buying it after 15 freaking years of buying it merely as the current arc is boring. Plus I hear there is an awesome arc soon to come. Sadly, the current arc *is* boring.

Viz has its second week, and there’s more meaty stuff here. Biomega gives us a final volume. Inu Yasha has Vol. 7 of its VIZBIG Edition, presumably containing Vols. 19-21. There is a new Jormungand for readers who like to watch cool people kill things. Kurozakuro hits its halfway point. And Maoh: Juvenile Remix hits its halfway point as well. Fans of the latter are in for a treat, as I understand this volume’s remix was done by Richard D. James. Given how the Death In Vegas remix of Volume 3 turned out, I expect good things.

And there’s a Shonen Jump. What interests you?

Manga the week of 5/4

Oh dear, it’s the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means. Buckle down, kids, it’s Viz time. But first, a word from publishers who aren’t Viz.

Picturebox is releasing another collection of seinen manga by Yuichi Tokoyama, and it’s supposed to be quite fascinating. If you like the sorts of things D&Q; and First Second put out, this may be the title for you.

Seven Seas has the second in its series of Gunslinger Girl omnibus books, and the first in its series of Blood Alone omnibus books. On a side note, I note that Blood Alone is the second Seven Seas title, after Hayate x Blade, to suffer from jumping mid-series to a larger publisher who would probably need a license renegotiation: it’s currently running in Kodansha’s Evening. Poor Seven Seas…

Another of the final Tokyopop books trickles in from Diamond, as we have the 4th volume of the shonen series Ratman, which I still resent for coming out here when Gegege no Kitaro, with its MUCH BETTER Ratman, is still not licensed.

Vertical has their one-off Furuya title Lychee Light Club coming out this week, from the magazine Manga Erotics F, which is becoming and increasingly popular cult favorite among manga bloggers. As for the title itself, well, it’s based on a Grand Guignol, and is written by Furuya. It is therefore essential.

And then there’s Viz. OK, let’s see…

Shonen: the final volumes of Hikaru no Go and Genkaku Picasso are out. The start of the omnibus editions for Naruto and Kekkaishi, with each being a ‘3-in-1’, as well as the 3rd volume of their Death Note re-release. Gintama, which everyone in the world should buy. And Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, which runs in Jump Square and is probably very different from Ant & Bee Go Shopping (which I would love to see adapted into an anime).

And shoujo: the debut of Ai Ore!, an oversized 300-page first volume from the twisted mind of Shinjo Mayu. Fans of Sensual Phrase will eat this up. More of the insanely popular Black Bird and Kimi ni Todoke. New Oresama Teacher and Otomen volumes for fans of comedy. For adventure fans, there’s new Haruka Beyond the Stream of Time and Story of Saiunkoku. And for those who just want a good cry, have a new volume of We Were There.

Are you prepared? Is your wallet prepared?

Manga the week of 4/27

After a few weeks where it took me forever to write this post, I get a break.

Dark Horse has the 16th Vampire Hunter D novel, which is apparently still only the tip of the D iceberg. Yikes.

Bandai has the 2nd volume of Code Geass: Queen, part of their two doujinshi anthologies that focus on the cast, sorted by demographic. This one is marketed to young guys, and thus will no doubt feature lots of Kallen, C.C., Shirley, Milly, and Nina. Well, maybe not QUITE as much Nina…

Tokyopop (remember them?) are finally letting the 2nd volume of Russian Orthodox Boobies… um, I mean Qwaser of Stigmata emerge into comic shops, though it’s apparently been available everywhere else for weeks. I’m sure its targeted demographic will be very happy.

And Viz is releasing the 4th volume of Bakuman. I’m so confused… it’s not the first week of the month… why is my Jump coming out in an odd week? I CAN’T STAND THE CONFUSION IN MY MIND! In any case, for those who like this meta-guy manga, the 4th volume is here for you!

And that’s it. Perhaps people can catch up on the previous few weeks of HUGE. Any favorites?