Midtown’s new list for next week, as ever bearing little relation to Diamond’s, is now out. Apologies to anyone who expected K-On! this week from my post last week. This is the danger of using a store that buys from multiple distributors. :)

Dark Horse is releasing another volume of Gantz, which judging by the fast release schedule may be their sole remaining hit (well, not counting Berserk, which has caught up with Japan). It’s really coming out fast, and no doubt will feature plenty of blood and boobs. I’d hope that if it does well some company might take a chance on either Hen or HEN – two different but interconnected series with gay and lesbian relationships – but doubt it, as neither have sadistic gore.

Del Rey has the 4th (and presumably final for some time) volume of Ninja Girls, the ecchi harem series about… well, an ecchi ninja harem. Never let it be said some titles don’t tell you the plot… all it lacks is cover copy saying “Look! Tits!’, and really that’s what the cover art is for.

Tokyopo has the 8th and final volume of Gatcha Gacha. I realize this is not on Midtown’s list, but for all I know they simply decided not to carry it. Heck, it’s only a few days ago that Amazon deigned to make it available to pre-order. I don’t care, it’s one of the bestest shoujo manga ever. I’ve waited almost 3 years for this volume and YOU WILL ALL BUY IT OR I AM TURNING THIS CAR RIGHT AROUND. Speaking of series that have long seemed to be abandoned, we also have the final volume of Bt’X, a series from the creator of Knights of the Zodiac/Saint Seiya, which may have rivaled Saint Seiya for lowest sales in North America when it came out in the mid-00s.

We also get a couple of shoujo debuts. I’ve heard many people ask about the long-running late 90s manga Tea Prince. Well, it’s still not licensed. However, you may enjoy Sky-Blue Shore, a 6-volume series by the same artist that ran in BetsuHana in 2007. And there’s also a short (2 volume) series by the author of Kare Kano, Eensy Weensy Monster (don’t get mad at TP, that is the Japanese title as well), the first of which is out next week.

In non-debuts or ending volumes, we see more of the fast-track scheduled Gakuen Alice (I still need to read 13 – I suck), the we’re-not-sure-if-this-is-bad-or-just-insane Demon Sacred, The best-selling tsundere hit Maid-sama!, the possibly worn-out-its-welcome but still cute Sgt. Frog, the vaguely gay but not enough to call it yaoi Togainu no Chi, and the gender bender comedy antics of Your & My Secret.

Viz has the 9th volume of its VIZBIG Collection of Vagabond, and must be nearly caught up by now.

And Yen has the debut of a soccer manga with overtones of melancholy, Sasameke, which ran in Kadokawa’s Shonen Ace back around 2001. Don’t expect it to be much like Ace’s current crop, though. Like Dragon Girl, this 5-volume series will come out in 2 massive omnibuses. In Japan, it was followed by a 1-volume spinoff, Sasameki, also from Shonen Ace. We also see the 2nd volume of My Girlfriend’s a Geek, which I liked far more than was possibly justified, and the 5th volume of Nabari no Ou, which I had actually forgotten was still coming out, and which has ninjas. RELUCTANT ninjas.

What appeals to you this week?

Next week from Midtown Comics features some stuff I got from Diamond this week, and some stuff everyone ELSE got this week but I, like Midtown, will get next week. Ah, the fun of being a Diamond Comics store customer! (Support your local comicke shoppe, yo.)

So Dark Horse shipped Archie Firsts to everyone but the Northeast Corridor this week. It promises to be an excellent archive volume, unlike IDW’s worthy but fairly random Dan DeCarlo collection. It has Archie’s initial appearance in Pep Comics, as well as reprints of his first self-titled comic, Jughead’s first, Betty and Veronica’s first, and Reggie’s first. (Yes, Reggie got a comic back in the day.) For Archie geeks, it’s a must buy.

Oh right, that header says manga. Digital Manga Publishing is releasing some new yaoi (well, if by new you mean almost 13 years old) called Treasure, the second volume of Kiss Blue, from the awesomely titled ‘Craft’ magazine, and the 4th omnibus Volume of Itazura Na Kiss, which presumably contains Vols. 7 & 8 of the Shueisha release, and will no doubt feature more of Naoki being Naoki.

Seven Seas is releasing a 3-in-1 omnibus of the first 3 Hayate x Blade books! If you’ve not checked this series out, I highly recommend it – some of the best slapstick action comedy in print today. And for a low low price! They also have the first Inukami omnibus, which… um, moving on…

In case you thought there was no Kodansha stuff coming out anymore, there’s still Udon! Which has the 3rd and final volume of Mega Man Megamix, originally put out by Kodansha in their kids’ manga magazine Comic Bom Bom.

Viz has the second volume of the low-key space drama Saturn Apartments from their SigIkki like, and the wheelchair basketball drama Real, which has been running for 11 years and is up to Volume 9. That’s already rather sad, but then you realize it runs in WEEKLY Young Jump.

And then there’s Yen, with the big debut of the week, K-ON! While I know that’s it’s not for everyone, particularly the plushy moe character design, it’s one of those 4-koma series that really works for me as slice-of-life. Speaking of massive media tie-ins, there’s also the third Spice & Wolf manga, from ASCII Mediaworks’ slightly more mature offshoot magazine, Dengeki Maoh. And there’s the third volume of Ichiroh!, which runs in the same magazine as K-ON!, debuted the same year, and which I really don’t care for. Ah, such is life.

What interests you this week?

At last, it’s the relatively quiet week we’ve all been dreaming of!

Vertical has the fourth volume of Twin Spica. At MangaNext, Ed Chavez noted the series was merely doing “okay” sales-wise. We need to pump that up, this is a great manga!

Meanwhile, Viz has its non-Jump or Beat stuff. Some Shonen Sunday, with new Inu Yasha (along with its omnibus), and Maoh: Juvenile Remix. Some more violent stuff in Shonen Sunday’s seinen spinoff Gene-X, with Jormungand. Seinen of both the gritty sci-fi (Biomega) and dog-loving fanservice-loving (Inubaka). And the last of the DBZ omnibuses. I never really cared for DBZ, preferring its younger and goofier Dragon Ball self, but hey, the kids seem to like it. And there’s no denying its influence.