Browsing: Manga

It’s a sad day for Manga fans, as Tokyopop announced it is shutting down its US operations effective May 31, 2011. TOKYOPOP film and television projects and European operations, including the German publishing program, will not be affected by the Los Angeles office closure. In addition, TOKYOPOP will continue its global rights sales via its office in Hamburg, Germany. This doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get Manga, there are a plethora of people who illegally download CBR files each and every day, which more than likely helped contribute to this news. The complete company statement, and a letter…

This week on the Major Spoilers Podcast, the crew tries something completely different with Lone Wolf and Cub. Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 1 Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ogami Ittō, the Shogun’s executioner who uses a dōtanuki battle sword. Disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyū clan, he is forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigorō, they seek revenge on the Yagyū clan and are known as “Lone Wolf and Cub”. As always, the Major Spoilers Podcast is nothing without comments from great readers and listeners like you. You…

While it may have been one of the most visited websites on the planet, One Manga is shutting down due to pressure from publishers who don’t like it that the site was sharing scanlations for free.  Like many of the other sites we’ve reported on, when a site gets too big and it is sharing material it hasn’t licenses or paid for, The Man is going to step in. It pains me to announce that this is the last week of manga reading on One Manga (!!). Manga publishers have recently changed their stance on manga scanlations and made it…

Mangoko has announced Impact City is getting its own app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices. Kaelan is back in the cosmopolitan city of IMPACT after having been away for many years. In his search for his ori- gins, his path leads him to Master Fox, undisputed master in combat arts and techniques. He offers Kaelan the opportunity to be trained by him in jousting for the big tournament of the city – the Palio – which pits the various IMPACT contrada against each other.  But the city has changed a lot and Kaelan will soon discover what…

Yen Press has announced it will adapt the popular New York Times bestseller Gossip Girl into a manga series.  The monthly series will follow the lives of girls at an elite New York City private school beginning in January 2010. Kurt Hassler, Publishing Director of Yen Press says:  “There are few series in the publishing world that have been as impactful or successful as Cecily von Ziegesar’s GOSSIP GIRL.  The novels have captured the imaginations of young women around the world, and we look forward to demonstrating with GOSSIP GIRL: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY that graphic novels as a medium…

Press Release Del Rey Manga, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, in collaboration with Cartoon Network Enterprises, today announced two brand new graphic novels based on the hit Cartoon Network action-adventure series, The Secret Saturdays. This deal follows on the heels of the successful debut of the Ben 10 Alien Force and Bakugan Battle Brawlers film-comics in Fall 2008. Christina Miller, vice president, Cartoon Network Enterprises says, ”The Secret Saturdays features great animation and action, two qualities that lend themselves to a rich publishing program. As a key part of the brand’s consumer products launch…

Mandalay Pictures announced it has snatched the big screen movie rights to the Japanese manga series Full Metal Panic. The property derives from writer Shoji Gatoh’s series about a teenage anti-terrorist commando named Sousuke Sagara who is given the mission to protect a high-school girl with mystical powers. Word being passed around is that Zac Efron may play the lead role, meaning the movie could very easily be a live action adaptation instead of animated flick. via THR

It’s a busy day for Tokyopop. First the company announced a online manga initiative with GoComics, and now Tokyopop has followed up with two other deals. The first of the new announcements should be good news for World of Warcraft and StarCraft fans; Blizzard Entertainment and Tokyopop have entered into an agreement where the comic publisher will release 22 all new WoW and StarCraft titles between now and 2010.

Tokyopop and GoComics have announced an agreement where the two companies will work together to bring many o Tokyopop’s titles to mobile phones. To kick off the event, GoComics will be branding the Tokyopop content under the GoComics Mobile Manga banner as well as a spin-off Tokyopop section. “Our Mobile Manga is a great user experience and satisfies discriminating creators, editors and fans alike. A major reason for this is GoComics’ commitment to quality, simplicity, and an artistic adaptation that preserves the manga pacing while converting pages into a panel-by-panel format,” said TOKYOPOP Director of New Product Development Jeremy Ross.…

DreamWorks is on a major scramble to nab up all sorts of properties, and the latest acquisition is the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell, which the company plans on turning into a 3D live-action movie. Created by Masamune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell” was first published in 1989. It went on to generate two additional manga editions, three anime film adaptations, an anime TV series and three videogames. The second anime film, “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence,” was released in the U.S. by DreamWorks in 2004. Jamie Moss will write the adaptation with Avi Arad, Ari Arad and…

Look closely in your local comic shop and you just might find the original Speed Racer stories by Tatsuo Yoshida in a brand new collected hardcover. The two volume set has been restored by Digital Manga Publishing, and with the movie arriving in theaters soon, the company made the wise decision to get this collection in stores this month. Speed Racer: Mach Go Go Go has a suggested price of $39.95, but if you know where to look, I bet you can find it cheaper. via Diamond Comic Distributors

DC Comics announced it will be lowering the cover price of Batman: Death Mask to $2.99 per issue. The mini-series is the American comics debut of Yoshinori Natsume who will spin Batman in the manga style. In BATMAN: DEATH MASK #1, there’s a new serial killer in Gotham, one who may have ties to the training Bruce Wayne acquired as a young man in Japan. Does the murderer know that Bruce Wayne is the Batman? And in BATMAN: DEATH MASK #2, Bruce Wayne must confront his past and examine how the time he spent training to become Batman affected him…

Today is Manga day at Major Spoilers (and by Manga day, I mean we have two stories that reference Manga)… TokyoPop has announced it has signed Korean Manga creator Hee Jung Park to a multi-book publishing deal. “Hee Jung Park is a phenomenal talent as well as a manga superstar,” said TokyoPop EIC Rob Tokar in a prepared statement. “Along with her bestselling sequential art, her work has been collected in art books and gallery shows around the world. “Inventive”, “unusual” and “sophisticated” are words that often arise in discussions about Ms. Park’s manga classics and we are both excited…

She may be a rock star diva from outer space, but that is no reason to spread rumors about the global manga star. But that is just what Tokyopop is doing with Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side. According to TOKYOPOP Editor-in-Chief Rob Tokar, “Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side is another manga first for TOKYOPOP, but considering that Princess Ai has always been a groundbreaking project, ‘unique’ should be expected! Since Ai is an outspoken, outrageous, controversial celebrity (with wings!), it wasn’t hard to find incredible stories from people who love her, hate her and love to…