Vagabond Strives for Enlightenment

I finished reading Vagabond, Vol. 30 (Vagabond (Graphic Novels))

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

From Pancakes to Pizza

I read Yakitate!! Japan, Vol. 21

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

Natsume's Book of Friends Debuts Tuesday, Jan 5th

Press release from VIZ Media:

NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS A LIST THAT NO DEMON OR SPIRIT WANTS TO BE ON AND THE BOY WHO IS ITS UNLIKELY KEEPER IN NEW MANGA FROM VIZ MEDIA


VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the January 5th release of NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS, a standalone manga story by Yuki Midorikawa. NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS debuts under the Shojo Beat imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Takashi Natsume can see spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. He has always been set apart from other people because of his gift, drifting from relative to relative, never fitting in. Now he’s a troubled high school student who has come to live in a small town where his grandmother, Reiko, grew up. And there he discovers that he has inherited more than just the power of Sight from the mysterious Reiko. When Reiko was Takashi's age, she bound the names of demons and spirits in her Book of Friends, enslaving them to her every capricious whim. Now Takashi is the owner of the book, and the creatures will do anything to get their names back.

“NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS is a great series for readers who are looking for something different than the typical shojo manga. Yuki Midorikawa skillfully deploys her delicate and almost serene artwork to tell a story that balances dark adventure with light comedy, the supernatural with real life. This remarkably beautiful work is truly unlike any other shojo series out there,” says Leyla Aker, Editorial Manager, VIZ Media.

Yuki Midorikawa’s other published titles in Japan include Into the Forest of Fireflies, The Scarlet Chair and The Voice That Blooms Red. NATSUME’S BOOK OF FRIENDS (Natsume Yujincho) was originally published in the manga magazine LaLa DX and was a finalist for the first Manga Taisho awards in 2008. For more information on this title, or others from VIZ Media, please visit http://www.viz.com/. [END]

Robert Parry on the New Year

Robert Parry of Consortium News (via Truthout) offers this excellent essay, "What the New Year Demands."  I agree with his assessment - that the progressive movement needs to build media that matches both the right wing and mainstream media, in size, scope, and influence.

Moonstone Books Advance Solicits "The Green Hornet Chronicles"

Press release from Moonstone Books:

The Green Hornet Chronicles

Edited by Joe Gentile and Win Scott Eckert

Advance solicited for June release

Written by: Harlan Ellison, Greg Cox, Robert Greenberger, Ron Fortier, James Van Hise, Will Murray, plus many more!
Interior Art: Rubén Procopio
Cover Art: Glenn Orbik, Ruben Procopio
Introduction by Van Williams
Afterword by Dean Jeffries

336pgs, b/w, Squarebound, SC 6”x9”, $18.95 (2 covers available separately)
354pgs, Ltd Ed HC $47.95
354pgs, signed, Ltd Ed Slipcase HC $99.99

Green Hornet Direct Market PB (cover by Ruben Procopio)
10 digit: 1-933076-72-00--13 digit: 978-1933076-72-0

Green Hornet Book Market PB (Cover by Glen Orbik)
10 digit: 1-933076-73-9--13 digit: 978-1-933076-73-7

Green Hornet LTD ED HC (cover by Glen Orbik)
10 digit: 1-933076-74-7--13 digit: 978-1933076-74-4

Green Hornet Limited Ed. Slipcase HC (cover by Ruben Procopio)
10 digit: 1-933076-75-5--13 digit: 978-1933076-75-1

The long-awaited return of the Green Hornet & Kato and their rolling arsenal the Black Beauty!

Just in time for the new Seth Rogan Green Hornet movie!

Moonstone is proud to present The Green Hornet Chronicles, the first anthology featuring all-new, original crime fiction tales of the man who hunts the biggest of all game, public enemies that even the FBI can’t reach!

It’s the mid 1960’s, the political climate is shakey, there’s civil unrest, freedom and equality issues erupt everywhere from film to music to out in the streets.

On police records, the Green Hornet is actually a wanted criminal, a master manipulator, a crime boss who has his fingers in every pie. In reality, The Green Hornet is actually Britt Reid, owner-publisher of the Daily Sentinel. His goal is to destroy crime from within by posing as a criminal himself.

And who can forget Bruce Lee’s introduction to American audiences with his turn as Kato in the 1967 Green Hornet TV show? Kato is not only is a martial artist of unsurpassed prowess, but a skilled driver, and educated engineer as well.

*A story fragment by Harlan Ellison, as he teams the Green Hornet up with The Phantom!
*Two noted writers who are known for their work on the Green Hornet- Ron Fortier and James Van Hise, have new stories in this volume!
*An introduction by TV’s Green Hornet, Van Williams!
*An afterword by the man who designed and built the Black Beauty, Dean Jeffries!

*The Ltd Ed HC edition includes bonus material: Harlan Ellison’s “liner notes” on his Green Hornet-Phantom team up story, and also the only-played-once origin of the Green Hornet radio episode is turned into a thrilling prose story by Anthony Tollin!

*The LTD ED slipcase HC is signed and numbered by artist Ruben Procopio. [END]

DMP to Publish Yashakiden

From Digital Manga Publishing:


Yashakiden: The Demon Princess Volume 1 (Novel)
ISBN: 1569701458
ISBN13: 9781569701454
Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing
Price USD: $13.95
Writer: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Artist: Jun Suemi
Release Date: December 16, 2009

Size: 5” x 8"
Format: Softcover, Black & White; Page Count: 220
Series Volumes: 1 of 4
Series Frequency: 3-6 months
Recommended Age: Young Adult 16+
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction

Summary
After a devastating earthquake that left most of Japan in ruins, the district ward of Shinjuku in Tokyo has opened up a doorway into another dimension—becoming the halfway-house suspended between the mortal world and the supernatural. It has become a place where the living fights a losing battle with monsters and demons from the netherworld—a constant struggle for control on grounds, which inevitably may plunge into the depths of Hell.

Factory manager by day and moonlighting P.I. by night, Setsura Aki, is no stranger to danger. Specializing in missing-persons cases and considered the best "man hunter" in the business, he allies himself with friend and rival, Doctor Mephisto—a wizard of physical and spiritual surgery. Together in battle, there is none that can compete with their combined wit and power—until now.

Coming from the deepest and darkest parts of China, four immortal vampires, led by one of unmatched beauty and who goes by the ubiquitous title “Princess,” mystically sail into landlocked Shinjuku aboard an ancient ghost ship one roiling hot night. She and her ancient undead entourage with powers never before seen of vampires, have surmounted four thousand years of space and time to seize control of Shinjuku and make it their own. It is up to Setsura and Mephisto to uncover their new formidable foes’ true origins and to reveal the truth behind the Princess’s dark plans for the city. Can the duo stop them before they plunge the living populace into a new level of fear and slavery none can escape?

From acclaimed Japanese horror writer, Hideyuki Kikuchi, comes his next big hit novel series: Yashakiden: The Demon Princess. The novel is based on in the same universe as the popular Wicked City animated series and is spun out of the Demon City Shinjuku world. Of all the novels Kikuchi has ever written, Yashakiden is the one series he has wanted to have published stateside, and he considers it to be in his own words, “…the best novel series I’ve ever written, this is my vampire masterpiece. In my personal opinion, this novel transcends Vampire Hunter D.” The novel is peppered with beautiful illustrations by Jun Suemi, who also illustrated a number of The Guin Saga novels in Japan. Beginning with volume one in December, Yashakiden: The Demon Princess will span four vampire-filled volumes of horror.

Other works by creative team:
Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D Manga Volume 1 (DMP: 9781569708279)
Mysterious Journey to the North (DH Press: 9781595821072)
Tale of the Dead Town (DH Press: 9781595820938) [END]

Please Keep the Promises of My Dead Lover

I finished reading Boys Love (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.  The ending is a total shocker, in this edgy, little yaoi read.