Kingyo Used Books Has Your Manga

I read Kingyo Used Books, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

For Your Vampire Knight Eyes Only

I read Vampire Knight Official Fanbook

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).  This is a collection of character profile, concept mythology, and art for fans of the horror romance vampire shojo manga.

Sequart Announces Book about 1960s Batman TV Series

PRESS RELEASE:

Sequart Research and Literacy Organization’s Gotham City 14 Miles: 14 Essays on Why the 1960s TV Series Matters is now available for order through comic shops (use Diamond order code OCT101262). The book, edited by Jim Beard, is currently listed in the books section of October’s Previews catalog (page 332) and is set to hit stores in late December.

A sell out at New York Comic Con, Gotham City 14 Miles offers 14 essays that examine the equally celebrated and derided show from varied, sometimes surprising viewpoints:

*Bats in Their Belfries: The Proliferation of Batmania, by Robert Greenberger. (Covers the genesis of the show and explosion of Batmania.)

*Batman: From Comics Page to TV Screen, by Peter Sanderson. (Delves into Batman’s comic-book roots.)

*Such a Character: A Dissection and Examination of Two Sub-Species of Chiroptera homo sapiens, by Jim Beard. (Compares / contrasts the 1939 Batman with Adam West’s.)

*Notes on Bat-Camp, by Tim Callahan. (An effort to answer that age-old question, “Was Batman truly camp?”)

*Aunt Harriet’s Film Decency League, by Becky Beard. (Weighs the caliber of the show’s most significant guest stars.)

*POW!: Batman’s Visual Punch, by Bill Walko. (Looks into the impact of the show’s visual design.)

*Known Super-Criminals Still at Large, by Chuck Dixon. (Compares / contrasts TV versions with comic-book portrayals.)

*May I Have This Batdance? by Michael S. Miller. (Looks at the most famous TV theme and the songs it inspired.)

*The Best Dressed Women in Gotham City, by Jennifer K. Stuller. (A compelling argument for its female denizens and their place in Batman.)

*Holy Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor! by Michael D. Hamersky. (Addresses the topic of youth culture as presented in Batman.)

*Gotham City R&D, by Michael Johnson. (Examines Batman’s gadgetry.)

*Theatre of the Absurd: Batman: The Movie, by Rob Weiner. (Discusses the 1966 feature film.)

*Jumping the Bat-Shark, by Will Murray. (Delves into the third season of Batman.)

*Some Days You Just Can’t Get Rid of a Bomb, by Paul Kupperberg. (The show’s legacy beyond its original broadcast.)

*Afterword, by Jeff Rovin, co-author of Adam West’s Back to the Batcave. (Offers a few personal anecdotes about the show and working with West.)

*Episode Guide, by Joe Berenato. (A rundown of episodes with airdates and fun facts.)

Don’t miss out on this critical discussion of one of the most influential yet misunderstood TV shows of all time. (Softcover, 6”x9”, 300 pgs, B&W, $22.95 cover price, ISBN 9780578064611.)


NOTE: Don’t assume your comics store will order copies – some stores might not even notice it in the catalog. The best thing you can do is tell your local retailer ASAP (they have to place orders before the end of October) that you want them to order you a copy. And because the book is buried in the catalog, it might help to give them the book’s order code, OCT101262.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Batman and related characters are trademarks of DC Comics. This book is not endorsed by DC Comics.

I Reads You Review: CRUSHING LOVE (Yaoi)

Creator: Ritsu Natsumizu (cartoonist); Issei Shimizu (translation)

Publishing Information: DMP/Juné Manga; B&W paperback, 208pp, $12.95 U.S.

Ordering Numbers: ISBN 10: 1-56970-774-X; ISBN 13: 978-1-56970-774-6

Rated “M” for “Mature Audiences 18+”

Crushing Love is a yaoi manga short story collection from Ritsu Natsumizu. The stories focus on romantic love and passionate affairs. In each relationship, the romance is a burden on or creates a burden for one of the partners more than for the other – a crushing love.

The title story, “Crushing Love,” opens to find rich boy, Keiichiro Kuroda, still smarting over being the jilted lover. When his former lover, desperate for cash, asks for money, Kuroda agrees to give him the money (5 million yen), but he won’t make it easy. Kuroda sets up a game wherein he leaves the money in the park as a test.

The bag with the money in it, however, gets picked up by Kaoru Otowa, who is also desperate for cash. Although he initially plans to turn the money over to the police, Kaoru decides to leave to town for Kyoto in order to pay off his debt to Yukihiko Shingyoji, a shady businessman. Kuroda accosts Kaoru and then, decides to accompany him to Kyoto where a cat and mouse game between Kuroda and Shingyoji ensues – with Kaoru as the prize.

“Crushing Love” epitomizes the stories in this collection, stories in which love is a burden or puts a weight on a lover. In the title story, the weight is on Kaoru as the one who needs the money and because he believes that his debt is what stands in the way of real romance with Kuroda.

A better example of crushing love is “Purity and Tyranny of Love,” which is tied to “Crushing Love” by the character, Yukihiko Shingyoji, who is one of the romantic leads in “Purity.” In fact, this story actually takes place during “Crushing Love” and is a side story. This time, the burden is on Sei Aoyama, the son of a former Shingyoji family servant. Sei loves Yukihiko, and while Yukihiko flirts with Sei and has sex with him, Sei is unsure how real their relationship is.

All these stories play with the idea of uncertain love, in which one lover is unsure of his partner. In these stories, the uke (bottom) is both the girlish bishounen boy and the one plagued with doubts. Meanwhile, the seme (top), who is usually masculine, devilish, and a tease, happily enjoys the sex, but also slyly keeps his uke toy unsure about the seriousness of the relationship.

This collection is a good read, light and frothy. There is plenty of sex, but the drama is not serious. It’s a bit too melodramatic, like a gentle spoof of soap opera romance.

B

VIZ Media to Publish "Vampire Knight Official Handbook"

BECOME AN EXCLUSIVE VAMPIRE KNIGHT EXPERT WITH THE NEW VAMPIRE KNIGHT OFFICIAL FANBOOK FROM VIZ MEDIA

 

Informative Profiles Book Features Color Pages, Character Designs, Interview With Creator Matsuri Hino And More!

 

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release of the VAMPIRE KNIGHT OFFICIAL FANBOOK on October 19th. Fans of the hit manga series created by Matsuri Hino won’t want to miss this in depth new guide, rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens with an MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $19.99 CAN.

Delve into the world of your favorite vampires with this official Fanbook, filled with insider information about the smash hit series. Includes a Cross Academy student ID card, glossy color pages, character design sketches, storyboards and an exclusive interview with Matsuri Hino!

VAMPIRE KNIGHT takes readers to Cross Academy, which is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At twilight, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy's dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires!

VAMPIRE KNIGHT (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) was created by Matsuri Hino, who burst onto the manga scene with her debut title, When This Dream Is Over, in LaLa DX magazine. With the success of subsequent series such as CAPTIVE HEARTS and MERU PURI (both published in the U.S. by VIZ Media), Hino has established herself as a major force in the world of shojo manga. VAMPIRE KNIGHT is currently serialized in LaLa magazine. VIZ Media also offers the VAMPIRE KNIGHT anime series on DVD and episodes are available online through its innovative video streaming web destination at VIZAnime.com.

For more information on the VAMPIRE KNIGHT manga and to read free previews online please visit http://www.shojobeat.com/.

For more information on other titles from VIZ Media, please visit http://www.viz.com/.

TOKYOPOP Adds Titles to DMP's Online Stable

Digital Manga Publishing and TOKYOPOP bring twelve new titles to eManga.com

Digital Manga, one of the manga industry's most unique and creative publishers, is proud to announce an online collaboration with TOKYOPOP, a leading manga publisher and pop-culture digital entertainment company. The partnership will launch with the addition of twelve new titles from TOKYOPOP's BLU Manga yaoi imprint to eManga’s online library.

The BLU Manga yaoi will be available for purchase through eManga’s online manga service, emanga.com, which streams content through an Adobe Flash player, allowing readers to access their library wherever they have an internet connection. Originally sold for $14.99 in print, the BLU volumes will be available on eManga.com for $5.99, making it more affordable than ever to read old and new favorites.

The first twelve BLU titles will include: Liberty Liberty! by Hinako Takanaga, Calling by Miu Otsuki, Croquis by Hinako Takanaga, Cute Devil by Hiro Madarame, Isle of Forbidden Love by Duo Brand, Blood Honey by Sakyou Yozakura, Love Knot by Lemon Ichijo, Madness volumes 1 & 2 by Kairi Shimotsuki, Scarlet by Hiro Madarame, Secretary’s Love by Tohko Akiba and Stray Cat by Halco.

For more information about our eManga system and to begin reading right away, visit http://www.emanga.com/ and click on the TOKYOPOP tab under "publishers".


About Digital Manga Publishing
Located in Gardena, CA, Digital Manga Publishing is one of the industry's most unconventional and innovative companies, specializing in building corporate and cultural bridges from Japan to the Western Hemisphere - specifically through the licensing, importation and preparation of anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books) and related merchandise for the North American mainstream and subculture markets. In this capacity, DMI serves as a catalyst for the expansion of Japanese pop culture institutions into global arenas. The company's imprint line includes DMP: its mainstream imprint, DMP PLATINUM: its classic manga imprint, JUNE´: its boys love imprint, 801 MEDIA: its adult boys love imprint, and DokiDoki: its exclusive co-publishing imprint with Shinshokan Publishing.

For more information about Digital Manga Publishing, visit http://www.digitalmanga.com/ as well as:
http://twitter.com/digitalmanga
http://www.youtube.com/user/junemanga
http://www.youtube.com/user/801media
http://www.youtube.com/user/digitalmanga
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Digital-Manga-Inc/225333830592

About Tokyopop
Founded in 1997 by international media entrepreneur Stu Levy, TOKYOPOP established the market for manga in North America, introducing the term to the English language in the process. Over its history, TOKYOPOP has published over 3000 books, distributed anime and Asian films on home video and television, licensed merchandise to consumer goods companies, created graphic novels of major brands such as Warcraft, Star Trek, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Hannah Montana, and led the way digitally in social media, e-commerce and user-generated content. TOKYOPOP’s brand expanded internationally with offices in Europe and Japan and a network of over 160 partners in more than 50 countries and 30 languages. Taking its Manga Revolution beyond the page, TOKYOPOP has begun producing live-action and animated film and television content based on its extensive intellectual property library, including Priest, Van Von Hunter, and another 20 projects currently in development, along with America’s Greatest Otaku, an 8-episode reality show filmed during its 2010 summer-long, 28-city national tour.

For more information, visit http://www.tokyopop.com/ as well as www.twitter.com/tokyopop and www.facebook.com/tokyopop.

March Story Time

I read March Story, Vol. 1

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has those FREE smart phone apps).