Rosario+Vampire: Season II: Siren Song

I read Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 5

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

VIZ Manga App Adds "Grand Guignol Orchestra" and Others

SUMMERTIME MANGA READING HEATS UP WITH NEW DIGITAL RELEASES FOR THE VIZ MANGA APP FOR iPAD, iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH LAUNCHING THE FIRST HALF OF JULY

I’LL GIVE IT MY ALL TOMORROW, GRAND GUIGNOL ORCHESTRA And INUYASHA Among New Titles; Latest Update Also Features Additions To 15 Popular Manga

VIZ Media delivers more summer manga reading fun as it announces the debut of four new manga (graphic novel) series that join the extensive library of VIZ MANGA APP titles currently available for digital download for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod™ Touch.

Launching during the first-half of July will be Shunju Aono’s slacker-inspired I’LL GIVE IT MY ALL TOMORROW, as well as GRAND GUIGNOL ORCHESTRA, creator Kaori Yuki’s twisted tale of horror and tortured romance. The newest round of updates also features the debut of the VIZBIG omnibus version of Rumiko Takahashi’s classic supernatural adventure, INUYASHA. After shopping, also enter to win a $50 iTunes gift card by taking the VIZ Manga App survey, running through the end of August.

The VIZ MANGA APP is now available for free for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices through the iTunes® Store, and all manga volumes are generally available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada from within the application for only $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) per volume.

I’LL GIVE IT MY ALL TOMORROW Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · Available July 4th
Created by Shunju Aono, I’LL GIVE MY ALL TOMORROW is the story of a hapless forty year-old salaryman who quits his job to pursue his dream of becoming a manga artist – and the family that has to put up with him. While not terribly unhappy, Shizuo Oguro can't fight the feeling that something in his life just isn't right, so he walks away from his stable (yet boring) day job to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Unfortunately for his family, this journey also involves playing video games all day while his teenage daughter and elderly father support him. Will Shizuo succeed in creating a true manga masterpiece, or will he be just another dropout living a life of slack?

INUYASHA VIZBIG Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · Available July · iPad Exclusive!
Kagome is an ordinary modern schoolgirl living an ordinary life. Who would have thought the dried-up old well on the site of her family's shrine would be a gateway to Japan's ancient past? Drawn through the gate against her will, Kagome finds herself battling demons for control of what she thought was a worthless trinket but is actually a powerful magical gem, the Shikon Jewel! Together with an unlikely ally, the half demon Inuyasha, Kagome begins a quest to recover the shards of the Shikon Jewel and learn more about her link to the past.

GRAND GUIGNOL ORCHESTRA Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · Available July 11th
GRAND GUIGNOL ORCHESTRA is the latest series from gothic manga queen Kaori Yuki. Lucille loves heading up the traveling Grand Orchestra, roving from town to town, entertaining the masses and making money. But now the musicians have met their toughest audience yet: people infected with the Guignol Virus, turning them into zombie dolls intent on killing all humans!

Additional new VIZ Media manga volumes launching include:

June 4th:
BLACK BIRD Vol. 7
BLEACH Vol. 18
CLAYMORE Vol. 13
DENGEKI DAISY Vol. 2
D. GRAY MAN Vol. 14
DRAGON BALL Z Vol. 16
HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES Vol. 3
NARUTO Vol. 33
ONE PIECE Vol. 33

June 11th:
DRAGON BALL Z Vol. 17
FUSHIGI YUGI: GENBU KAIDEN Vol. 4
HYDE & CLOSER Vol. 3
KEKKAISHI Vol. 8
NARUTO Vol. 34
ONE PIECE Vol. 34
ROSARIO + VAMPIRE Vol. 10
RUROUNI KENSHIN Vol. 17
THE STORY OF SAIUNKOKU Vol. 3

The VIZ MANGA APP is the leading application to read Japanese manga on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, with an extensive downloadable library of the most popular manga series in the world. The app now offers nearly 300 volumes available for download. Readers should check the app regularly, as new additions to the store and free Chapter 1 previews of other forthcoming manga series are featured.

For more information on the VIZ MANGA APP, please visit www.VIZ.com/apps/.

"Beasts of Burden" Return in Dark Horse Presents

DARK HORSE PRESENTS: BEASTS OF BURDEN!

THE RETURN OF THE PACK IN DHP #4!

June 29, MILWAUKIE, OR—Coming to you fresh from the upcoming eighty-page spectacular, Beasts of Burden returns in Dark Horse Presents #4!

Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s lovable and crafty team of critters is back in action for a story that will tempt your taste buds and leave you wanting more!

Adventure, mystery, horror, and humor thrive on every page of Beasts of Burden—a comic-book series that will capture readers’ hearts and haunt their dreams.

Award-winning comics creators Evan Dorkin (Milk and Cheese) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) first introduced these very special investigators in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings and the other Dark Horse Book of . . . anthologies, for which they won coveted Eisner Awards for Best Short Story and Best Painter.

Evan and Jill will both be in attendance at San Diego Comic-Con 2011!

Looking for more Beasts of Burden? Check out the free comic on DarkHorse.com: http://www.darkhorse.com/Features/eComics/1090/Beasts-of-Burden.

Big Time Rush in Bluewater's FAME Series

NICKELODEON'S TEEN PHENOMENON “BIG TIME RUSH” GETS THE COMIC BOOK TREATMENT IN AUGUST

Bluewater is pleased to announce a special graphic novel featuring the Nickelodeon phenomenon that is sweeping the nation's youth. Of course, we're talking about the boy band that includes Lendall, Logan, Carlos and James.

“FAME: Big Time Rush: The Graphic Novel” will be released in August and have a cover price of $7.99. The biography on the ascension of the boy band is written by CW Cooke and drawn by Erick Orlando Baez.

“We're excited to bring this book to the table,” said Publisher Darren G. Davis. “Our 'FAME' line has done extremely well with the tween generation. Parents are getting these biography comic books to help their kids learn about their icons in a different medium. School and libraries love these biography comic books because of reluctant readers are gravitating to them and reading.

This 40-page graphic novel will be chronicling this saga, “FAME: Big Time Rush: The Graphic Novel ” will explore all sides of this incredibly popular group, from their childhoods to the huge successes they are today.

"Nickelodeon has been a staple of television for so long that we forget how important it is to children as they grow up”, says writer CW Cooke. “”Big Time Rush” gives boys and girls teenage role models that they can look up to without their parents being scared for them."

“Well, I have to say the book was great fun,” says artist Erick Orlando Baez, because I have always worked on the Italian-styled layouts, which is rather strict, consisting usually of six panels per page. Having all this freedom from Bluewater has been both exciting and somewhat scary. I hope I managed to do a good job. The subject, instead, was rather descriptive, and I'm used to that, so I think I got into it quickly enough.”

Join Bluewater Productions as we examine the amazing journey of “Big Time Rush” and how they became one of the ultimate American phenomenons.

Also in stores from the “FAME” biography comic book series is Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Beyonce.

To pre-order the "FAME: Big Time Rush: The Graphic Novel” go to your local comic book shop, Barnes & Noble and amazon.com. To Pre-order it on Amazon click here: http://amzn.to/m5TxsB


About Bluewater Productions
Bluewater Productions Inc. is one of the top independent production studios of comic books, young adult books and graphic novels. Its extensive catalog of titles includes the bestsellers “10th Muse” and “The Legend of Isis” ”Bluewater publishes comic books in partnership with entertainment icon William Shatner (“TekWar Chronicles”), legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen (“Wrath of the Titans,” “Sinbad: Rogue of Mars,” “Jason and the Argonauts,” et al) and celebrated actor Vincent Price (“Vincent Price Presents”), Additionally, Bluewater publishes a highly successful line of biographical comics under the titles “Female Force” and “Political Power.”

Bluewater aims to unite cutting-edge art and engaging stories produced by its stable of the publishing industry's top artists and writers.

For more information, visit http://www.bluewaterprod.com/.

Digital Manga and IDW Bring "True Blood" and Other Titles to eManga

Digital Manga Publishing and IDW bring twenty new titles to eManga.com

Partnership brings first American Comics to eManga.com

Gardena, CA (June 29, 2011) - Digital Manga, one of the manga industry's most unique and creative publishers, is proud to announce another online collaboration with IDW Publishing, a leading and award-winning publisher of American comics, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. This evolving partnership will launch with twenty new titles from IDW’s backlist catalog to eManga’s online library.

This is the first time a mainstream American comics publisher will be showcasing their titles to what was previously a manga only online reading storefront. Digital Manga’s eManga.com will be expanding their library to reach out to manga fans who are also fans of American comics and to those who would like to try something new.

The IDW titles 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 as comics and as a full graphic novels with an average price ranging from $3.99 to $19.99 in print, IDW’s titles will be available on eManga.com varying from $1.99 to $14.99.

The first batch of IDW titles will launch with the following titles: Army of Two, Astro Boy: The Official Movie Adaptation, Astro Boy: Underground – the Official Movie Prequel, Danger Girl, Deep Space: Salvage, Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur, Doctor Who: The Forgotten, Dragon Age, The Last Unicorn, Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, Locke & Key: Head Games, Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows, Silent Hill: Sinner’s Reward, Silent Hill: Past Life, Star Trek: Movie Adaptation, Tribes: The Dog Years, True Blood, Witch and Wizard, Zombies vs. Robots, and Zombies vs. Robots Aventure.

For more information about our eManga system and to begin reading right away, visit http://www.emanga.com/.

Digital Manga invites partnerships with other manga and American publishers to showcase their titles to eManga’s online storefront. If interested please contact fred@emanga.com for inquires.

Digital Manga and IDW’s first partnership began back in April 2010 where both companies teamed up to bring the first manga into Sony’s PSP Digital Comics storefront—Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D.


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://www.emanga.com/
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/DigitalMangaInc

July Reads You

We've made it!  It's July 2011!

Welcome to I Reads You, my blog about the things I read (mostly comic books, comics, and related books) and about the things I come across worth reading (mostly about comic books, politics, and entertainment). Sometimes I’ll comment on “real” books and the mass media.

I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I have another blog: http://www.negromancer.com/. I also write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps).

All images and text appearing on this blog are copyright © and/or trademark their respective owners.

Summer kids' comic book of the month:

Spider-Man Syroco Exclusive to Comic-Con International

DARK HORSE UNVEILS THE 2011 COMIC-CON EXCLUSIVE MARVEL SPIDER-MAN SYROCO!

JUNE 23, MILWAUKIE, OR—As part of the recently announced Marvel Syrocos program, it is announced today that these highly anticipated statues will make their debut at next month’s Comic-Con International in San Diego!

Comic-Con attendees will have a very significant opportunity to acquire a special statue of none other than Spider-Man. He is shown as half Peter Parker and half Spider-Man. Only one thousand numbered copies of this statuette are being offered. It is packaged in the same litho-printed tin box that is the hallmark of the Dark Horse Syrocos, and seems destined to be a bona fide hot item, both at Comic-Con and far beyond the exhibit hall. It will be sold at the normal retail price of $49.99, with a limit of four per customer.

“We couldn’t think of a more appropriate venue to launch this truly collectible series than Comic-Con,” Dark Horse product development VP David Scroggy remarked, “and a Spider-Man limited edition of only one thousand pieces makes this a scarce item. It gave us the opportunity to recall one of the early treatments by artist Steve Ditko, where we see both of Spidey’s identities simultaneously. Our spider sense is tingling, and the message is a quick sellout at the show.”

As previously announced, the program will begin in September 2011 with two alternating series: Classic Marvel Characters and the Fantastic Four. This new line will be deliberately different than the common modern Marvel collectible sculpture, with features like a rougher surface texture, visible seam lines, and other slightly “distressed” aspects, such as the method of paint application.

These special Comic-Con exclusives will be available at six p.m. on Wednesday, July 20. Don’t miss your chance to own one of these fantastic statues!