VIZ Media Llc. will be launching yet another imprint later this year, joining ikki they'll shortly be launching Shonen Sunday to highlight manga that originated from Shogakukans manga anthology which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year. The imprint will see print when Rumiko Takahashi's RIN-NE is published in October, although all the manga VIZ currently publish that origanated in Shonen Sunday will be grouped together in this imprint, which could likely prove distracting to completist who'll have their collection disrupted by changing logos on the spine.
I also recieved my copy of the July issue of Yen+ Magazine that features Forget-Me-Not a thirty page short story from Queenie Chan. I've seen this issue on sale in both Orbital Manga & Forbidden Planet (who had about a dozen copies) so it should be available in any store that orders through previews, although Diamond recently dropped a number of Yen Press books from their solicitations which could prove a problem if they choose to drop Yen+.
( ... )
Source: Pink Tentacle via Gigazine
I've recently found a copy of the Metal Gear game The Snake Eater & attempted to play it. Things didn't go well to begin with.Having sat through the opening scene where Snake gets debriefed by 'Major Tom' before being hurled from the back of an aeroplane, which leads to some more FMV of Snake being debriefed before he lands in the forest, detaches himself from the parachute, removes his mask & I can actually start playing. But as I take control of Snake, I make one fatal error as I guide him over the edge of a cliff where he plummets to almost certain death! It's been some time since I last played a Metal Gear game, in fact the last one was Twin Snakes on the Game Cube, which could explain my brief infamiliarity with the control system. I managed to gat past the first section of the game where I found myself running headlong into electrifired fences more than once, which was amusing at first.
But last night I watched some television instead, starting with My Own Worst Enemy a show about secret agent Edward Albright who has been implanted with a microchip which allows his employers to switch between his personality & that of his Alias Henry Spivey. An accident in the first episode lead to Henry learning of his dual identity exposing Henry to Edwards dangerous life. While the premise isn't exactly original, the main draw is Christian Slater who hasn't had the opportunity to tackle a leading role in some time. Conversely, I watched Dollhouse immediately afterwards & found it lacklustre in comparison, but I've heard that Dollhouse has been renewed for a second series whereas My Own Worst Enemy didn't make it past nine episodes.
( ... )
This did give me pause to reflect on myself as I rushed into the kitchen to boil some water to make a cup of tea before the adbreak came to an end. I seem to have recalled a casual acquaintance informing me that they didn't really consider me as one of their friends, or it could have been my inept stupidity distorting events. But that had nothing to do with the unsettling memories that occured as I recuperated from my last major operation. Ecen though eleven years have passed.
I'm also slightly dissapointed that they haven't opened the Eagle Awards for public voting yet.
I paid £40 for it, originally it was £80, so that's a 50% price cut! While I was there, I made some enquiries about a comic about an Anthropomorphic Reindeer Girl in a Bikini, but they didn't have any in, but as I'm thinking of going back at some point in mid-June, this isn't really a problem!
I've also started reading Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which I bought from Amazon for £3.99. Having finished After Dark, a novela that has three narratives running concurrently yet tentatively linked together, which got me to think about producing a long form graphic novel in such a style, with each chapter ebing just as long as it needs to be, whether it's three pages or thirty. I also looked briefly at Gary Spencer Millidge's Comic Book Design, finding myself drawn to the sections that concentrates on cover design. I have mentioned in the past that I feel that cover design is important & that the tile & logo should be considered as an integral part of the overall design rather than slapped onto the cover when the illustration is completed.
While browsing through the May Previews consumer order form last week, noticed that Viz Medias Shojo Beat was missing. This didn't trouble me at the time, but I've since learned that Shojo Beat HAS in fact been cancelled! I should probably be panicking about the gaping hole it will leave in my monthly order of comics 'n' stuff as I did when Dark Horses Super Manga Blast ceased publication, except whereas The Cannon God Exaxxion, Seraphic Feather, 3x3 Eyes & Shadow Star have been put on 'hiatus' almost all the titles from Shojo Beat WILL be published as Graphic Novels...
But a few days after Viz Medias official announcement about Shojo Beat, they unveiled their new (online) magazine IKKI. Originally launched in 2003, IKKI has established itself as a home for innovative, bold & compelling storytelling, Viz will serialise the works of some of IKKI's top creators, with the more popular titles being chosen for release as a printed publication. They already have the first chapter of Daisuke Igurashi's Children of the Sea, the site itelf is still in Beta at the moment, but when the full site goes live after this years San Diego Comic Con, it will be joined by Mohiro Kitoh's Bokurano: Ours, Natsume Ono's House of Five Leaves, Q Hayashida's Dorohedoro & Shunju Aono's I'll Give It My All...Tomorrow.
Until May 22nd, nominations for the 2008 Eagle Awards are being accepted, the top five nominees in each category will then face a public vote, a complete list of winners will be available from Monday June 15th.
Publishers Weekly recently published an article about Svetlana Chmakova's Nightschool that Yen Press has been serialising in their monthly publication Yen+. I have been able to acquire every issue that has so far been released, but it would appear that other people have not been as fortunate, which has lead to Hachette switching distribution from Comag to Diamond UK. I was somewhat excited when I first read about the publication, with it's mix of Japanese, Korean & original content all in one package that up until that point had not been attempted. From the third issue of Yen+ they appeared to have opened submissions for submissions form 'seasoned professionals' for a thirty page story, which piqued my interest. Being a monthly publication, editorial & reader feedback can be received with greater frequency than if it were a 160 page graphic novel, & in the process, creates a more enticing product for any prospective consumer to purchase.
There is another advantage to being serialised in a monthly publication like Yen+ that was also mentioned in the PW article, any reader who bought the magazine to read Soul Eater, Bamboo Blade or Higurashi: When They Cry could also become fans of One Fine Day, Maximum Ride or Jack Frost as well!
But more importantly there is probably one thing any editor wants to know you can draw before they'll even consider looking at your proposal, which is why they're only looking for submissions from established creative talent right now.
But what I find more disturbing is the awful accent they chose to give the character!
The winners to Kodansha's recent competition have been revealed & unnexpectedly there are only two winners this tie around as the judges felt that the quality gap between the two winners & the other finalists was too large to consider a third place. Furthermore, the fourth competition will be the 'Morning International Comic Competition' because in the words of Chief Judge, Eijiro Shimada:
"Finally, as has been the case in each of these contests, many of the current entries have focused on bishojo, giant robots, ninja and the like, leaving a very narrow impression of "manga" style. As the judges are Japanese, we are biased toward a more creative association for the word that foreigners have come to know as "MANGA." We cannot define exactly what manga is, but our version of manga is much broader in context and content. Nowadays Japan uses labels like "American Comics," "Bande Dessinée," and "Cartoons." Ten years ago, however, the Japanese language would apply the word "manga" to encompass all sequential art. With that in mind we originally called this contest the Morning International Manga Competion, but that name is no longer adequate."
The Judges comments on the shortcomings of each story are brutally honest. Entries to the fourth compettion are now being accepted, with a deadline set at December 31st 2009.
To Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin
[Composed June, 1814]
I
Mine eyes were dim with tears unshed;
Yes I was firm - thus wert not thou;-
My baffled looks did fear yet dread
To meet thy looks - I could not know
How anxiously they sought to shine
With soothing pity upon mine.
II
To sit and curb the souls mute rage
Which preys upon itself alone;
To curse the life which is the cage
Of fettered grief that dares not groan,
Hiding from many a careless eye
The scorned load of agony.
III
Whilst thou alone, then not regarded,
The thou alone should be,
To spend years thus, and be rewarded,
As thou, sweet love, requited me
When none were near - Oh! I did wake
From torture for that moment's sake.
IV
Upon my heart thy accents sweet
Of peace and pity fell like dew
On flowers half dead;- thy lips did meet
Mine numbingly; thy dark eyes threw
Their soft persuasion on my brain,
charming away its dream of pain.
V
We are not happy, sweet! our state
Is strange and full of doubt and fear;
More need of words that ills abate;-
Reserve or censure come not near
Our sacred friendship, lest there be
No solace left for thee and me.
VI
Gentle and good and mild thou art,
Nor can I live if thou appear
Aught but thyself, or turn thine heart
Away from me, or stoop to wear
The mask of scorn, although it be
To hide the love thou feel'st for me.
Click to go to Indy Comic News
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