Joy
A new job, upcoming travel, and recent reading
I know updates have been few and far between lately, but that’s because a lot has been going on in my offline life that’s demanded my attention. Last week I accepted a new job as Youth Services Librarian for Pierce County Library System (WA), starting in mid-July. I will miss my colleagues and community [...]
2011 GGNFT Nominations Updated
The list of official nominations for the 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list from YALSA has just been updated!
I’m lucky enough to be on the committee this year, but you don’t have to be on the committee or even a librarian to nominate a title. Please help us discover great new books! To [...]
Puppets and pirates
This afternoon I read volume 3 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Otsuka Eiji and Yamazaki Housui while sitting in one of my favorite neighborhood cafes. This series is another that reminds me that first impressions of manga series are not always reliable. I was not particularly impressed when I read volume 1 back in [...]
Scene stealers in manga
This week marked the return of Shiho Sugiura’s Silver Diamond to Tokyopop’s publication schedule, and that is a reason for much rejoicing. It has been almost a full year since US readers got a new volume of this underappreciated shōjo gem, which combines an interesting fantasy premise with warm, funny character moments. I wrote a [...]
Ten titles to watch for in 2010
Everyone else did their list of what they’re looking forward to in January, but let’s just pretend I’m doing this for Lunar New Year! In the interests of brevity, I’m limiting myself to sequential art series or standalone titles being published in the US for the first time in 2010 and significant reissues.
Downtime and redesign
My apologies for this week’s unexpected downtime! I was singularly unimpressed by my previous host’s handling of the downtime, and I’ve switched over to a new host…and while I was at it, a new Wordpress theme. Please excuse any electronic dust while I get the site up and running again–and let me know if you [...]
Two series by Hidaka Banri
This month I’ve read volumes from two different series by Hidaka Banri–I Hate You More than Anyone (vols. 1 and 2) and V. B. Rose (vol. 1 only)¹–mostly thanks to the recs of various folks in the manga blogging ‘verse. Hidaka’s work had been on my to-read list for a while anyway, but last month’s [...]
Women warriors and the male gaze in Claymore
Fifteen volumes in, I’m ridiculously fond of Claymore’s women warriors, but I still have a sneaking suspicion that Yagi’s target audience does not necessarily include me.
What I’m Reading: Ouran High School Host Club, vol. 13
["What I'm Reading" posts are not intended to be formal reviews and generally contain spoilers for the book under discussion after the jump. Readers beware!]
A few days ago I finally sat down with volume 13 of Ouran High School Host Club, which I’ve been saving up as a special treat. Ouran is a comfort read [...]
Female friendship in shōjo manga
Over on Twitter today, Sean Gaffney (@Toukochan) of A Case Suitable for Treatment observed that many shōjo series have the situation “heroine hated by all female classmates, has male friends.” In response, I remarked that I have limited patience for shōjo manga that do not value female friendship. David Welsh (@PreCur) of The Manga [...]
Kawase, Natsuna: The Lapis Lazuli Crown, vol. 1
The Lapis Lazuli Crown, vol. 1
Story and art by Natsuna Kawase
Translation and adaptation by Sheldon Drzka
CMX Manga, 2009
Original Japanese edition: Hakusensha, 2004
ISBN-13: 978-1401221201
Paperback $9.99
Like many people in the kingdom of Savarin, Miel has been born with magical power. Unfortunately, she has not been able to master her ability. Her sister, Sara, is the overachieving genius [...]
Tsukuba, Sakura: Land of the Blindfolded, vol. 1-9
Land of the Blindfolded, vol. 1-9
Story and art by Sakura Tsukuba
CMX, 2004-2006
Original Japanese editions: Hakusensha, 2000-2004
Paperback $9.99
ISBN-13: 978-1401205249 (vol. 1)
ISBN-13: 978-1401205256 (vol. 2)
ISBN-13: 978-1401205263 (vol. 3)
ISBN-13: 978-1401205270 (vol. 4)
ISBN-13: 978-1401205287 (vol. 5)
ISBN-13: 978-1401210168 (vol. 6)
ISBN-13: 978-1401210175 (vol. 7)
ISBN-13: 978-1401210182 (vol. 8)
ISBN-13: 978-1401210526 (vol. 9)
Kanade is a high school student with a special ability that she [...]
Azuma, Kiyohiko: Yotsuba&!, vol. 7
My review of vol. 7 of Yotsuba&! is now up at Manga Life.
Fujieda, Toru: Oyayubihime Infinity, vol. 1-6
Oyayubihime Infinity, vol. 1-6
Story and Art by Toru Fujieda
CMX, 2006-2007
Original Japanese editions: Akita Shoten, 2004-2006
Paperback $9.99
ISBN-13: 978-1401210755 (vol. 1)
ISBN-13: 978-1401210762 (vol. 2)
ISBN-13: 978-1401210779 (vol. 3)
ISBN-13: 978-1401210786 (vol. 4)
ISBN-13: 978-1401213053 (vol. 5)
ISBN-13: 978-1401213077 (vol. 6)
When Kanoko’s classmate Tsubame discovers that they both have butterfly-shaped birthmarks on their thumbs, he decides they’re fated to be together. According [...]
Shiina, Karuho: Kimi ni Todoke, vol. 2
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, vol. 2
Story and Art by Karuho Shiina
Translated by JN Productions
Viz, 2009
Original Japanese edition: Shueisha, 2005
Paperback $9.99
978-1421527567
Good news! Volume 2 of Kimi ni Todoke shows that the sweetness and charm of the first volume of the series was not just a flash in the pan; it was, in fact, [...]
Yun, JiUn: Time and Again, vol. 1
My review of vol. 1 of Time and Again by JiUn Yun is now up at Manga Life. An excerpt:
Though Baek-On and Ho-Yeon are very peripheral in some of the chapters (they don’t appear in chapter 3 and barely appear in chapter 4), they are easily one of the best things about the book. [...]
Arakawa, Hiromu: Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 20-21
Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 20-21
Story and Art by Hiromu Arakawa
Translation by Akira Watanabe
Adaptation by Jake Forbes
Viz, 2009
Original Japanese editions: Square Enix, 2008-2009
Paperback $9.99
978-1421530345 (vol. 20)
978-1421532325 (vol. 21)
Between this blog and Manga Life, this is the fourth full review I’ve written for the Fullmetal Alchemist series. I’ll be honest: it’s hard to find a lot of new [...]
Mashima, Hiro: Fairy Tail, vol. 1-3
Fairy Tail, vol. 1-3
Story and Art by Hiro Mashima
Translation and Adaptation by William Flanagan
Del Rey, 2008
Original Japanese editions: Kodansha, 2006-2007
978-0345501332 (vol. 1)
978-0345503305 (vol. 2)
978-0345505569 (vol. 3)
Being generic isn’t always a bad thing. This probably sounds a little strange coming from me, since that’s one of my most frequent complaints as a reviewer, but hear me [...]
Doorways to sequential art
Way back in February, I attended a workshop taught by Nancy Pearl on readers’ advisory. For those you not up on library lingo, readers’ advisory is the art of connecting readers with books, whether fiction or nonfiction. It’s not necessarily a recommendation service; it doesn’t matter so much whether you like it as it whether [...]
Hatori, Bisco: Ouran High School Host Club, vol. 11-12
Ouran High School Host Club, vol. 11-12
Story and Art by Bisco Hatori
Translation by Masumi Matsumoto
Viz, 2008-2009
Original Japanese edition: Hakusensha, 2007-2008
Paperback $8.99
978-1-4215-2255-5 (vol. 11)
978-1-4215-2672-0 (vol. 12)
Anyone who has read enough high school shōjo knows there are a few plots that are almost guaranteed to show up in any given series. There’s Valentine’s Day and White Day, [...]
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