VIZBlog

Anime Expo Meet and Greet

Ho Lin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:06:00 -0700

VIZ Media reps will be roaming around Anime Expo this weekend chatting and taking photos with fans in VIZ Media property cosplay. Meet them, and you might get a surprise!

High Castle + Japan + Science Fiction = Haikasoru.com

Narasu Rebbapragada — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:09:00 -0700

In Philip K. Dick’s science-fiction masterpiece, The Man in the High Castle, Japan rules, and in particular, rules America. With Haikasoru, the romanized Japanese spelling of “High Castle,” we’d like to think we’re doing the same thing (albeit more peacefully) by bringing the best Japanese science fiction to a North American audience.

The first two books in the line-up, All You Need is Kill, and The Lord of The Sands of Time, will be out in July. The second two books, Usurper of the Sun and Zoo, will be released in September. And stay tuned for future titles, including…

Battle Royale! Which brings me to the Haikasoru.com blog. Folks with healthy (and unhealthy) enthusiasm rap about the world, galaxy, and universe of Japanese science fiction. Plus, where else will you find editor Nick Mamatas channeling his inner eight-grader on whether Battle Royale has a prayer of ever making a high-school reading list?

Made you look.

Get Informed on IKKI!

Narasu Rebbapragada — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:50:00 -0700

Have you been reading Children of the Sea online on VIZ Signature IKKI? It’s a great summer read with hypnotic artwork and a subtly addictive story (as in, you don’t know you’re addicted until you try to get up from your screen). Chapter 6 is available now, so check it out. And while you’re at it, check out the interviews with series creator Daisuke Igarashi and his editor.

We’ll be giving you a new online manga chapter each week as well as feature stories each month. Plus, the site is filled with the opinions and meanderings of the IKKI team -- a thoughtful bunch to say the least. The best way to find out what’s happening on IKKI is to sign up for the newsletter. That way, we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

RIN-NE Chapter 9 Live Now

Mike Montesa — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 0:00:00 -0700

Have you been reading the weekly online chapters of Rumiko Takahashi's RIN-NE? They're up for free every week on The Rumic World. Chapter 9 is up now. This week: the ghost of the fallen warrior haunting Kaori Himekawa isn’t gone yet, but Sakura and Rinne have a plan. There’s only one way to send the ochimusha ghost to the afterlife, and it seems simple enough, but will it really work?

If you're new to RIN-NE, you can catch up on chapters 1 to 8 on The Rumic World. Let us know what you think.

-- Mike Montesa, RIN-NE editor

VIZ Big: DRAGON BALL vol. 5

Rob L McCarthy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:43:00 -0700

VIZ Big DRAGON BALL vol. 5:

This VIZ Big omnibus volume contains the final chapters of DRAGON BALL, which leads us to the beginning of DRAGON BALL Z. A much better, less marketing-driven descriptor is "Piccolo takes over the world and there are a great many really big fights." To go any further would be a spoiler. In this case you REALLY don’t want that! Heck, even sort of remembering this story from the anime, Toriyama is such a COMIC artist. There were many moments that made me say "Oh my God." Comics, as I have so often said, are a marriage of words and pictures. The pictures pack a powerful punch! Peruse when possible! Sorry, got caught in an alliteration loop! Buy it, would you?

---

VIZ Big DRAGON BALL vol. 5 hits stores on August 18, 2009.

Children of Sea Wallpapers Available Now

Lex — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 9:25:00 -0700

Get caught up in Daisuke Igarashi’s wildly imaginative story by bringing it home to your desktop. CHILDREN OF THE SEA Wallpapers are available for download now in the following sizes:

1280 x 1024
1024 x 768
800 x 600

Read Children of the Sea now with up to 4 chapters available to date!

Xbox LIVE: VIZ Media Anime Discount

Ho Lin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:35:00 -0700

Xbox LIVE Marketplace loves anime, and they love our shows, so they're having a special discount on VIZ Media anime from now until July 7. Access Xbox LIVE from your console and you can buy any of the following episodes for 105 points each vs. the standard price of 180 points each:

   * NARUTO eps. 1 - 52
   * DEATH NOTE eps. 1 - 37
   * BLUE DRAGON eps. 1 - 52

An over 40 percent discount -- not bad when you can get it.

RIN-NE Rolls On: Chapter 6 Online

Ho Lin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:16:00 -0700

Over at www.TheRumicWorld.com, Rumiko Takahashi's latest manga series RIN-NE is in full swing, with a new chapter coming out every week, the same day the chapter makes its debut in Shonen Sunday magazine. High school hijinks, mystical and magical trips to the afterlife, a healthy dollop of humor -- yep, all the classic Takahashi elements are in place. Check out RIN-NE chapters 1-6 for free, and leave us a comment about the series and how we're doing!

ROCK CITY

Rob L McCarthy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:32:00 -0700

DETROIT METAL CITY:

The title, for those of you too young to know (and I assume that is most of you), pays homage to the old Kiss song "Detroit Rock City." The band’s look owes a lot to Kiss for sure, and perhaps the earlier Alice Cooper. The thing that I liked about it is that even though in some ways it's a teen romance, it’s got enough profanity that it simply must be labeled for “mature readers,” freeing up we readers who are old enough to get the joke to laugh guilt-free at the raunchy humor.

For those of you that need a deeper subtext (you know, in case you’re writing a term paper), DMC is an admittedly over-the-top meditation on how the identities we construct for ourselves simultaneously liberate and imprison us. Kruser II has a lot of fans but he is not Negashi’s true self. It can be boiled down to the Biblical maxim: “What does it profit a man if he gain the world but lose his soul?”

Look, just buy it! (If you’re 18 and over, of course!)

---

DETROIT METAL CITY goes on sale June 9.

Comix Like You've Never Seen - IKKI is here!

Lex — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:18:00 -0700

IKKI is a monthly magazine published in Japan that has established itself as the home of some of the most innovative, bold, and compelling series in the world of contemporary manga. Since its launch in 2003 IKKI has built a catalog of titles notable for its diversity. From action to comedy to drama, from slice-of-life stories to surrealist fantasies, the one common thing these works share is an uncommon emphasis on creative quality and on pushing the boundaries of the norm.

In partnership with our imprint “VIZ Signature” line of graphic novels, IKKI is bringing the works of some of its top creators to the English-language audience via a groundbreaking online monthly manga magazine.

The first series featured in this launch is Children of the Sea by Daisuke Igarashi. Each month, new chapters will be offered online in their entirety, for free. After the completion of the online serialization of the first volume, Children of the Sea volume one will become available as a VIZ Signature graphic novel.

The list of future series to be serialized includes:
Bokurano: Ours, by Mohiro Kitoh
House of Five Leaves, by Natsume Ono
Dorohedoro, by Q Hayashida
I'll Give It My All...Tomorrow, by Shunju Aono

So, cl-Ikki for IKKI and read Children of the Sea now!

Rin-ne Chapter 3 Available Now!

Lex — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:20:00 -0700

Catch the next installment of Rin-ne: Chapter 3. Available now at TheRumicWorld.com!

And to stay updated on all the latest happenings of Rinne and Sakura, sign up for the Rin-ne newsletter.

Follow VIZ Media on Twitter!

Lex — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:22:00 -0700

That’s right—you can also follow all the awesome anime, manga and Japanese content you love on Twitter now! From Naruto to Nana to everyday life at VIZ, we post daily about your favorite series and personally give you the inside lowdown on everything we’ve got going!

Follow the VIZ Media Twitter Feed here.

VAGABOND: VIZBIG Vol. 4

Rob L McCarthy — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:47:00 -0700

VAGABOND (VIZBIG Vol. 4):

I think of VAGABOND in terms of “three plots” we learned in high school: man vs. man, man vs. nature or man vs. himself. With all the emphasis on swordplay the Man vs. MAN theme is what grabs our attention. Jean Cocteau said film comics are visual medium, making heroic what they show, but Rob McCarthy’s theory of comic book scripting says “Comics at their best are a marriage of words and pictures in service of the same narrative, each doing what the other cannot.” So VAGABOND's illustrations give us the visceral “man vs. man” conflict that we crave as action fans, while the text provides a no less important look at Musashi’s inner conflict.

I found it very interesting that most of this volume subverts that formula and even the visuals serve the “man vs. himself” plot. We go so deep into Musashi's mind that I wondered if the conflict with Sekishashi is to be taken literally or symbolically. Is the old man really THAT tough or is Musashi unable to kill the old man because he knows it’s not just? Whichever the case is, we know he’s got a long way to go before he reaches perfection, which is NOT what he thinks it is. To learn any more ya gotta read the comic!

NANA Official Site Launched

Lex — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:45:00 -0700

I have never met anyone with my same name (except in Superman comics). I have never found that person sitting next to me on the train, and I have definitely never found myself sharing an apartment with her. But that’s what happens to two girls named Nana, one a rocker and the other a hopeless romantic. I always try to imagine what it would be like to be a “Nana.” Would I make it as the lead vocalist, rockstar type (I hope)? Or am I doomed to endure unending boyfriend issues (more likely)?

Instead, I’d rather watch Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki live out their lives, and now you can too. We’ve just launched the NANA official site. It’s full of all the info you could ever want about your favorite Nana—intense character bios, streaming episodes (coming in June), manga, and more!

Check back often to see the latest tour schedule for Nana at the official NANA site.
Click here for a preview of NANA Volume 1.

First Chapter of RIN-NE Available to Read Online Now!

Lex — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:55:00 -0700

TheRumicWorld.com officially launched today with the simultaneous Japan-U.S. release of Rumiko Takahashi's newest series! Head on over to read the first chapter of Rin-ne online now.

Visit The Rumic World.
See the official TheRumicWorld.com Press Release.
Stay updated with The Rumic World newsletter.

Cue Up Some CLAYMORE

Ho Lin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:44:00 -0700

Call it radio, or call it a podcast -- either way, it's cool. "Fictional Frontiers" is a highly-rated weekly radio program in Philadelphia, and recently our editor Leyla Aker was a guest on the show, chatting about the CLAYMORE manga series and what makes it so good, as well as our connections with JUMP SQUARE magazine. Listen to and/or download the whole interview here.

NARUTO "Watch & Win" Levels Up

Ho Lin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:50:00 -0700

Each week we have a Watch & Win contest on our NARUTO site, with questions based on the latest NARUTO Shippuden episode. The past two weeks Namco Bandai has offered Ultimate Ninja games for the PS2 as prizes but this week they up the ante as they offer one lucky winner a PS2 (only the most evergreen game console ever!) and the Ultimate Ninja 4 game. You'll have to earn it this time, though -- we're asking two questions this week instead of the usual one, so get your keen ninja eyes out and watch this week's episode carefully...

OISHINBO VOL 1

Rob L McCarthy — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:06:00 -0700

OISHINBO Vol. 1:

You know OISHINBO is a good manga because it's about gourmet cooking and I could STILL understand it. Various trips to the burn ward and/or apartment fires have taught me I SHOULD NOT COOK! But the science behind all these recipes fascinates me. Thinking about cooking as chemistry does not make me a better cook but it sure makes reading cookbooks more interesting. For example, before I read this comic I had no idea there was artificial vinegar.

Read OISHINBO and educate your palate!

Rumiko Takahashi’s Newest Series Launching…

Lex — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:59:00 -0700

…simultaneously? Yes! Japan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine and VIZ Media transport readers to The Rumic World with the simultaneous East-West debut of Rumiko Takahashi’s newest manga series RIN-NE. This is her first new series since Inuyasha ended in 2008 in Japan!

You can get a sneak peek of the site and art today at the official English site: TheRumicWorld.com.

Remember to check back on April 22nd (don’t worry, we’ll remind you devoted fans again) to actually read the first and subsequent chapters online!

Visit the Rumic World.
Read Rumiko Takahashi’s profile.

NARUTO Dubbed Videos on Joost & Hulu

Ho Lin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:09:00 -0700

The NARUTO Shippuden anime series is in full swing these days (and if you haven't checked out the latest episodes, head on over to naruto.com), but we don't forget our roots... so we are pleased to announce that the English dubbed, uncut original NARUTO series has made its way to Joost and Hulu. The first five episodes will be released on April 15, with a new episode following each Wednesday. For full details check out our press release [link to press release].

HONEY AND CLOVER Official Site Launched

Lex — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:55:00 -0700

Tangled love triangles, last minute art-school deadlines and the eternal quest to afford meat for dinner…it could only be HONEY AND CLOVER. We’re excited to announce that one of our top (and most beloved) shojo titles, about a group of friends attending a Tokyo art college, has a new home on the web! Last week we launched the offical site for HONEY AND CLOVER to go with the news of the upcoming anime.

The site includes information about the cast and storyline. It will also update you on news about new graphic novels, anime releases, and anything else in the HONEY AND CLOVER world. Check back often to find out when you can stream, download, or purchase the latest episode. Not to mention the extras section (more secretive and amazing than Morita!).

So join Hagu, Ayu, Takemoto and the gang at the new HONEY AND CLOVER official site!

PORTUS

Rob L McCarthy — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:53:00 -0700

PORTUS:

Evil video games have been a staple of American superhero comics since at least 1977, and Dot Hack is about entering a video game world. Jun Abe’s PORTUS is the first manga I’ve read that uses video games as plot point for slasher horror.

What made it extra fun for me is “Portus is not supposed to be a new game but a game from the first generation of home computers." So if Portus had been a real game and you are middle-class and about 35 years old you might have played it.

PORTUS is good gross-out horror that will make you wonder about all those Commodore 64 games you never finished.

NARUTO Simulcast Returns

Ho Lin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:54:00 -0700

A couple of weeks ago we had the honor of broadcasting the latest NARUTO Shippuden simultaneous with when it aired in Japanese, and this week we're doing it again, as episode 103 appears on Naruto.com at the same time it makes its broadcast debut in Japan. Drop on by the Naruto site to check it out.

LEAVE IT TO PET Vol 1

Rob L McCarthy — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:22:00 -0700

LEAVE IT TO PET Vol 1:

I think if there was a scientific measure for “cuteness” we’d have proof that this is the cutest manga we’ve ever published.

PET (short for Polyethylene tretrolate) is named for a type of recyclable plastic, and in this story it's a sentient plastic bottle with all sorts of magic powers because a kid named Noboru recycled him rather than threw him away. That’s a clever way to get kids into recycling by appealing to their innate sense of “magical reasoning.”

Between the fun character of PET himself and the activity pages, if I were a teacher doing a unit on recycling for third to fifth graders I would surely use LEAVE IT TO PET.

BLACK LAGOON 4 and 5

Rob L McCarthy — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:16:00 -0700

Ages ago I reviewed volume 1 of this series and when I went to review more BLACK LAGOON I found volumes 4 and 5 but no volumes 2 and 3. Happily I was able to catch up quickly.

Volume 4 has a slower pace than volume 1 as we get to see Revy’s human side that was only hinted at in volume 1. Revy likes Rock and in a warped “eternal tough gal” way she does not want to see him become like her. Rock, on the other hand, sees Japan and knows he REALLY does not want to back to being a common salaryman. REALLY can ya blame him?

One really big improvement between volumes 1 and 5 is the increase in swordplay. There’s nothing that you can’t make better with a sword fight.

Bleach is now in the virtual world!

MSG — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:21:00 -0700

MSG blogging

posted by Deva

BLEACH is now in the virtual world!!

In preparation for the upcoming BLEACH event at There.com, we checked out the event site "Tropical Adventures." It's a nice beach resort with lots of rides and other cool stuff.

Join us tomorrow, Wednesday, April 8, from 5:00 - 6:00 PST/8:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST. It will be lots of fun meeting people... and most of all, you will get a chance to win a free BLEACH virtual T-shirt!!! Yay!

Real: Volumes 3 & 4

Rob L McCarthy — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:58:00 -0700

REAL VOL. 3 AND 4:

As a wheelchair user myself, I have already expressed my love for Takehiko Inoue's Real in two blog entries and even a few times on my own website, but volume 3 had one sequence that is tattooed on my brain now. Yes you will have to get a copy of Real volume 3 to understand what I’m about to talk about, which breaks with my usual practice of writing for people who have not read the book yet. Get one and read up to page 38.

See what starts there and goes on for the better part of eight pages? That is an incredibly realistic portrayal of getting out of your wheelchair and into, oh, let’s say bed. It’s hard, it’s nasty, you CAN sweat (some people can’t) and that is how you are going to look when you’re done. No, forget all that hypothetical nonsense, that’s how I looked last time I DID that. Plus I ruined a really nice lamp. Change the gender and I AM Natsu.

As one might expect of a manga named Real it’s the details that make the art really great. Remember how in my volume 2 review I talked about how the sports wheelchairs looked like sports wheelchairs? Well in this volume, Inoue proves he can also draw jacked-up government issue wheelchairs so well you can feel the backache you will get from it.

After reading volume 3 I was emotionally exhausted but I continued on to volume 4, which ends with a dramatic turn that part of me sees as just moving the plot along, but then I can see it happening. Wheelchair athletes ARE a proud bunch.

Questionable plot twists aside, this gets my highest recommendation.

That's Right, We're in GQ

Ho Lin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:07:00 -0700

It's amazing how far manga has come in the general public's estimation -- even GQ is singing our praises. Yes, GQ, that magazine aimed at classy, elegantly dressed males with six-figure salaries. Recently the magazine published a list of "The 20 Graphic Novels You Should Read ('After 'Watchmen')," featuring works that are "risky, inventive, boundary-pushing." We're pleased to say that TEKKONKINKREET is on the list, or as they describe it, "It’s like a Japanese-punk Le Petit Prince." Never thought of it quite that way, but we'll take it. Check out the rest of the list too, it's a pretty nifty selection.

Dogs Vol 0

Rob L McCarthy — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:20:00 -0700

Dogs: Prelude

Dogs has one heck of a prelude. There’s a lot of action, and the kind of murky backstory that will keep you interested. Heine has a metal “collar” which seems to function more as a metal throat. I am REALLY hoping that sometime in a later volume he’s taken to a karaoke bar and his voice is called "tinny," or he says "My voice is a little rusty."

The above puns would not be too out of place, as everything from the page layout to the way people hold their guns speaks to Shirow Miwa being a serious student of John Woo style action. At least in English, action movies have puns. Another proof of the manga's action movie roots is Badou, the one-eyed badass. You see one-eyed badasses in everything from "True Grit" to Captain Harlock, and you should read Dogs with the same part of your brain that those stories used (i.e. "That looks cool, let’s not ask how she shoots straight.")

Dogs: Prelude is scheduled for release on 4/14/09.

Drifting Classroom 1

Rob L McCarthy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:24:00 -0700

Drifting Classroom Vol 1

This is the scariest comic I've ever READ. Not because there is gore. There is, but heck, there’s blood when you go to the dentist. It’s not that there are violent people. No, it’s that the title "Drifting Classroom" can be taken quite literally. SOMEHOW a middle school has become the only thing in its own universe. The very concept is enough to make Golgo-13 wet himself! Sure, I SORT of care about why and how something the size and mass of a building full of people just went poof. But all I can really think about is being trapped with my 8th grade typing teacher!! I’d say it would be hellish, but between the two I’d take Satan any day.

Read Drifting Classroom to get really scared.

20th Century Boys Vol 2

Rob L McCarthy — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:46:00 -0700

20th Century Boys Vol 2

Volume 2 ends with the best cliffhanger I have read in a long time, and through the childhood flashbacks we learn that the game that inspired “the friends” involved not just a “League of Heroes” but a “League of Evil” too. It will be interesting to see which the killer considers himself. Good and evil being subjective to the sanest of us, imagine how they must look to someone as insane as this killer.

The most interesting question though is "Who is our killer?" Volumes 1 and 2 seem to point to an extremely obvious suspect, but within Vol 2 so many new characters are introduced with possible motives (I count 4 likely and three possible), we can only assume we know the killer if we assume 20th Century Boys was written as a thriller rather than a “whodunit”. It must be a “whodunit” though, as one must assume there is a reason for a major cult leader to never be in a well lit room. Either they are supposed to be a mystery or they get migraines.

Apart from any narrative theory, I really like the entire spoon bending for a few reasons…

1. If Japan was anything like America, spoon bending psychics were all over TV when these characters were kids, so THAT might be a reason to believe there’s a supernatural agency.

2. On the other hand, if you’ve ever spent any time with fake psychics, you know you can fake bending spoon with your mind fairly easily. I’d get in trouble for telling you how to do it, but any good library should have books on con men.

Anyway the whole “what really bent the spoons” just adds to the mystery. Go forth and read!

Reincarnation

Rob L McCarthy — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:27:00 -0700

I hope the Internet is not right about me

Happy Monday! I have writer's block but I DID take two online quizzes. It seems my "personality type" is "angry", and along with three of my friends I was Marilyn Monroe in a past life. Maybe that’s why I’m angry. Trapped in a female body with three other men. That’s not a past life, it’s a Fox sitcom from about 1992.

Reincarnation always seems to work that way. Find three female friends who believe in reincarnation. Ten to one they were all three Cleopatra. How come nobody ever is the poor woman that lugged around Cleopatra’s chamber pot?

Bringing it back to manga, Inuyasha is about a boring student finding out she’s really the world’s greatest archer. Inverting that formula just would not work. Would you read a manga about the world’s greatest archer finding out she was REALLY good at standardized testing?

Naruto.com: The Update

Ho Lin — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:08:00 -0700

We've thrown the switch on new changes to the Naruto website, including a news blog, new online games, a Watch & Win contest, and a full discussion forum. Looks like many of you have already joined us in the forums -- drop by and enjoy the discussions if you haven't. And be sure to wish Sakura a happy birthday! (March 28) In honor of the occasion, we're offering a wallpaper chock-full-o' Sakura data...

Last Order

Rob L McCarthy — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:44:00 -0700

Battle Angel Alita, Last Order, Angel Reborn Vol 1:

With a title long enough to be a haiku, it’s really notsurprising that even in the first volume we get a HUGE list of classic Science Fiction themes:

Alita is a robot seeking her humanity/amnesiac tough guy, with just the barest hint that the creators built Alita with their vision of an ideal female body. That’s every creepy subtext of every robot story ever written. After all, a robot designed for battle is the ultimate expression of the idea that robots do chores humans don’t want to do. A human who may be fine with injuring or killing another human will still want to avoid injury or death themselves. Yukito Kishiro does an admirable job of keeping all those balls in the air.
The story takes place within a post-apocalyptic future. Any student of pop culture since the early 1970s knows cyborgs and post-nuclear hells go together like peanut butter and jelly.
It’s a continuation of Battle Angel Alita that does not continue from where the old series stopped. One wonders if this might be an alternate universe?

Now that I’ve done my duty andsounded like a book reviewer for Asimov Magazine, I can tell you the more visceralreason you should buy it. There’s a hot chick who fights a lot!

Words to live by 2

Rob L McCarthy — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:29:00 -0700

Words to live by, part two

I promised you more great SF words two blogs ago, and in my zeal to bring you new information I forgot the most manga-friendly Science Fiction word of all: robots!

Although the idea of “artificial humans” goes back to Homer (at least), use of the term "robot" can be traced to a Czech/Czechoslovakian play called R.U.R. Wikipeda says it was first performed in 1921. Though I’ve also heard 1911.

Robots given a certain amount of humanity are your go-to metaphor for "oppressed minority that won’t scare publisher/TV network people". Even though they were made of light not metal, the holodeck creations on Star Trek: The Next Generation function as robots. Look how many plots they squeezed those for.

Wormholes are shortcuts through space, first theorized by Hermann Weyl in 1929, first given a name by John Wheeler in 1951, and first made really popular by Carl Sagan’s novel Contact in 1985. Full disclosure: I’ve only seen the movie. But when a smart man like Carl Sagan writes about an interstellar shortcut, you KNOW it becomes common usage.

Take what you learned today and write a story!

Naruto: Watch & Win

Ho Lin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:24:00 -0700

The press release has just come out, but in case you missed it, we're starting up a new contest on naruto.com later this week: Watch & Win. Watch the latest anime episode, answer a quiz question about the episode, and earn a chance to win prizes. I've looked at the prize list for the next few weeks, and they have some nice goodies on there.

Also, don't forget that tomorrow is the special simulcast episode of Naruto on the Naruto website...

Vagabond 1-3

Rob L McCarthy — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:57:00 -0700

Vagabond VIZ Big Edition

The first three volumes of Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond are almost too great to have deep thoughts about. “Just buy it” is not much of a blog though, and as with Real there’s a lot to be learned by examining Inoue’s craftsmanship.

Those of you who read my two blogs on Real (I’m vain enough to think that's most of you) know that my admiration for Inoue’s art comes from his attention to details others may miss. I know from Real he’s perhaps the only comic artist who draws wheels as they look after 1980. So we know his wheelchairs look like wheelchairs. Now I know his sword fights look like sword fights too.

That may seem too basic to be noteworthy, like someone drawing a boxing manga knowing how to draw an Everlast boxing glove, or a guy who draws Westerns drawing a really good Colt Peacemaker. But it isn't just that. He shows the smaller motions of a sword fight, and when the combatants start to sweat you can surely see why. If you typed out a panel by panel description of the final combat, you’d be well on your way to a textbook on “The Layout of Sword Fights in Comics”.

OK, now go buy it!

Words to live by

Rob L McCarthy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:11:00 -0700

Words you can use in any SF story

Hyperspace – an extra Euclidean dimension allowing for "Time" as a dimension in Einstein’s Special Relativity (1905). The idea of a fourth dimension goes back at least to Charles Howard Hutton’s paper "What is the Fourth Dimension" (1880), but Einstein’s theory of time and space being one thing is infinitely more fun than Hutton’s fourth dimension, which didn’t do a lot except exist. Ironically, Space / Time / Special Relativity is often used to justify faster-than-light travel. Which is exactly what General Relativity will not let us do. Where would superhero comics be without “endangering the entire Space/Time continuum?”

Tachyon – a hypothetical sub-atomic particle named by Gerald Feinberg (who discovered neutrinos), which travels fast enough to go backwards in time. It goes without saying if you write about time travel, tachyons are your new best friend.

Dark Matter – matter that does not give off detectable radiation, but is traceable though it gravitational pull. OK, raw facts say that’s pretty boring, but since the stuff is a mystery by nature you can make it do whatever you want.

I can think of at least two more that I should cover, but I’m busy! See ya soon.

More Naruto News Coming...

Ho Lin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:28:00 -0700

I've just gotten word that we'll be making an official announcement shortly about some fun updates to the Naruto.com site -- stay tuned to the VIZ news room for more to come ...

R+V

Rob L McCarthy — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:32:00 -0700

Rosario+Vampire, Vol 1:

The basic idea of Rosario+Vampire is that there is a school for monsters, and some poor normal boy gets sent there because of bad test scores. I really like this idea! I mean those must have been the worst test scores in history. That angle works well for a horror comedy because, in your heart of hearts, aren’t you more afraid of tests than vampires?

Knowing that this is basically a "boy meets (vampire) girl" story, I admire how it gets straight to the point. Our hapless hero Tsukune is bitten by pretty student Moka before he even gets in the building, and it is stated fairly bluntly that vampirism is a metaphor for erotic desire. There are two ways to go with that basic plot. Thank goddess Akihisa Ikeda went with “magical girlfriend” comedy. It could have been a dreary gender-reversed Twilight, and I would not have had any fun reading that. What’s here is a good bit of fun.