This month’s Manga Minis column looks at the first volumes of Crayon Shinchan and Fever as well as the latest installments of the perennially popular Black Cat and Vampire Knight.

I’m glad to see that manga publishers will be making a stronger showing at this year’s Free Comic Book Day; as I noted in my report on FCBD 2007, Tokyopop was the only manga publisher to actively court comic book fans with its Choose Your Weapon sampler. This year, Gold Sponsor VIZ Media is offering [...]

The big story this week is Fairy Tail, a giddy, fast-paced adventure about a female wizard-in-training who travels in the company of a brash boy and a talking cat. Del Rey made the unusual decision to release the first two volumes simultaneously—all the better to get readers hooked, I suspect. Initial reviews have been positive, [...]

Among the many manga arriving in stores this month is the highly anticipated second volume of RE:Play. This Tokyopop title blends American and Japanese influences to tell the story of Faust, an up-and-coming punk band. When Cree, the lead singer, discovers a talented bassist busking in the subway, she invites him to join Faust—much to [...]

For those of us who aren’t breathlessly anticipating the nineteenth volume of Fruits Basket—and I count myself among that tiny number—there are a few choice titles competing for space in your LCS’s new arrival rack. My top pick: volume twelve of Phoenix (Viz). Written shortly after he completed Princess Knight, these early Phoenix stories have [...]

Planning on attending Anime Boston this weekend? If so, check out our Manga Map of Boston, directing you to the best places to buy manga (besides the convention floor, of course!). PCS reviewer and fellow Bostonian Chloe Ferguson pitched in to help me compile this list; if we’ve missed one of your favorite spots, let [...]

For the serious Buffy scholar…

Danny Boyle’s Sunshine gives off surprisingly little heat.

That clinking sound you hear? That’s me trying to extract enough pennies from my piggy bank to afford all the great manga arriving in stores this Wednesday! My shopping list is ridiculously long, running the gamut from tights-and-capes parody to Victorian romance. Among the manga most likely to find their way into my shopping basket: [...]

Paging Helen Mirren! This week’s shipping list includes several titles worthy of The Queen herself, as well as a healthy selection of manhwa and shonen series. I haven’t had an opportunity to read Queens or The Queen’s Knight (Tokyopop), however, so my top pick is Keiko Takemiya’s Andromeda Stories (Vertical, Inc.), a totally awesome mixture [...]