Sad, sad signs this past year that things aren’t what they used to be:

• Every bathtub drain-snaking plays out like a scene from a J-horror movie.
• Likewise, the hairball on my pillow every morning is bigger than the cat’s.
• I actually paid kids to do yard work.
• I still haven’t finished Oblivion.
• Perhaps the most worrisome development: Better Homes and Gardens is now my porn of choice.

Man, the next 30 is going to suck.

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A recent headline from The China Post: New MOE Sex Ed. Program Denounced.

Okay, the title is a bit misleading, although it is still somewhat comics-related.

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TRSI is currently holding a sale on all in-stock Icarus Publishing titles (along with a few other items, I’m told).  The promotion, which will net you 20%~35% in savings, will end on January 6th.  (Thanks, DocWatson)

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ComiPress has a seizure-inducing amount of Japanese manga magazine sales stats from 2004~2006, where just about every anthology lost ground.

Unfortunately, no seijin/adult manga is covered.

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As if timed to coincide with the Japanese government’s plan to invest 147 million yen to promote their “soft power” in Europe, Business Week has a fluff piece on the growing popularity of manga in what was once the exclusive domain of BD and Disney characters.  There is one interesting factoid in the hodgepodge of quotes and plugs… there are apparently 40 companies publishing manga in the French language.  WOW.

So…has anyone done a headcount of current U.S. manga publishers (and I’m limiting this specifically to licensees of manga from Japan, since I assume that’s what is meant in the article)?  Imprints aren’t counted separately, but I’m including publishers with even the thinnest sliver of manga released on the list.

1. ADV
2. ALC Publishing
3. Aurora/Deux/LuvLuv
4. Bandai
5. Broccoli/Boysenberry
6. CMX/DC
7. CPM/Be Beautiful
8. Creation Books (albeit as e-books only, but that still counts as publishing nonetheless)
9. Dark Horse
10. Del Rey
11. DMP/801 Media/June
12. DramaQueen
13. Drawn and Quarterly
14. DrMaster
15. Fanfare (this should technically be an import)
16. Fantagraphics/Eros
17. Go! Comi
18. Icarus Publishing
19. IDW Publishing
20. Infinity Studios
21. Kodansha Int. (in case those bilingual manga are still an ongoing concern)
22. Last Gasp
23. Marvel
24. Media Blasters/Kitty Media
25. NBM/Eurotica
26. Netcomics
27. Radio Comix
28. Seven Seas
29. Tokyopop/Blu
30. Top Cow
31. Tyndale (Manga adaptations of biblical stories.  Not sure if the titles were licensed or specifically produced for Tyndale, but religious manga isn’t unknown in Japan.  Look, it’s Jesus-kun!) 
32. Udon
33. Vertical
34. Viz
35. Yen Press/Hachette

Am I missing anyone?  Do we concede manga licensing superiority to the French?

Edit: And filed in the gray area is Monocle Magazine, which according to Ed publishes a chapter of manga in each issue.  I’m on the fence about this one, since my completely arbitrary rules for inclusion state that no snobs be allowed.  As illustrated by this graphic, monocles are clearly for snobs.

Edit 2: A couple more pubs added to the list.  Thanks, Matthew Brady.)