This is why we can’t have nice things

Lying in the Gutters claims Vertical, the publisher of many classic Osamu Tezuka manga, laid off several people last week.  It’s marked as strictly rumor, but LitG tends to have a good track record on this sort of thing.  So it wouldn’t hurt if you asked your local book or comic shop to order that new edition of Black Jack for you this week…

Speaking of which, David Welsh has a nice review of the book here.

+++

Another one of those uh-oh moments for the book industry… Galleycat has word one major book distributor is notifying vendors that Borders has stopped paying invoices.  Borders told the distributor to expect a two-month wait on any further payments and a lot of returns.  The evidence just keeps piling up.

Hmm… you know what, forget about ordering Black Jack from your local Borders.  Order it from a comic shop, or online at Right Stuf, which happens to have a sale on all Vertical books right now.

+++

Canned Dogs has a translation of an ITMedia/Yano Reasearch Institute report on the size of the “otaku” market in 2007, which is far more interesting in what it reveals about the methodology, than the numerical stats contained therein.  Sales of traditional anime and print manga and mainstream video games are not included in their figures, nor are miscellany items one would associate with “otaku”, such as, say, dakimakura pillows, or life-sized dutch wives, or boob-shaped mouse pads, or used panties, or school uniforms, or… you get my drift.  Yet sales of toy guys, model trains, high-end dolls, and pornographic videos, 2D or otherwise, are included.

+++

ANN: Zatch Bell creator Makoto Raiku has prevailed in his lawsuit against his former employer Shogakukan over 5 missing pieces of color artwork, and was awarded 2.55 million yen… and an apology.  Man oh man, can you imagine if some silver age comic artist did that here?

+++

CBR has a short interview with artist Jen Lee Quick, another former Tokyopop creator with a familiar story to tell – book on hiatus with uncertain future, gloomy feelings all around - and a self-published project coming up.

+++

A friendly reminder for you all… did you know that Aqua Bless and Blue Eyes 4 are both available at comic shops right now?  They are indeed.  And did you know that because Blue Eyes 4 was released a tad late, Diamond is making those books returnable?  As in, if you don’t buy it right now, you may never, ever see them at the comic shop again?  Yes this is true.  What the hell are you waiting for!?  Put on a jacket and go to your local comic shop right now!  Buy a dozen copies!  We need the crack money!

Ahem.  They’re both pretty good books.  You should check them out.