I might be a bit late, but I still want to tell you what manga I’m most looking forward to in 2010. There’s a lot of manga being translated in English these days and these are my top picks.
#5 51 Ways to Save Her by Usamaru Furuya (CMX Manga- September 2010)
Two former classmates, a gothic lolita and a college student, are reunited. And then an 8.1 earthquake hits Japan! I do love my post-apocalyptic stories. And Tokyopop finished Dragon Head a couple years ago so this is long past due. ———————————————————————
#4 Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (Shonen Jump- August 2010)
From the creators of Death Note, Bakuman is the story of two junior high students who team up to become the most successful manga-ka duo in Japan. The from the creators of Death Note tagline didn’t impress me, but after reading a few chapters online, I can see this going to great places. Bakuman was supposed to run in Shonen Jump USA this year, but it hasn’t been announced if it will only be a preview or full blown serialization.
#3 I’ll Give It My All…Tomorrow by Shunju Aono (Viz Signature- May 2010)
40-year-old Shizuo Oguro is tired of his corporate career. So he decides to quit to pursue his lifelong interest: becoming a manga artist. I’ll Give It My All… is Shizuo’s story of the ups and downs of his quest at manga success. This was one of the first series I sampled over at Sig Ikki and I instantly fell in love with it. ————————————————————
#2 AX Volume 1: A Collection of Alternative Manga (Top Shelf- July 2010)
Just as the title implies, AX is a collection of short alternative manga stories. Originally slated for a December 2009 release, AX was pushed back to summer 2010. Volume 1 will contain shorts from Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Akino Kondoh, Kazuichi Hanawa, and Shinichi Abe. —————————————————————————————————————————————————
#1 Peepo Choo by Felipe Smith (Vertical- July 2010)
It’s not often that an American comics artist is flown out to Japan to work on a monthly manga in Morning 2 for Kodansha. Peepo Choo is the story of two individuals. Milton is a hardcore otaku from Chicago, obsessed with the anime Peepo Choo. Reiko is a teenage model in Japan who wants a career overseas. Tokyopop published Smith’s first series MBQ from 2005-2007. I’m a huge fan of that series and cannot wait to read this one.
Posted by Andrew 
andrew reads comics 