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The manga magazine Morning has announced the winners of its fourth annual Morning International Comic Competition.

“Throughout the previous three competitions, we found ourselves keenly noticing something,” selection committee member Koji Tabuchi said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the winners.

“While in Japan the word manga encompasses many broad genres and is still home to innovation and freshness, the term manga abroad refers to works of fantasy that are drawn in a specific style, and further confined to a small genre.

“This time, we saw an immediate change resulting from the contest's revised name, as we received many submissions that could be classified as seinen manga, the genre that our magazine Morning primarily publishes. Not only that, we also received many highly exciting works with stories and visual designs that we could not imagine ever seeing from creators within the Japanese industry. We value this quality, as seen by the prize-winning works.”

Kim DaeJin's The Unreverberating Echo won the contest's grand prize.

“In the past, we had formed a vague preconception that Korean authors' works submitted to the contest were mostly ‘highly aestheticized stories with flowing lines and a craftsmanlike approach to tone work,’ but we were pleasantly surprised when this story's individualistic and powerful style overturned this prejudice,” Tabuchi said. “The story’s theme also possesses a level of originality that seems very well thought out.”

Two second prizes were given to Tawainese creator little thunder’s APPLE BABY CAT and British creator Michael Aubtin Madadi's Starfields.

“The world created by little thunder is fashionable and exotic, but the underlying tenderness of the work can be understood by all,” Tabuchi said. “I believe that little thunder's talent reaffirms the universality of manga. Then there's Michael Aubtin Madadi, whose ‘heta-uma’-esque (so bad it is good) touch and offbeat sense were swiftly perceived by the judges, who nicknamed him ‘London's Yusaku Hanakuma.’ Including Mr. Madadi, half of the works that passed the second screening were by authors from Western countries, including some regions where one could not say that manga is widely read. We found this fact very interesting, as it made us feel a sense the potential that this competition offers.

“We now find exhilarating the question of how to foster and give exposure to talented individuals who broaden the borders of manga, beginning with the winners of this competition. The methods to do this may lie beyond the printed book, or even the world of the eBook.”

The winning entries, as well as comments from the artists, can be found at MICC's Web site.

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Controversy is swirling around a manga display at Kunsthallen Brandt’s media museum in Denmark.

The Copenhagen Post reports that the exhibit has drawn protests claiming the works being shown are child pornography.

“I have to admit that I myself was shocked at how extreme this genre is, and how deranged the imaginations are in this universe,” the newspaper quoted museum curator Christian Hviid Mortensen, who defended the exhibit.

“But we’re not showing the works for the sake of displaying child pornography. We’re looking for a debate on the issue. So if people are offended by it, then they should by all means speak out and say so.”

British online technology publication The Register further reported that the exhibit includes erotic manga such as Taro Shinonome's Swing Out Sisters, Kondom's Bondage Fairies, Tuna Empire's The Spirit of Capitalism, Kengo Yonekura's Pink Sniper, and Yumisuke Kotoyoshi's Juicy Fruits.

The exhibit opened Wednesday.

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The New York Times has published its weekly list of the top 10 selling manga books.

The third volume of Tokyopop’s Warriors: Ravenpaw’s Path, which debuted last week in the top position, fell out of the top 10 completely this week, replaced by Rosario Vampire Season II, Volume 2, which moved up one spot from second.

Black Bird, Volume 5, followed, also moving up one spot, and Naruto, Volume 48, jumped four spots to third place. Bakuman , Volume 1, moved up two spots to fourth, replacing Return To Labyrinth, Volume 4, which also fell from the list after just one week in the top 10. Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Volume 27, held its position to round out the top five.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 23, moved up two spots to sixth place, followed by D. Gray-Man, Volume 18, in seventh and Skip Beat!, Volume 21, in eighth.

Vampire Knight, Volume 10, and Black Butler, Volume 2, both returned to the list this week in ninth and 10th places respectively.

The full manga list was:

1. Rosario Vampire Season II, Volume 2, by Akihisa Ikeda (VIZ Media)

2. Black Bird, Volume 5, by Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ Media)

3. Naruto, Volume 48, by Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ Media)

4. Bakuman , Volume 1, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (VIZ Media)

5. Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Volume 27, by Ken Akamatsu (Del Ray)

6. Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 23, by Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ Media)

7. D. Gray-Man, Volume 18, by Katsura Hoshino (VIZ Media)

8. Skip Beat!, Volume 21, by Yoshiki Nakamura (VIZ Media)

9. Vampire Knight, Volume 10, by Matsuri Hino (VIZ Media)

10. Black Butler, Volume 2, by Yana Toboso (Yen Press)

In the hardcover graphic books list, the Twilight graphic novel gained some ground the various DC Comics’ Blackest Night books, moving up to spots to sixth place.

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The New York Times has published its weekly list of the top 10 selling manga books.

Tokypop had two OEL titles crack the top five this week, including Warriors: Ravenpaw’s Path, Volume 3, which debuted in first place.

VIZ Media took the next two spots with Rosario Vampire Season II, Volume 2, and Black Bird, Volume 5. Tokypop’s second book, Return To Labyrinth, Volume 4, debuted in fourth place. Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Volume 27, from Del Ray rounded out the top five.

VIZ Media controlled the second half of the list with Bakuman, Volume 1, in sixth place, followed by Naruto, Volume 48, and D. Gray-Man, Volume 18.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 23, was ninth place and Skip Beat!, Volume 21, finished the list in 10th.

The full manga list was:

1. Warriors: Ravenpaw’s Path, Volume 3, by Erin Hunter and James Barry (Tokyopop)

2. Rosario Vampire Season II, Volume 2, by Akihisa Ikeda (VIZ Media)

3. Black Bird, Volume 5, by Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ Media)

4. Return To Labyrinth, Volume 4, by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie (Tokyopop)

5. Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Volume 27, by Ken Akamatsu (Del Ray)

6. Bakuman, Volume 1, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (VIZ Media)

7. Naruto, Volume 48, by Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ Media)

8. D. Gray-Man, Volume 18, by Katsura Hoshino (VIZ Media)

9. Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 23, by Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ Media)

10. Skip Beat!, Volume 21, by Yoshiki Nakamura (VIZ Media)

Over on the hardcover graphic books list, DC Comics’ Blackest Night retained its hold of most of the list, and the Twilight graphic novel had to settle for eight place.

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Complaints lodged against a Florida public library over its manga collection may have led to unintended benefits for the facility’s young adult readers.

In July, the Crestview News Bulletin reported that Margaret Barbaree blamed manga for her son being placed in a “home for extensive therapy” and led a petition to ban the books from the Crestview Public Library.

In a follow-up published Saturday, the Bulletin reports that controversy led the library to create a new young adult/teen section. The newspaper quotes several young patrons who like the changes.

In her complaints, Barbaree stated her son took a manga book “unsupervised” from the library. Library officials were quoted as saying the book in question was not in the young adult section but rather in the general stacks on a top shelf.

According to the report, Barbaree led a petition earlier this year protesting the library’s collection of manga, which she referred to as anime. Several signers of the petition later complained that they had been misled about the petition, saying they had been told it was targeting pornography in the library.

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Animate U.S.A., Inc., has announced its August release lineup for the Amazon Kindle Store.

Four more Yaoi titles published by Libre Publishing in Japan, including Kindle Exclusive title Pet in Love--Pet on Duty Bonus Story by Nase Yamato have been added to the Kindle Store.

The other titles are Sound of My Voice - Golden Goose Part 2 by Youka Nitta, P.B.B. Play Boy Blues - Act 2 by Shiuko Kano and See You in the School of the Muse, Volume 1 (in Japanese) by Makoto Tateno.

Read the full press release in our forum.

VIZ Media, LLC, recently outlined details regarding the launch of brand new manga series set for release this summer.

“The series will tantalize the most discriminating manga tastes and features romantic dramas, fantasy driven action, the trials of aspiring manga creators, and a tasty slice of life story set in a romantic bistro in Rome,” the company said in a release this week.

The titles include several already released as well as some due out later this month.

Read the full press release in our forum.

Square Enix Co., Ltd., today (Wednesday) announced that it will launch a digital manga store serving customers in North America and France this fall.

Localized electronic editions of such popular Square Enix manga series as Fullmetal Alchemist and Soul Eater will be made available for the PC via the Square Enix group's North American and European Web sites.

Square Enix currently releases manga titles in 20 countries overseas through partnerships with local publishers. Series in circulation include Fullmetal Alchemist, with cumulative foreign shipments now surpassing 10 million units, as well as others that continue to garner worldwide acclaim, such as Soul Eater and Black Butler.

“Given the increasing popularity of electronic reading formats, Square Enix has decided to take advantage of the online distribution infrastructure originally developed for its games business, along with the company's existing payment system and online fan communities in order to establish a paid digital distribution channel to better serve the varied needs of its global customers,” the company said in a release.

Square Enix will continue to work with its existing regional publishing licensees to promote both electronic and print versions of titles, while aiming to deter piracy by establishing an official web-based distribution source.

Square Enix will be demonstrating the new service on machines at Comic-Con International, which starts today and continued through July 25 in San Diego, Calif. In addition, the first chapters of Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, Black Butler and O-Parts Hunter are available for download free of charge on the Square Enix group's North American and European Web sites in advance of the paid service's launch, with other series planned to follow.

Details on the number and pricing of titles available at the store's launch will be announced at a later date.

Source: PR Newswire

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From Sunday through today (Tuesday), Seven Seas released a series of cryptic anagrams and hints via Twitter that, when deciphered, revealed the titles of the company’s newest manga licenses.

Twitter followers and anime fans were quick to decode the clues, and word quickly spread about the leaked titles, which Seven Seas confirmed today.

The new titles are: Amnesia Labyrinth (volume 1 coming February 2011); ToraDora! (volume 1 coming March 2011): and A Certain Scientific Railgun (volume 1 coming June 2011).

Subsequent volumes in each series will follow every three to four months.

So why the decision to announce these titles via Twitter and in the form of anagrams, no less?

“If I had to write another boring press release, I would’ve stabbed myself with a fork,” said Senior Editor Adam Arnold. “But seriously, we wanted to have a little fun and figured this would be a unique way to announce these new manga series.”

Read the full press release in our forum.