It's just another day spent waiting around for a text message from a candidate for president... NBD. LOL. Find about about Barack Obama's latest efforts to get your number, Joe Biden's pros and cons, and John McCain's taxman accusation, all in today's Political Lunch. Less

One week to go before convention season begins! Today's Lunch looks back at Saturday's Obama/Mccain faith forum. Is Barack finally convincing people that he's not a muslim? And was McCain tipped off about the questions ahead of time? ALSO: What's on the ideal Veep's resume? Less

One week to go before convention season begins! Today's Lunch looks back at Saturday's Obama/Mccain faith forum. Is Barack finally convincing people that he's not a muslim? And was McCain tipped off about the questions ahead of time? ALSO: What's on the ideal Veep's resume? Less

Will returns with a look at two more political conventions that changed history: the Republicans in '64 at the Cow Palace, and the protests in '68 at the Democrats' Chicago convention. Less

Will returns with a look at two more political conventions that changed history: the Republicans in '64 at the Cow Palace, and the protests in '68 at the Democrats' Chicago convention. Less

BroBooks didn’t announce anything new at SDCC but if you were able to make it down to the Comic Con International for their panel you were treated to useful insights covering the industry from a veteran who knows her stuff - Shizuki Yamashita, Broccoli International Director of Operations. 40 minutes with her is more valuable than 10 hours of this podcast… Seriously. Broccoli Books Dates: 07/25/2008 Venue: Comic Con International, San Diego Convention Center, SD, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 45:08min This podcast was recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

Really short clip from Del Rey at SDCC. Dallas and crew shared the panel with the rest of Random House’s graphic novel divisions, so I believe they had to go through 70 books in their 45 minutes! They did a great job because they made up time for Q&A a few times. Del Rey Manga covered their four new licenses, new books for 2008~2009 and their CLAMP tribute book edited by Shaenon K Garrity. Del Rey Manga Dates: 07/26/2008 Venue: Comic Con International, San Diego Convention Center, SD, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 23:07min This podcast was recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

Tonight on GeekNights we discuss what went down at Connecticon 2008. In the news, Otakon is this weekend, and we’re doing a bunch of stuff there. Don’t miss it. Scott’s Thing - Reverse Escalator Rym’s Thing - Dragon Girl Less

DC forgot about the manga. Shounen Gahosha never collected the manga from the pages of the legendary Weekly Shounen King magazine. So Batman fans, particularly fans of the Japanese toys from the 60’s, scoured the interwebs and searched bookstores for issues of Shounen King for chapters of the Japanese version penned by the creator of 8Man Kuwata Jiro. In this recording the BatManga’s editor Chip Kidd discusses the origins of this collection. Reveals some of the secret toys that were never sold in the US. And also suggests that the Japanese version of BatMan was more tokusatsu hero gunslinger than the Dark Knight my generation of BatMan fans know. Chip Kidd’s BatManga Dates: 07/24/2008 Venue: Comic Con International, San Diego Convention Center, SD, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 53:51min This podcast was recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

With just 20 days until the start of the Democratic convention, Will's Tuesday Snack looks back at two political conventions that changed history, according to the latest issue of Smithsonian Magazine. Less

With just 20 days until the start of the Democratic convention, Will's Tuesday Snack looks back at two political conventions that changed history, according to the latest issue of Smithsonian Magazine. Less

I hate to admit this but with Her Majesty’s Dog and Tenshi ja Nai done, I haven’t been reading much from Go! Comi lately. That is a shame, because the mid-range pub has one of the better libraries out there. Having found a unique place between sugar sweet Shojo Beat and not so sweet June, Go! Comi is the best of both and more. Their books are sexy, well written, nicely drawn and most importantly smart enough to keep older readers interested. Gosh bless pubs like Go! Comi… And thank dog for Kamisama Kazoku, Cantarella and Hikkatsu because my shelves would be seriously missing on the Soul of Manga without them. Go! Comi Dates: 07/05/2008 Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center, LA, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 54:09min This podcast was written and recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

TOKYOPOP has had its ups and downs this year. To me AX was clearly an up for the LA publisher. Sure, they did not have a booth at the anime convention, but their staff did well to inspire confidence in some of their readers at their panel.Announcing a number of new titles and new original projects TP seemed to be back on track to success. And given how many of those new properties seemed to be from either proven artists or known media properties I hope the publisher will see their moves translate into continued support and sales in the coming months and years. Partnerships with MagGarden and Gentosha will strengthen the publisher even if those two licensors are not major players. If played correctly TP could find themselves with a nice number of media titles and more importantly with many titles that have crossover appeal (for guys and gals). Gentosha’s relationship could also feed their BLU line. Gentosha is a publisher of BL (as well as seinen and josei) and has had a few artists that western readers should be familiar with. So yeah, TP has had its issues, name a pub that isn’t Viz who hasn’t, but if they play their cards right and they go back to their roots of publishing manga readers (all manga readers) want they should be in good shape in the future. I just hope readers and critics give them a chance. TOKYOPOP Dates: 07/04/2008 Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center, LA, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 55:09min This podcast was written and recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

TOKYOPOP has had its ups and downs this year. To me AX was clearly an up for the LA publisher. Sure, they did not have a booth at the anime convention, but their staff did well to inspire confidence in some of their readers at their panel.Announcing a number of new titles and new original projects TP seemed to be back on track to success. And given how many of those new properties seemed to be from either proven artists or known media properties I hope the publisher will see their moves translate into continued support and sales in the coming months and years. Partnerships with MagGarden and Gentosha will strengthen the publisher even if those two licensors are not major players. If played correctly TP could find themselves with a nice number of media titles and more importantly with many titles that have crossover appeal (for guys and gals). Gentosha’s relationship could also feed their BLU line. Gentosha is a publisher of BL (as well as seinen and josei) and has had a few artists that western readers should be familiar with. So yeah, TP has had its issues, name a pub that isn’t Viz who hasn’t, but if they play their cards right and they go back to their roots of publishing manga readers (all manga readers) want they should be in good shape in the future. I just hope readers and critics give them a chance. TOKYOPOP Dates: 07/04/2008 Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center, LA, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 55:09min This podcast was written and recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

Viz is big. And they have big plans. Sadly AX really wasn’t part of those plans this year. Viz didn’t have a booth at AX. They didn’t have much of a presence at the event at all. Outside of their panel and an appearance on the Publishers Showdown, they were pretty quiet. And for a group that could be the biggest Japanese IP company in the West (I guess Funi is the other company in that conversation), that says something. (Though I don’t know if it says something about AX or Viz…) Viz did announce a few new titles - shoujo. They talked up SDCC and Shounen Jump’s Anniversary. And poof after dropping a ninja smokebomb they were gone. Expect bigger news from San Diego this week. Viz Media Dates: 07/04/2008 Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center, LA, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 55:09min This podcast was written and recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

Happy Anniversary Aurora Pub! Congrats on one year of shoujo, josei and now seinen! Aurora is one of those pubs that makes me scratch my head. They have so much potential. With so many strong one-shot josei titles and a number of good short series from their long history dominating that market in Japan, I would have thought they would have tapped into that to help redefine women’s comics in this market. Instead, their main brand Aurora is Walkin’ Butterfly and a bunch of also ran shoujo titles. What about Tonori no 801-chan? What about all of those Sheik titles? Right now the only reason to read Aurora is for their Deux line… If history has shown anything, over the last five years or so, when a niche paces a publisher, that niche becomes that pub’s image. That really is not how a company like Ohzora should be perceived in this market, but with every new license the Aurora picks up they appear to be more content seeing themselves as one of manga’s small-fry. Aurora Publishing Dates: 07/04/2008 Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center, LA, California Click to Listen to Side Dish. Length: 20:48min This podcast was written and recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

People talk about the versatility that manga has over other forms of sequential art. Sadly we hardly get to see it. I don’t know why that is. It might be because of marketing issues or maybe just short-sighted fans/readers, but manga in this part of the world is only scratching the surface of its potential. Japanese publisher Manga University is doing their part to show the English speaking world what manga is capable of accomplishing. Their books are an educational and entertaining form of manga journalism sharing Japanese culture with manga readers. I got to talk to their CEO Glenn Kardy about MU’s books and why they think manga works so well as a teaching tool. Interview with Manga University Dates: 05/31/2008 Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center, LA, California Guests: Glenn Kardy Click to Listen to Side Dish. This podcast was written and recorded by Ed Chavez for the MangaCast. Subscribe to the MangaCast at email at mangacast[at]gmail[dot]com Less

Today on The Lunch, contradictions weaken campaigns, John McCain finds a whole lot of money, and Obama steps outside for a little bit of theater. Less

Today on The Lunch, contradictions weaken campaigns, John McCain finds a whole lot of money, and Obama steps outside for a little bit of theater. Less

Anime Expo is only days away now. I’ve got my airline tix, my work schedule and am working on my dinner schedule. Manga once again has a strong presence at this major anime con and I believe I should be able to get a few audio clips to share with you all. Anime Expo 2008 the West Coasts Largest Anime Con Los Angeles Convention Center July 3-6 http://www.anime-expo.org/ Schedule PDF Thursday, July 3 16:00~17:00 Manga: Ultimate Publisher Showdown 2008 Hosted by Jason Thomspon Location: LACC Room 411 (Open to Press and Industry only) The American manga industry is still going strong, but what’s next? Will OEL, manhwa and digital delivery change the future? What about the shakeups and magazine cancellations sweeping the manga industry in Japan? Join America’s premiere manga publishers for a no-holds-barred discussion. 18:00~19:30 Anime and Manga in Academia Location: LACC 515A Quiet first day but with Jason’s Pub Showdown I would expect the editors/publishers present would need a day or two off. I hope the showdown is more of a throwdown like last year’s. The battles between niche and mainstream were intriguing. With pubs struggling and the industry clearly in a correction phase, I wonder which direction the conversation is going to go in this time. Manga in academia… Geh, I guess. The occasional thesis on manga is cool, but occasionally I feel that academic reports is based too much on theoretical analysis instead of fact and investigative research. And I say that because I’ve been guilty of this… Friday, July 4 10:30~11:30 Technology, Entertainment and Licensing Location: LACC 411 The stage is being set for massive change in technology, electronic entertainment and licensing. New technologies, such as BluRay, have been disrupting current business models and are creating entirely new ones in their place. Mobile operators have aggressively pursued services and channels, including games and programs, to boost data spending. Cross-licensing, synchronized releases of products, combined with marketing plans designed to leverage shared audiences, are rewriting the way companies market properties, drive revenues and, most importantly, work in partnerships with others. Mobile entertainment, product development, and electronic entertainment executives discuss how their interests and objectives dovetail with those of the anime and manga industries. What are they looking for from their alliance with the growing industry? How do anime and manga enhance their own brands? Where are the untapped opportunities for collaboration? Are there efforts to develop original and unique Intellectual Properties through early collaboration? How are these other industries enhancing their profits by maximizing their relationship with the anime and manga industries? As the success of each entertainment silo begins to depend increasingly gains of others, knowing how our potential partners think can only translate into better business opportunities for all. 11:00~12:00 Aurora Publishing One Year Birthday Party! Location: LACC 515A Celebrate Aurora Pub’s first year anniversary with their crew and their readers! 12:00~13:00 Viz Media Anime & Manga Panel Location: LACC 502A 13:00~14:00 Dark Horse 20th Anniversary Panel Location: LACC 502A 16:00~17:00 Aimee Steinberger’s Japan Ai Location: LACC 515A 17:00~18:00 DMP Books Location: LACC 502A 18:30~19:30 Wendy Pini’s “Masque of the Red Death” Location: LACC 515A 18+ only: Please Provide ID 20:30-21:30 June Manga & 801 Media Location: LACC 515A 18+ only: Please Provide ID The editors of June Manga and the mascots of 801 Media Inc. are back! Join Tomo-chan, 801-chan, a token bishie or two and the rest as they discuss all the exciting things in store for fujoshi across the country. Exciting title announcements, awesome prizes, pictures from Pop Japan Travel’s Fujoshi Tour and the usually silliness are guaranteed. Sex, boys and boys having sex with other boys are the only topics of discussion allowed. Oh there are going to be fireworks on this Fourth! Masque, Aimee, bishies, Shounen Jump, josei birthdays, anniversaries and digital distribution… Hold on let me catch my breathe… (cough) Long day and there should be at least a few announcements (looks at June/801 and Aurora) Saturday, July 5 10:00~11:00 Tokyopop Location: 502A 11:00~12:00 Go! Comi Location: 515A 11:30~12:30 Manga as High Art: Self Defense for the Otaku Location: LACC 304 15:30~16:30 Broccoli Books Location: LACC 515A Fun talk & give-aways. Come and join us! 17:30~18:30 CMX: Manga for the Masses Location: LACC 502A 21:00~22:00 le Peruggine: Winter Demon Location: LACC 515A 16+ only Another long day but in my opinion a more entertaining day. Broccoli on the schedule always guarantees an entertaining and informative look at the industry. Go! Comi always seems to put on a good show. I’m hoping they bring a few surprises (BTW, I was pleasantly surprised by Kamisama Kazoku). Oh and if you happen to be around at 5:30p you might see me on the CMX panel… I might ask you for a ride to the airport. Sunday, July 6 11:00~12:00 COSMODE Location: LACC 515A 12:30~13:30 An Introduction to Romance Manga Location: LACC 411 16+ only Cosmode!!! And uh, umm well time to go home. See you at SDCC!! Manga Pubs in the Dealers Room… Go say hi and buy some books! Aurora Publishing, Inc. Bandai Entertainment Broccoli Books Dark Horse Comics DC Comics / CMX Digital Manga Inc. DrMaster Publications Go! Comi Manga University Media Blasters Netcomics Otaku USA Magazine Udon Entertainment Yaoi Press Less