The Best & Worst of Manga & AmeriManga 2007

By David Rasmussen
19th Jan 08

Once again another year has come and gone, time to see what was the best and worst of the year.
First off AmeriManga, and the best and worst…. Starting with the worst.

Worst AmeriManga of 2007
Antarctic Press’ Final Girl
To the least effective horror title of 2007, with the least interesting cast of characters, the females you had to vote on (more on looks and your personal taste in women than in actual personality which they lacked), and the crappy way the whole story ended (a cliffhanger moment from the end of Issue #4 pissed totally away when the dying girl at the end of that issue ups and dies between issues), then the final issue has a rush ending with it’s final girl rambling on as the sky turns piss yellow and you realize this ending sucks.
Never again will I be tricked by your mediocre writing, Hutchison! NEVER AGAIN!!

Antarctic Press’ Gold Digger : Peebo Tales (over before it began)
I didn’t hate this title, in fact I gave it a solid score.
I don’t know. Maybe it was the fact that the title had a starting first issue, followed by an ending final second issue that irked me. Maybe it was the fact that this is just a reprint of the original Peebo Tales Graphic Novel of sometime ago (and Fred Perry couldn’t be bothered to come up with fresh content). Or maybe it ALL that and the fact the title didn’t go past Issue #3 (despite the fact word has it there WAS an Issue #3 to be printed) and nothing about this release was fresh or new!
Yes, if that isn’t a bad thing then I don’t know what is!

King of Kings
Yeah. Not all faith based manga are Realbuzz quality manga… sometimes there’s stuff like this, King of Kings. Yeah, it was published in Hong Kong and tackled religion… in a totally crappy future tense weird ass world of long dialogue sequences, badly worked in bible content, and stuff like killer mass produced crabs that pinch off limbs or “And then there’s ANTICHRIST” -- yeah, right. Realbuzz take us away.

Archie Comic’ Sonic X
With an original universe long running title like Sonic the Hedgehog (joining Ninja High School with it’s title also going over the 150th issue mark this year) why the heck is Sonic X so terrible! Vaguely bouncing back and forth between a dismal 1 and a little better 2, the title seems unable to reach any higher than it’s low mark no matter how much you might wish otherwise. (Come on, stop being a retarded title already!!)

Warhammer 40K : Damnation Crusade
Yes, technically it is NOT an AmeriManga, but I needed a place to vent about this one.
If you ever wondered what a crappy game to comic conversion looks like, look at this “Limited Edition” hardcover TPB (out now), filled with MANLY MEN and vague conflicts and cranky AI mechs who don’t like to be woken up in the morning. Yeah, so MANLY this title… wonder why it got a crappy 2 out of 5 when I reviewed it while Broccoli Books’ game to manga translation Disgaea got a 5 out of 5!!

Adam Warren slumming’ it at PSM (now Official Playstation Magazine).
Yeah, is that all you can do now Mr. Warren? Draw one page four panel skits at the back of PSM issues?!? What’s wrong with you anyway!!

Best AmeriManga of 2007
Antartic Press’ long running dynamic duo.
Gold Digger (who celebrates it’s 100th issue (150th if you add the Golden Age 50 issue run) milestone soon) and Ninja High School (celebrated 150 issues just a few months ago) are still going strong (and with their original talent for the most part)! Hooray for you guys!

Seven Seas’ Aoi House
Coming near the end of it’s run if rumor is right, and we’ll be sad to see it go… so enjoy it while you can!

Archie Comics’ 2007 picks
Wow! If you only read Sonic X you’d never believe Sonic the Hedgehog is actually worth reading… it is! Now I just need to get a subscription since it’s so darn hard to find issues of that series!
Sabrina’s ongoing manga style continues to be worthy of mention, and while the brief experiment into the next evolution of Betty & Veronica has ended (and apparently badly as fan reaction has not motivated Archie Comics to continue on for the time being with the new evolution of the duo) there is hope that 2008 will see another go at it with the new look for the duo (maybe).

Seven Seas’ Destiny’s Hand
Unlike Antarctic Press’ Pirates vs. Ninjas (which just can’t seem to stop what with a third set of issues coming soon), the slow running Destiny’s Hand seems to take it’s time with it’s storytelling (and while I would like to see it go faster I know that good things come to those who wait). Here’s a title worth waiting for volume by volume.

TOKYOPOP’s Dramacon
Speaking of things coming to an end we’ve seen the Dramacon run finally end this year (strangely however it was moved up release-wise from October to December)! We’re going to miss you, Dramacon! (Now I just need to write my review and bring the series of reviews to a close!)

Antarctic Press’ Gold Digger Annual #13
Letting the fan base submit content for an issue all their own! What a novel concept! Other publishers should do that sometimes and give their own fan base a voice! Looking forward to seeing what the fans come up with in 2008!

Seven Seas’ Hollow Fields
What do you know! A creepy moody dark title that doesn’t suck… Hutchison! Pay attention! Maybe you’ll learn something!

TOKYOPOP’s Kat & Mouse
I really have to catch up with this title again, I’ve fallen behind on reviewing it! That’s a job for this year! (Otherwise schoolyard detective mystery antics and a little crime solving that doesn’t involve a slobbering dog named Scooby Doo? Sign me up!)

Antarctic Press’ Neotopia & Courageous Princess
Actually these two are on my to review list of 2008, but I thought this is as good a time to mention my upcoming look at this classic Espinosa titles from Antarctic Press. From all the good words I’ve heard of it, though, I’m highly anticipating it to get a high score from me when it’s reviewed 1st Quarter 2008!

TOKYOPOP’s Sorcerers & Secretaries
This was a year for endings it seems, another title worth checking it’s ending to is Amy Kim Ganter’s Sorcerers & Secretaries (the little underrated romantic drama that flew under everyone’s radar, yet should be on your AmeriManga list for the year!)

Realbuzz’ first year launch
Finally, the first serious faith based franchise that doesn’t need to heft a large dose of faith at you to be successful! That, of course, is a reference to 5 out of 5 Goofyfoot Gurl (whose Volume 1 is a slice of life drama smathered with humor, solid dialogue, strong friendships and not a single bible reference or content in sight). Looking forward to Realbuzz year two with Serenity Volume 7 to 10 (formerly the spinoff series Serenity : Life! Camera! Action!), Hits & Misses Volume 1 to 4 AND (drum roll) a brand spankin NEW GOOFYFOOT GURL (Volume 5 is slated to be part of the second wave of releases from what I’ve seen of upcoming books!) Can I hear an “oh yeah” from the congregation out there? Yes!

Worst Manga of 2007
ADVManga Still Ignoring Aria
Yeah, so they bought back Gunslinger Girl and Yotsuba&!… great, whatever, now bring Aria back already!! What!! Was I the only reviewer to praise this title for the true treasure of a read it is?!? Where is the praise this title deserves, the attention… the 2 season Anime DVD release and the manga release it so desperately deserves!! Where!! Where!! (Don’t mind me, I’m still bitter over this.)

The Travesty of a Sakura/Syaoran Li pairing NEVER ENDS!!
OK, enough! How many volumes of Tsubasa did you make again just to parade your endlessly horribly pairing of Sakura and Syaoran Li again, CLAMP?!? (bleep)!!! (Then again to me ONE Volume is too much of this pairing!!)

Best Manga of 2007
Broccoli Books’ Coyote Ragtime Show
Took me awhile to get into it, now I’m more hip over it.

Broccoli Books’ Disgaea II
Who says titles based on video games have to suck. This doesn’t suck.

ADVManga’s Gunslinger Girl
Have you lost hope of ever seeing new volumes of this ever again? Well now that ADVManga is trying to get their acts back together again now you don’t have to despair anymore… now if only they’d get the other worthy titles back on track (Aria)!

Seven Seas’ I, Otaku
Not my cup of Cherry Coke, but if you want to see something far more disturbing (and off the wall) than Comic Party? Then here you go… enjoy the madness.

TOKYOPOP’ Kingdom Hearts series and Kilala Princess series
Both of these take the whole Disney thing (Disney as a whole and Disney Princesses respectively) and makes them fresh and new in ways you’ve never seen before. Bravo to both (if you are reading one but not the other… why? Read BOTH!)

TOKYOPOP’ Strawberry Marshmallow
Reminds me I still have to review Volume 3. Otherwise it’s one of my favorite reads right now (first got hooked on the Anime, then the manga in turn.)

It’s not Azumanga Daioh but if you’re looking for a rather odd slice of life comedic gem to fill the space left behind by the ending of Daioh this might fill a wee bit of that need… until “the next Azumanga Daioh” (in spirit, not an actual sequel) arrives.

Warcraft the Manwha series
Yeah, another on my to review list (and another I think you should be checking out regardless of whether you are a fan of the megaPC series World of Warcraft or not).

(And I’m not just recommending it because I totally would like Activision-Blizzard to send me some games to review… how about copies of the Everquest paper RPG! I’m investing in that for reviews, you know… OK, how about a PR at Activision-Blizzard joins Bookmooch.com and puts a whole batch up for mooching! I already have the whole set on my wish list!)
(What? Stop begging and get back to the… oh, right, sorry.)

ADVManga’s Yotsuba&! (Yotsubato)
ADVManga’s start into returning to the powerhouse status it once held (before it crashed, burned, and dangled in the fires of doom for a few years time)! Seeing this title return was another pleasant surprise from ADV… too bad they haven’t made a peep after that with any other returning title news!
Aria still needs to be relaunched (amongst the many worthy titles that need a second chance!)

That’s about it. Not much, but now that I got this whole membership with BookMooch.com going I hope to review more titles in the coming months (stay tuned)!

-- David Rasmussen 19th Jan 08