As usual, my list is a bit different from everyone else’s because I’m using the inventory and availability information from work (a bookstore) as opposed to Diamond (just one of our vendors), or trusting to the vagaries of the internet — where even publishers’ web sites occasionally have bad info.

This doesn’t make my list any better, but the different perspective can be handy — even if we are having the same problems with Dark Horse (I’d pick on DH again, but Chris Butcher on Comics212.net is doing such a good job of it, I have nothing to add.) The other advantage is that I can pick up on the occasional non-fiction title or oddball left-field search result that might be of interest to the otaku nation. (…the search term was “Japan”… no really.) (I can see you don’t believe me.)

But enough about books — onto the comics:

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Manga (& Manga-ish) Releases for 13 May to 19 May 2007

Brave Story — Viz — $19.99
Case Closed, vol. 17 — Viz — $9.99
Chun Rhang Yhur Jhun, vol. 3 — Infinity Studios — $10.95
Damned, vol. 1: Three Days Dead — Oni Press — $14.95

the Devil Does Exist, vol. 10 — CMX — $9.99
Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 13 — Viz — $9.99
Kamui, vol. 7 — Broccoli Books — $9.99
Kekkaishi, vol. 9 — Viz — $9.99

MAR, vol. 13 — Viz — $7.99
Omukae Desu, vol. 4 — Viz — $9.99
Serenity, vols. 1-6 — Realbuzz Studios — $9.99 ea.

Not Manga, but noted

Kafka — Fantagraphics — $14.95
Magician: Apprentice, vol. 1 — Marvel — $19.99
Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age — Penguin — $18.99
Working Methods: Comic Creators Detail Their Storytelling and Artistic Processes — Twomorrows — $21.95

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• Stuck in the Middle is a comic anthology edited by Ariel Schrag about middle school.
• Kafka from David Mairowitz and R. Crumb. Crumb and Kafka, match made in heaven? hell? Prague?
• Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist, only this time as a comic from Marvel.
• Working Methods should be self explainatory.

…and so, as stated: noted.

The manga is a different story. There’s nothing this week that I want to buy, or feel that I need to talk about. I did order some manga last Thursday, but I was pre-ordering titles that won’t be coming out until after the 28th (and as such, will be discussed in two weeks time). Even with the sparse nature of this week’s list, it’s not like I’ve nothing new; from where I sit I can easily see 80 volumes of manga I haven’t read yet, in beckoning stacks on most flat surfaces about my apartment. (I’ve been watching too much anime recently, perhaps, neglecting my blog duties.) Just as soon as I read some titles worth talking about, we’ll be getting back to regular, daily posts.

I’ll end this week’s list with two administrative tidbits: First, I’ll be posting the manga watch list on Monday nights from now on, though the composition of the list (one calendar week of releases, Sunday through Saturday) will remain unchanged. The reasoning here is that the bookstore gets most of it’s new releases on Tuesday, so it makes sense to post the night before. (Also, I don’t think the folks conditioned for years by Diamond to expect comics on a Wednesday were really paying attention when I used to talk about upcoming releases on the weekend before.)

Next: the 5by8 column this week will post tomorrow, but moving forward I’ll try to get that in before midnight each Sunday. So it really will be Manga Mondays here on Comicsnob from now on — Opinions for breakfast, and Releases for dinner. (or for a really late dessert after dinner)