Figures, I finally manage to get out and DO stuff on a weekend, and something actually HAPPENS.

So, if you’ve got a single anime news feed on your reader, odds are good that you’ve already heard that Go! Comi has licensed 07-Ghost, Yuki Amemiya’s 2005 shounen fantasy (and debut manga). It revolves around Teito Klein, an elite student at a military academy where he is among the top student users of “zaiphon,” basically a magic ability. Just as he’s passed his final exam to get into the army, he overhears something he isn’t supposed to and becomes a fugitive. Oops!

Also of note, I spotted this in their store. If you’re a fan of Aimee Major Steinberger, who created Go! Comi’s Japan Ai comic, they’re selling a limited quantity of her doujinshi sketchbook, Water Lily. Just thought it was kinda neat.

On a sidenote releating to 07-Ghost, it runs in Ichinjinsha’s Zero-Sum anthology. Canned Dogs has a report from Ichijinsha about the readership of Zero-Sum and its other anthologies. It’s interesting data; be sure and check it out.

While I was waiting around for Bandai Entertainment’s big news, MangaBlog’s Brigid was chatting up VIZ folks– and learned that VIZ is going to be taking submissions for original graphic novels.

So, on today’s schedule: VIZ is having their regular panel at 11, Del Rey at 12, and Yen Press (I’ve been teased that there’ll be some more big news there) at 1. 3pm will be Digital Manga Publishing’s panel, which will feature lots of Speed Racer and some 801 Media as well. Then at 6pm Dark Horse is having a panel that I’m told is mostly comics news, but that there IS a significant manga announcement there as well. (I checked because Dark Horse is at the same time as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time’s showing…)

And after Dark Horse comes CMX.

So, to sum up: if you have questions for VIZ, Del Rey, Yen, DMP, Dark Horse, and/or CMX, go ahead and leave ‘em here and I’ll see what I can do about getting them answered. (I’m also going to go back to Bandai if I can to get some of those questions answered.)

Just a quick FYI, since I know I have a few parents who read: MangaBlog’s Brigid has announced the creation of a new blog called Word Balloons, which is devoted to childrens’ comics for preschoolers through young adults, which will include manga (like Eisner nominee Yotsuba&!) as well as other comics around the world. And the contributor list is pretty star-studded:

…our opening group of contributors includes super-librarian and former Eisner judge Robin Brenner*, PopCultureShock’s Manga Recon blogger Kate Dacey, Manga Xanadu blogger Lori Henderson, school media specialist Esther Keller, Diamond Comics Distributor’s Janna Morishima, webcomicker and blogger Jason Sigler, librarian and MangaCast reviewer (and current Eisner judge) Eva Volin, and teen librarian and Manga Jouhou reviewer Snow Wildsmith. Dan Hess, the talented creator of Angel Moxie and Realms of Ishikaze, was kind enough to draw the header image, and J. Dee Dupuy handled design (and was very patient about it, too).

* Robin Brenner is not only a former Eisner judge, she’s also a 2008 nominee!

All in all it looks like it’ll solidly fill a longstanding gap in comics blogs, and with such prominent talent? This can only be good.

Some of you may remember that I reported on the strange matter of Yaoi House, a western BL publisher whose owner surrendered all her shares to the shareholders. On that thread I’ve received a couple of comments from a Rev. Tyler Grosset, who is a shareholder and now Yaoi House LLC’s web services head.

The company has (re?)launched its online shop, where you can buy individual books or a regular membership subscription for access to chapter-by-chapter updates of all of the company’s works. They’re also looking for more authors, so if you have a BL novel in you, you might consider getting in touch with them (although writer guidelines and whatnot don’t seem to be available on the new site yet).

No, seriously! In addition to Yaoi Press’ western BL creators le Peruggine (a pair from Italy, creators of Cain), Digital Manga Publishing is bringing Princess Princess’s Mikiyo Tsuda (who is also known as Taishi Zaou, creator of a dozen or so hot manga and doujinshi) and Eiki Eiki, the creator of The Art of Loving Dear Myself, and World’s End.

The two have collaborated on several works, including the yaoi manga Color and, interestingly, a collection of yuri short stories called Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu (I’ve seen some of it; it’s hot).

The Jamboree takes place in Arizona June 20-22nd (it’s the same weekend as AnimeNEXT, so I can’t attend. Damnit. *taishi zaou squeeeeeee*).

Just caught this on my way to bed - apparently Svetlana Chmakova - creator of the very popular OEL manga DramaCon as well as a new title for new publisher Yen Press, Night School - is waiting for a green light for a show on Cartoon Network.

An adaptation of DramaCon, perhaps? Or something completely new? I’m not especially an OEL fan, nor a big fan of what I’ve seen of Chmakova’s works (admittedly, that’s very little), but I think I’d try to tune in for an OEL anime on Cartoon Network to see what it’d be like.

Del Rey (see liveblog thread) opened with their new announcements (after some stalling while they got Power Point working), their favorite being Fairy Tail, by Rave Master’s Hiro Mashima.

More exciting to me is Hell Girl (a.k.a. Jigoku Shoujo), whose very attractive but decidedly episodic anime has been licensed by FUNimation. i’m hoping the manga is a little cooler, though the art style looks a bit less to my liking.

More exciting to many of YOU is probably Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the manga based on the very popular DS game. (They’re hoping to have the first volume out around the same time as the next game.)

And finally, Me and the Devil Blues, a manga about the blues singer Robert Johnson, who allegedly sold his soul to the devil to get his blues skills. (In this version, of course, that really did happen).

They also announced a couple of novels: Dark Wars, a continuation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Vampire Hunter D author Hideyuki Kikuchi; and Psycho Busters, a novel by GetBackers author Yuya Aoki, which they also have the manga for.

Aaaand an OEL manga announcement…Yokaiden, a manga by Nina Matsumoto, who you may remember as “spacecoyote” - the artist behind the amaizngly popular “manga Simpsons” fanart.

You want more? How about a manga adaptation of Terry Brooks’ Dark Wraith of Shannara, with art by Edwin David and adaptation by Robert Napton.

I dunno about you, but I’m exhausted just typing all that.