One of my favorite things about San Diego Comic Con is that the fun does not stop at the convention center doors! It spreads out into the streets of the downtown Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego! And into the neighboring hotels for special events, screenings, interactive exhibits, and more! I often skip some of the outdoor activities, due to the long lines and the boiling hot California sun! But, that is not to say that there are not a ton of things that I would LOVE to see and do! The San Diego Central Library also hosts an entire weekend of content that is FREE for anyone to attend! A San Diego Comic Con badge is NOT required! But, if you are a librarian or educator, you can apply for a FREE Professional Badge to attend San Diego Comic Con! Learn more here!

Back inside the convention center, there are also a ton of things to see and do! My days are a mix of exploring artist alley, attending panels, and visiting publisher booths on the exhibit floor. I usually visit every manga publisher, because it is a chance for me to see what is new and popular with readers, I can grab some bookmarks and posters, and publishers like Yen Press now have manga catalogs available! It is also a great opportunity to chat with the sales team and ask questions regarding specific titles, upcoming releases, or any other library needs. Manga publishers often design their booths around certain titles with free giveaways. This year Kodansha was celebrating the re-release of Initial D and VIZ Media was celebrating 25 years of Naruto!

The first panel that I attended was the Manga Publishing Industry Roundtable moderated by Deb Aoki (Mangasplaining). This panel covered current trends in manga, new titles, publisher obstacles, and what is next for the industry. Panelists included Hope Donovan (VIZ Media), Ben Applegate (Kodansha), Ed Chavez (Denpa Books), Michael Gombos (Dark Horse), Matt Haasch (Star Fruit Books), Kurt Hassler (Yen Press), and Morgan Perry (Square Enix Manga & Books). There were a few key takeaways from this panel. For one, there are a lot of new micropublishers entering the manga market. While this variety is good for meeting the needs and interests of manga readers, panelists predict that they will not all last. One of the major challenges that publishers are currently facing is that there might just be too much manga! Not all manga titles fit on the shelves of bookstores, so publishers are starting to be super intentional and selective about the titles that they license. Exciting news is that the US only translates a small portion of the manga actually being created in Japan! Well, let’s find the space… because we want the manga! One of the biggest concerns that publishers have right now, is how to maintain sales in comparison to or move above and beyond the “COVID Boom”! The cost of creating manga is going up and sales are going down. So, what are the solutions? What next steps do publishers, readers, and librarians need to take?! 

Recently, I have started to appreciate attending panels with live drawings. Not only do you learn about the creators, their stories, and their art… But, it builds a new appreciation for the manga itself! I attended the Dark Horse panel Discussing Lovecraft with Gou Tanabe, in which Zack Davisson interviewed the mangaka and his editor about the process of adapting H.P Lovecraft’s stories into manga format. As I watched Tanabe-sensei draw, he spoke about how he creates his characters with plain faces, so that the reader can put themselves into the story and feel the experience for themselves. He also spoke about how he struggled with creating his own world and found it easier to interpret someone else’s world. Tanabe-sensei also works completely alone, so he is able to work at his own pace creating 40 pages a month! I luckily had the privilege of meeting Tanabe-sensei at the CBLDF party! Which I attend annually and where I have more fun than I probably should!

This year, I was invited to be a judge for the 36th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards! While this was a great honor, it was a great responsibility! Luckily, I was joined by some of the most wonderful people in the comic industry: Ryan Claytor, Christopher Couch, Andréa Gilroy, Joe Illidge, and Matias Lewis! Nominations opened in January and closed in March, and with approximately 3,000 titles nominated, we had quite a lot of reading ahead of us! At the end of April, all six judges including Jackie Estrada, met for 72 hours in San Diego to select the top five titles for each of the 32 categories! Once the selected titles were released to the public for voting, we saw a flood of emotional celebrations that made all of the hard work worth it! Annually at San Diego Comic Con, the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards hosts a ceremony at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel, where over 450 guests from the comic industry attend to celebrate the winners!

Here are the manga titles that were nominated for a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award this year:

My Girlfriend’s Child → Best Publication for Teens

The Yakuza’s Bias → Best Humor Publication

#DRCL Midnight Children and The Shadow Over Innsmouth → Best Adaptation of Another Medium

#DRCL Midnight Children, Goodbye Eri, My Picture Diary, The Horizon, River’s Edge, and The Summer Hikaru Died → Best US Edition of International Media – Asia

The Summer Hikaru Died → Best Writer and Artist

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun: First Stall → Best Publication Design

For the past two years, I have been invited by Deb Aoki to participate on her Best and Worst Manga panel at San Diego Comic Con. Unfortunately, this year the panel overlapped with the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony and since I was a judge I had to set my priorities. But, the list was shared with me… and here are the BEST manga titles for Teens and Older Teens!

Akane-banashi → Teen 

In the Name of the Mermaid Princess → Teen 

Medalist → Teen 

Mr. Villain’s Day Off → Teen 

My Happy Marriage → Teen 

My Lovesick Life as a ‘90s Otaku → Teen 

Soara and the House of Monsters → Teen 

Tamon’s B-Sides → Teen 

Yuri is My Job! → Teen 

Call of the Night → Older Teen 

Daemons of the Shadow Realm → Older Teen 

The Darwin Incident → Older Teen 

Gachiakuta → Older Teen  

Marriage Toxin → Older Teen 

Windbreaker → Older Teen

I would like to say that San Diego Comic Con went out with a bang! But, it was really just me singing along with hundreds of other people to Buffy: Once More, With Feeling! On another note, I am interested in attending WonderCon in March 2025! Let’s see how that goes! For now, next stop… Anime NYC! Email me if you have any questions mangainlibraries@gmail.com.

Manga in Libraries: Read Manga © 2024. All Rights Reserved.

This was the first time that I attended Anime Expo in Los Angeles, and despite all of the frightening pictures and videos of overcrowded spaces… I found Anime Expo to be quite wonderful! I honestly never felt crowded and had no trouble getting into any of the panels or screenings. But, then again, I did have an Industry Badge which actually gave me some privileges unlike other cons that I have attended in the past. At Anime Expo, I visited the Entertainment Hall where I spent way too much money on Bandai Gashapon, Artist Alley where I also spent way too much money on stickers and pins, and the Exhibit Hall where I visited publishers and made lists of titles to buy for my school library and myself. While I did not get a chance to visit the Ichiban Market or the Manga Lounge, I did make sure to find time to eat lunch at AX Crossing everyday… onigiri, takoyaki, and yakisoba. In the end, one really cannot visit and participate in all of the things at Anime Expo, there is simply not enough time. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing… It keeps the fans coming back for more! 

Manga in Libraries was invited by Billy Tringali, the founder and editor of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS), to participate in the AX Anime and Manga Studies Symposium, which is “a special programming track of academic lectures and panels on topics related to anime, manga, and Japanese culture. Presented by scholars from around the world, the Anime and Manga Studies Symposium as first introduced in 2011 and has featured over fifty different speakers from more than thirty universities and colleges. With subjects varying from the development of the anime industry to common themes in anime writing, the Anime and Manga Symposium is a unique chance to delve deeper into the world of Japanese pop culture.” My presentation titled Manga in Libraries and Beyond… focused on, of course, Manga in Libraries, but also on my IMLS research grant with Dr. Sanchez (a Professor at Queens College). I introduced the audience to our research project Teenage BIPOC Readers of Manga: Librarians Learning from Teens of Color, our research questions on representation, social-emotional impact, and library services, the focus groups that we have been hosting with teens all across the country, and of course some of our preliminary findings. Learn more about the IMLS research grant here! 

Manga in Libraries was also invited by Kodansha to present on the Manga and Anime Clubs: Best Practices, Challenges, and Successes! panel. While there was not a program track for librarians and educators at Anime Expo, Kodansha did host a series of panels throughout the weekend that were dedicated to librarians and educators. During our panel we focused on the importance of hosting manga and anime clubs in schools and colleges, along with how to start a club, what to consider when designing a club, what types of activities to host during a club, academic and personal growth as a result of a club, and more! So, whether it is a manga book club, an anime watch party, a member-led workshops, or a special event. Hosting manga and anime clubs not only provide safe spaces for members, but they also help to build community.

My schedule for the American Library Association Annual Conference in June was packed, so I could not attend any publisher panels. So, it was with great joy that I was able to attend quite a few at Anime Expo! I will highlight some of the new upcoming titles from Yen Press, Square Enix, Dark Horse, and Kodansha that I am excited about adding to my school library collection or reading myself. During the Yen Press Industry Panel, they mentioned some of their popular ongoing manga series like Honey Lemon Soda, Bocchi the Rock, Delicious in Dungeon, Shy, and Oshi no Ko. They also introduced some new upcoming titles to the Yen Press lineup, which can be found here! During the Square Enix Industry Panel, they introduced some new upcoming titles including some beautiful art books for the popular manga series The Apothecary Diaries and My Happy Marriage. The Dark Horse Industry Panel announced a new upcoming title Cthulhu Cat which reminds me of Yokai Cats and The Evil Secret Society of Cats from Seven Seas. And, during the Kodansha Industry Panel, they introduced some new upcoming titles to their lineup, which can be found here! Two Kodansha titles that are of particular interest to me are Spacewalking With You, which I hope to include in my school library. And, Toxic Daughter: Chi-chan, a horrific tale of a girl and her scissors, adapted by one of my favorite mangakas Shuzo Oshimi, which will not be included in my school library!  

During Anime Expo, I also attended the VIZ Media Industry Panel which introduced the VIZ Originals One-Shots Program. Former editor-in-chief, Hisashi Sasaki, of Weekly Shonen Jump introduced the audience to the program. He stated, “Manga is popular and widely read in the United States, readers grow up reading manga, and there is a pool of talent here”. The VIZ Originals program seeks to tap into that pool of talent to create new mangakas here in the US. Mangakas will draw and write manga using the same methods deployed in Japan, with professional editing and proper promotion. Hisashi Sasaki wants to build a community in the US because he wants to give mangakas the opportunity to create manga, “I want you to be a part of that dream”. You can learn more about the program and submission guidelines on their website and in this video. 

Also, using the power of the Industry Badge, I was able to acquire front row seats to the Witch Hat Atelier interview with mangaka Kamome Shirahama and the premier of the Witch Hat Atelier anime, which is absolutely stunning and coming to Crunchyroll in 2025. Watch the trailer here! Did you know that public librarians and school librarians that host anime clubs can get a FREE Crunchyroll account? Get more information here! While no pictures or videos were allowed to be taken during this panel… We were able to grab a pic of the brushbuddy at the mic! Sooooo cute!

Well, that’s my recap! I look forward to having the chance to attend Anime Expo again in the future! For now, next stop… San Diego Comic Con! Email me if you have any questions mangainlibraries@gmail.com. 

Manga in Libraries: Read Manga © 2024. All Rights Reserved.