Adult consideration for 2011 Great Manga Gift Guide

This year Daniella has been calling for bloggers to submit lists, so if you want to check out other gift lists. Check out this year’s archive page.

Recently I read an article that spoke about how in the face of ebooks’s growing poplarity, there are the publishers who want to make it worthwhile for consumers to purchase a book. There are readers who would ultimately want one format or an electronic format, and for those consumers who would enjoy both. If you need to get a reader, check out this article. There are plenty of books that are released on a daily to monthly basics, but these are books/works that ultimately stood a test of time, and are deserving to be gifted.

For a timeless classics fan: Black Jack (Vertical) (17 volumes, at this time only 16 volumes have been published as of yet)

Vertical has satisfied fans, faithfully translated and released a well known character from the god of manga. Every volume that Vertical had released has ultimately been a quality release, with a unique cover title design, and a hefty weight. Every story shows a medical issue, and how Black Jack rescues that patient for better or worse. If you have limited options, then you can purchase the 11th volume of this series, and keep it at that. Volume 11 is the volume, where Tezuka had done a conclusive chapter to the story of Black Jack.

For fans who want value: Card Captor Sakura (Dark Horse) (2 volumes-ongoing)

Dark Horse has delighted CLAMP fans with releasing omnibus of series that has been out of print since Tokyopop closed shop. So for fans of CLAMP who want to read or keep omnibus of Card Captor Sakura here’s your chance. Three books for the price of one, each copy is ultimately a gem in the paper quality and color pages. If you don’t have the artbooks, or want to see what type of title this is, that would eventually spin off another title like Tsubasa Chronicles, Card Captor Sakura is a nice option. Nearly every chapter pages would have a cute fashion battle outfit for Sakura, but for those bishonen Yue scenes omnibus 2 would be a nice purchase.

For fans who want to start with a beginning: Sailor V (Kodansha) (2 volumes)

Ultimately I should recommend that Sailor Moon also be on this list, but for those who want to see the hype or is unsure about collecting the rest of Kodansha’s planned 14 volume re-release of Sailor Moon, then Sailor V should be a choice. After all, Sailor Moon is the ultimate spin off of this manga. Fans of Sailor Moon has been waiting for years for the official release of Sailor V, so at only two volumes it is nice to get into the beginnings of this gigantic success.

For adult readers who would want art as well as substance: A Zoo in the Winter (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

Fanfare/Ponent Mon is a publisher with a unique role in this “tiny” English manga industry. Other than Taniguchi’s other works, this time it is the first they have published a work of his in quality hardcover. The quality of manga in print is raising in book keepers. I have read and loved A Walking Man before, but A Zoo in Winter is something I have been waiting for a period. This is the author’s piece on how he found himself in the industry of manga creation, a memoirs of his coming of age experiences. A Drifting Life or Bakuman this is not, but this is an individual who embarks on a life long career.

For those who appreciate a good war story: Onward Toward Our Noble Death (Drawn & Quarterly)

Shigeru Mizuki has been a success in manga, much like the way Hayao Miyazaki has been in Japan with anime. Drawn & Quarterly though is the American publisher that had gotten the opportunity to license one of Mizuki’s titles. While there are other Mizuki titles to be ultimately explored, this is a biopic work that proves that war is not going to be roses and glory. So for those who want a perspective from the “enemy,” Onward is an excellent example of how the past shouldn’t color the future.

Gift cardsfor either the Kindle, Nook, or Apple products.

Gift cards are a great choice for friends who do a lot of portable reading. I know a huge part of my wishlist this year is for gift cards. There is always the nice idea of cash cash cash, but often that is seen an a fast gift. With the amount of comic apps going onto ereaders, I can say that there are some bargains to be found for the ebook market. On the iPad there are publishers like Dark Horse, Viz, Yen, Kodansha, Digital Manga Press, ZQ Books, Tezuka that would offer content of Japanese manga for readers. My bias is for Japanese manga, but there are other publishers available on the iPad that should appeal to your friends. So an Apple gift card is good for giving choice to your friends. Kindle and Nook gift cards are for those who have the Kindle and Nook and would have a preference for reading/purchasing books in that type of format. It is my understanding that a pet project of mine, the Digital Manga Guild, has been selling more of their DMG titles on Nook over the Kindle, but with time and an iPad app, the same titles would be available across formats. I recommend highly for friends to get fujoshi female friends gifts like this

For readers on the PC, how about gift a subscription to Jmanga.com? This is a collaboration between sevem and more Japanese publishers so there are volumes that are ultimately only available for this group. They have been conducting a sale in individual volumes, so this is a great way to allow readers read more manga.

Another gift option if you don’t have specific friends to give to, in this season of giving, consider donating  to the local library with a memo that the gift is for the purchase of graphic novels. I have been to several librarian graphic novel panels, and being an unemployed one myself, and user of New York City’s often perplexing three library systems. I am advocating donating to public libraries. Librarians are an advocate for graphic novels. So if you have some spare change, donate to your local library for purchasing and upkeep of graphic novels.

Another gift option, and this time it is not for manga, but for those who would enjoy folding origami, check out a subscription to Creased! They just celebrated their first year, and for the folding in you, beginning intermediate or complex, there are always models to be folded. Oh and if you want to check out origami books to gift, how about Lelya Torres’s list.

Relevant posts:

2009
2010: Anime Diet, Fujochic