I love doing panels at cons. If you’ve ever stopped by a Del Rey Manga panel, I hope that’s self evident. I ham it up something fierce, and I tell a lot of stories about some of the funny things that happen when you’re an American manga publisher.

Example: Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei. When we announced this one last month at the NYCC there was an audible gasp from the crowd and even a few cheers. We knew it was on people’s radar, but this was gratifying nonetheless. So here’s the story I told about the title. American manga publishers always come up against this problem eventually - do you translate the Japanese title into English or not? There are valid arguments on both sides. The Wallflower is known in Japan as Yamatanadeshiko Shichihenge, for example. Now, my personal feeling was that Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei was fine as is. Most Americans know the Japanese word sayonaraand most manga readers know the word sensei. That just left “Zetsubou”, the main character’s name (which also means “despair”), and I was confident readers would be able to work this one out.

Our sales department voiced a concern, and we were able to convince them it would be fine. But then our Japanese licensors voiced the same concern and asked us to change the title. We threw a few around. “Goodbye Teacher Despair” came up along with a few others, but nothing really stuck.

In the end we compromised; we would keep the original Japanese title but we would add an English subtitle. I was quote proud of what we came up with. It was a title that captured the story and the humor of the book. When the book hits stores early next year, you’ll be able to buy Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei: The Power of Negative Thinking. I hope you enjoy it.

But speaking of panels, I did another panel last month just before the Comic-Con. I was invited by Gina Gagliano (who I’m convinced is the most connected person in comics) to speak to a group of teens at the New York Public LIbrary about comics and manga. I was joined by Laura Hudson of Comics Foundry. Now, I’m more used to giving talks at cons, where the audience is friendly and well-versed in not just manga, but the business of manga. And I know the business of manga, and that’s why it’s so easy to do panels at cons.

This wasn’t like that. I mean, it was still easy, and the kids were great, and Laura was great, and it was loads of fun. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But there I am trying to talk about how manga gets published when one kids yells out: “Is Superman an illegal alien?” And Laura and I get into a heated debate about whether this is the pre- or post-crisis Superman, and the kids are eating it up. Next question, “Who would win in a fight, Hulk or Juggernaut?” was easily handled. And so on through the evening. My inner comics nerd was allowed to blossom in a way it hasn’t for many year, and it was good. Damn good.

It’s a big day tomorrow - it’s Free Comic Book Day! And Del Rey will be there in style with a preview of In Odd We Trust, which can be found in the Dabel Brothers sampler. In Odd We Trust is a collaboration between best-selilng author Dean Koontz and manga superstar Queenie Chan. Be sure to check it out.

Plus! Yokaiden author Nina Matsumoto will have her Simpsons story in the Bongo Comics sampler! You must check this out as well! I command you!! (Sorry, I was reading an article about Jack Kirby earlier.)

BTW, I completely suck for not blogging for so long. I’ll get back on the wagon on Monday with many, many stories to tell. (That’s the one good thing about not blogging for so long.)

This afternoon was our Del Rey Manga panel. We had a fantastic turnout, so a big thank-you-very-much to everyone who stopped by. For those who weren’t so fortunate, we’ll be posting about our new license announcements after the show…and showing off those X-Men and Wolverine character designs.

One reason we enjoy our panels so much is that it’s the first time we get reader reaction to our new acquisitions–and we get it live and in person. We were most surprised, in the best possible way, by the reaction to one announcement in particular: Kumeta’s black comedy masterpiece, Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei. While we were all confident that it was amazing book, we knew it would be a challenge to sell in the U.S.–it is, after all, a dark comedy about a suicidal high school teacher, with a delightfully eccentric art style. However, when we announced this title, the room erupted into applause, and the Internet response has likewise been warm and enthusiastic. We’ll be releasing it next spring, but it’s nice to know that our readers are already excited about it.

One of the highlights  of conventioneering is talking to our fans: It’s always great to know that people love the books we work so hard to put out. However, at conventions, we also get a lot of rather random questions: “Do you sell ‘Ghost in the Shell’ posters?,” “Where can I buy Pocky?,” and “Why are all your books backwards?” are a few classics from the past few days.

But an otherwise ordinary-looking young fellow just approached Dallas, and quite easily asked the weirdest question we’ve gotten:

Curious Stranger: “Do you publish any manga  about half-bird, half-man creatures?”

Dallas: “No.” (Because, really, what does one say to this question?)

C.S.: “How about manga about half-dinosaur, half-man creatures?”

Dallas: “No.”

C.S. (undaunted): “Do you know who does publish those books?”

Dallas: “No.”

All in all, I think it went rather well: I was concerned it was a prelude to a far to deeply passionate pitch on those very subjects.

We had fully intended to make good on our promise to liveblog the show…but the first thing we have to say about it (on Day 2) is that it’s turned out to be one crazy busy show. We’ve had our hands full with the huge crowds that have been streaming through the halls. Though the show’s space has been radically expanded since last year, it’s only allowed that many more people to crowd its aisles. It’s been tremendous fun, but it’s left precious little time for liveblogging.

 I’m working in a temporary lull. At the moment, our booth’s being blocked by a line for a signing at the booth next door. Anyone’s who been to a major convention knows this phenomenon: the line for a big signing can stretch all the way down an aisle, blocking every booth along the way. We’ve been doing our best to shill our free stuff–our free anthology (with excerpts of our latest books), gorgeous posters for Chris Hart and Anzu’s “The Reformed,” and our “Fairy Tail” slap bracelets (the coolest giveaway of the show)–to those waiting on line, but for me, it’s a blessedly rare moment to take a breather and blog away.

New York Comic Con officially begins on Friday, but for us, the convention truly kicks off tomorrow: the Del Rey Manga team will be at the Javits Center, constructing our booth, laying out our free giveaways, and stuffing the Prize Tower with goodies galore. And I’m off to icv2’s annual pre-NYCC graphic novel conference.

But keep checking in all weekend as the Del Rey Manga team liveblogs the con from the convention floor. It’s going to be an amazing show!

At the aforementioned panel–our Del Rey Manga panel, Saturday, April 19th, at noon, in Panel Room 2, at New York Comic Con–we’ll have something special to present: some final character designs for our X-Men and Wolverine manga titles!

It’s great that I can finally show Anzu’s final designs for the X-Manga…because I’ve run out of colleagues, friends, and family to impress, dazzle, or at the very least, amusingly bewilder (in the case of family members), with these designs. I just can’t help it: THEY’RE THAT GOOD. Nothing else shows the extent of Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, and Anzu’s brilliant re-imagining of the X-Men like these character designs.

While I can’t show you the actual images right now–you’ll have to come to our panel (or wait for their inevitable instantaneous release to the Internet), I can tell you a little about how they came about.

First, Dave and Raina wrote detailed descriptions for each of the characters: appearance, personality traits, likes and dislikes, fashion details…anything to help Anzu and I see the characters the way they were seeing them.

This was an important step. While the classic characters served as a template, Dave and Raina essentially re-built each and every character from the ground up. For example, here’s their description for Kitty Pryde:

Kitty Pryde (Sprite)
Powers: Phasing, levitation.
Appearance: Straight brown hair cut into a punky bob. Her hair is always getting in her eyes, and she’s constantly pushing it out of the way.
Kitty loves to wear fingerless gloves and arm-warmers, especially the ones she knits herself. She’s a tomboy who feels most comfortable wearing jeans, sneakers, and hooded sweatshirts. Kitty’s not the prettiest girl nor the ugliest, but someone who always finds herself falling between things. She is the type of girl that when guys stop and spend time with, they can’t help but fall in love with her.

Normally, Kitty finds it easier to bond with teachers than students. Her best friends are her sisters.
Kitty relishes her newfound attention from so many guys! She is especially swept off her feet by Pyro, the hot Australian boy who encourages her to abandon her protective skin.

Anzu produced pencil sketches based on these descriptions (and amazingly quickly! She’s the Fastest Pencil in the East). And, in tribute to Anzu’s amazing talent, most of them were perfect from the get-go. Kitty Pryde–one of the designs we’ll be previewing this weekend–was one of the best. Somehow, it’s hard not to fall in love with her right away and wish the best for her…exactly what we wanted in a shojo heroine.

This weekend’s big reveal will be just the first. Keep a watch on this blog for periodical updates on the making of the X-Manga (as its come to be known around the office).

Should you stop by Booths 1920-1921–the Del Rey Manga booth–you’ll see a dazzling, shimmering structure, every bit as alluring (and worthy of an obsessive, lifelong quest) as Roland Deschain’s Dark Tower.

It’s Del Rey Manga’s prize tower, packed full of goodies and special gifts that are destined to be won by a few lucky heroes and heroines. Visit our booth, sign up for our random drawing, and you could win one of the amazing prizes in the tower…including VIP passes to New York Anime Fest and a year’s supply of Del Rey Manga. The best part: you don’t need to return to our booth to claim your prize (so if you’re from out of town, or have just a one day pass, we still love you and you’re still eligible to win). Just be sure to leave a real e-mail address where we can contact you…and send you your fabulous prize!

If you’ll be at New York Comic Con, join us for our very own Del Rey Manga panel. Expect the usual humorous shenanigans, our famously thrilling PowerPoint presentation, loads of new license announcements–and the chance to interrogate Del Rey Manga staff, live and in person, for the latest manga intel. But seriously, we always have lots of fun putting on our show–and we have some great new titles to announce!

Del Rey Manga
Saturday 4/19, 12-1 PM, Panel Room 2 (1E03)

Our parent imprint, Del Rey, as is known in ancient tale and legend, is one of the greatest and most venerable publishers of science fiction and fantasy in this particular universe. Manga is only the latest of its ventures into bringing readers to new and strange worlds, and this month saw a particularly cool crossover between both sides of Del Rey: a graphic novel from epic fantastist Terry Brooks. As both a fantasy nerd and a comics geek, this couldn’t be more exciting for me, and I know a lot of fans out there feel the same way.

Mr. Brooks has been with us from the beginning–his Sword of Shannara was Del Rey’s first major bestseller. And with that book he not only helped launch a major publisher–he created a world, Shannara, that millions of readers been exploring for the past thirty years. And this month saw the release of a unique Shannara book–The Dark Wraith of Shannara, an all-new story by Terry Brooks, set in the world of Shannara; it was adapted for the graphic novel by Robert Napton and features brilliant artwork by Edwin David.

We’re honored to have Terry Brooks as our guest at New York Comic Con. Stop by his panel to hear the master himself discuss the world of Shannara, and then come to his autographing session on Saturday!

Terry Brooks Talks Shannara
Saturday 4/19, 1-2 PM, Panel Room 3 (1E07)

Terry Brooks Autograph Signing
With Robert Napton
Saturday 4/19, 4:30-6:30 PM, Autograph Room
• Ticketed signing: Tickets are free and available at the NYCC Variant Stage.