Farrago (manga edition!)

Here are a few interesting manga-related tidbits that deserve mention:

Immelda at Love Manga points out that ComicsOne DrMaster has rolled out its new website, which features a breakdown of upcoming releases.

Manga News Service (no permalinks) notes that Japan's Sankei Shimbun places the manga market in the United States at $140 million. The newspaper, whose website appears to be in Japanese only, notes that market has tripled in the past four years.

ShoPro Entertainment's press release announcing its TV, video and merchandising license for Naruto came out last week, so that's not "news." But as I was skimming through the release, this figure jumped out at me: According to ShoPro, the 26 volumes of Naruto have sold nearly 49 million copies in Japan since 2000. I realize there are manga that sell more than Naruto, but the number still floors me.

This may be nothing more than a matter of limited space, but the March edition of Newtype USA doesn't include "Bagged and Boarded," its regularly appearing page devoted to American comics.