What is Zuda Comics? That’s a great question. The short answer is that it’s an all-new line of Web Comics. The longer answer is that Zuda Comics are whatever you make of them.
Zuda Comics is the webcomics division of DC. You can design your own comic for entry into their monthly competition, vote for your favourite entry, or simply enjoy the ones already online.
While we’re on the subject, you can find the DC comics website here, and don’t forget to check out our collection of them in your library branch.
Not so long ago we asked which magazines should get added to the Young Adult (YA) magazine collection. Not too many people responded, but that’s okay! We’re not too disappointed! As a consequence we have added Entertainment Weekly to the YA collection – it means you can issue it for free on a YA card. (If you reserve it through the catalogue be sure to reserve the YA copy.)
We are also adding Shonen Jump. It’s not yet in the system but there is a website. Good news for manga fans, is it not. Okay, cool.
We’ve a new manga series in the YA collection. It is titled Case Closed, by Gosho Aoyama. Jimmy Kudo is a hyper-skilled high school detective who is transformed into first-grader by a’ strange chemical’. He adopts a new name – Conan Edogawa – and continues to solve crime while hunting for whoever’s responsible for his transformation.
We have 29 volumes, so the hunt may take awhile. The animated series is big in Japan and Germany, according to Wikipedia, but I don’t think we’re getting it.
(All our other manga series are listed on this page.)
There’s not a lot of new material this week, so I’ll bundle it all up into one post. First up; new books!
Fruits Basket #21, by Natsuki Takaya (181 pages) - The Sohma family are each possessed by an animal from the Chinese zodiac, and if they’re hugged by the opposite gender (or get stressed out) they turn into that animal. Fruits Basket is one of the best-selling shōjo manga in the world; ’shōjo manga’ is manga marketed towards teenage girls.
Kekkaishi #14 (and #15), by Yellow Tanabe (162 pages) – Kekkaishi are demon-hunters who use magic to create barriers in creative and interesting ways. This is shōnen manga, which is manga marketed for boys between 8 and 18.
The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine, by April Lurie (211 pages) – Fifteen-year-old Dylan’s life is in shambles; his mother may have run off, his father is never home, his older brother hangs out with his loser band, and he – Dylan – has just been caught shoplifting underwear. Also, his best friend is shooting a documentary about him and she (unfortunately) wants to remain his friend.
Finnikin of the Rock, by Melina Marchette (398 pages) - This is the latest from the author of Looking for Alibrandi, (a very popular book still, fifteen years after its publication). Finnikin of the Rock is a character-driven fantasy novel. ‘A long time ago, in the spring before the five days of the unspeakable, Finnikin of the Rock dreamt he was to sacrifice a pound of flesh to save the royal house of Lumatere.‘ How’s that for a first sentence?
New DVDs!
Jane Eyre (M rated) – A retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel from the BBC.
Appleseed : Ex Machina (M rated) – This is the sequel to the pretty-good-but-not-as-good-as-the-manga-I-thought film we also have in the YA DVDs. Reviews suggest that the CGI is fantastic, although the story lets the film down. I shall watch it this weekend (and compare it to Final Fantasy : Advent Children, the best CGI film ever).
New CDs!
Now That’s I Call Music 28 – Various. There are three things in life that we can’t get away from; death, taxes, and Now That’s What I Call Music compilations. This CD has eighteen tracks.
Funhouse – Pink. This is Pink’s fifth album. She may be touring NZ next year.
… may be French for ‘new books’ (it may not be; it’s been a while). And here – voila! – they are.
The Case of the Diamond Shadow, by Sophie Masson (186 pages) – Adventurous sleuths, Daisy and George, find themselves hot on the tail of a daring jewel thief, all the while living lives of glamour in 1930s London.
Ostrich Boys, by Keith Gray (352 pages) – Three boys take – well, steal, really – their late friend’s ashes after his depressing and dispiriting funeral, and travel 261 miles to a tiny hamlet in Scotland called Ross (which was also his first name).
The Trap, by Sarah Wray (232 pages) - A scary whodunnit about fifteen-year-old Luke, who is offered a job at a summer camp for kids. A camp where (it is rumoured) three teens disappeared a few years earlier. After Luke discovers cryptic notes and one of his friends is attacked, he realises that he has been suckered into a deadly trap. A reviewer on Amazon was ‘too scared to continue reading it late at night’.
Brisingr, by Christopher Paolini (763 pages) – You will probably have heard of this, the third in the Inheritance Cycle series of books that began with Eragon. Apparently it’s better than the first two books, which is good news for fans. But will there be a movie?
The Summoning 
arkest Powers Vol. 1, by Kelley Armstrong (390 pages) – Chloe Saunders can see ghosts, and soon she is so bothered by them she breaks down and winds up in a home for disturbed kids. Once there she quickly realises that not all is at it seems …
Oddest of All, by Bruce Colville (235 pages) – This is a collection of nine odd (and spooky) short stories.
Mistik Lake, by Martha Brooks (207 pages) – From the catalogue synopsis: “After Odella’s mother leaves her, her sisters, and their father in Manitoba and moves to Iceland with another man, she then dies there, and the family finally learns some of the many secrets that have haunted them for two generations.” I feel drawn to recommend this book, as Iceland is my favourite country! (And also it’s favourably reviewed.)
Manga For The Beginner, by Christopher Hart (192 pages) – Books on how to draw manga are popular in the library. This book has many clear instructions and loads of examples for the budding manga artist.
We have several new manga series in the library. Angelic Layer is a five-volume series by CLAMP (the group of female manga artists who were responsible for Cardcaptor Sakura). This manga is about a futuristic sport where competitors match tiny robots – or angels – against one another.
We also stock the first fifteen volumes of the bestselling manga Fullmetal Alchemist, by Hiromu Arakawa. Edward and Alphonse Elric are talented alchemists. An attempt to bring their mother back costs Alphonse his body and Edward some limbs. They seek the fabled Philosopher’s Stone to make them whole again – even though their new prosthetics are really very cool.
These are very popular!
Masashi Kishimoto’s very popular series of manga, Naruto, very rarely makes it to our shelves. Many people may not be aware it’s even held in the library! But it is! We currently hold up to volume 15 (a great stack of new copies came throught a few weeks ago), and while you may need to reserve it – which you can do online – it’s well worth the wait. Especially if you’re a fan of the animated series.
For a full list of manga held in the YA collection click here.
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