Thanks to a recent press release and a tweet from Frederick Schodt (author of The Astro Boy Essays , manga scholar and translator), I got wind of a new way to read and enjoy stories by the Godfather of Manga, Osamu Tezuka. Developed by D'Arc Inc. in conjunction with Tezuka Productions, Astro Boy Weekly magazine aims to deliver new some of Tezuka-sensei's most beloved comics creations to iPhone users all over the world.

While not live yet, Astro Boy Weekly is due to debut in the iTunes App Store sometime in the next few weeks, both as a free sample, and in 100-page weekly installments for 99 cents each. You can get a taste of what's in store at this preview site for Astro Boy Weekly magazine. Read more...

Now that their manga / manhwa adapation of James Patterson's Maximum Ride is a confirmed success (Maximum Ride Volume 2 recently debuted in the New York Times Manga Top 10 Bestseller List), Yen Press and Hachette Book Group USA recently announced that they'll next be tackling the graphic novel adaption of another bestselling young adult novel series by Patterson, Daniel X.

Like Maximum Ride, the graphic novel adaptation of Daniel X will be done by a Korean artist -- but while Maximum Ride is illustrated by NaRae Lee, this new series will be illustrated by Seung-hui Kye. In Korea, Kye has 13 manhwa series to his credit, but he is best known to American fans as the creator of Recast, a 6-volume fantasy manhwa series published by TokyoPop.

Calling all aspiring manga artists! Shonen Jump magazine is looking for entries for their Super Fannies Fan Art Awards. Entries will be later be posted and voted upon by Shonen Jump readers, and winners will be published in the May 2010 issue of Shonen Jump. Best of all, according to Shonen Jump's recent tweet, the deadline for entries has been extended to November 15, 2009.

Artists age 13 and older are encouraged to submit their best renditions of Shonen Jump manga characters in these six categories:

• Best Action Scene
  Draw a kick-butt fight scene between any Shonen Jump characters from any series.
• Best Shonen Jump Shindig
  Draw a group of your favorite Shonen Jump manga characters hangin' and having a ball at a party.
• Best Character Dancing Pose
  Draw your favorite Shonen Jump manga character showing off their flashiest dancefloor moves.
• Scariest Character
  Draw your favorite Shonen Jump hero, villain or side character looking scary or fierce.
• Best Rendition of a Shonen Jump Character From a Non-serialized Manga
  "Non-serialized" means Shonen Jump manga that is not featured in the monthly magazine. So this can mean anything from Gin-Tama to Hikaru no Go, Death Note, Eyeshield 21, etc.
• Best Character Mash-up
  Mix and match characters from various Shonen Jump manga series, even those from stories that aren't featured in monthly Shonen Jump magazine.

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Negima, the boy wizard wielded his magic on this week's New York Times Graphic Books list by knocking the latest volume of Naruto off the top of the charts. But perhaps more notably, three new volumes from superstar manga-ka team CLAMP have claimed spots in this week's top 10: two volumes of Tsubasa and the latest volume of xxxHolic.

Also new and notable: the second volume of James Patterson's Maxiumum Ride by NaRae Lee makes its debut in the #5 slot -- a strong showing for this series based on the bestselling young adult adventure novels. And that Death Note light novel I wondered about last week? It's still rackin' up sales to hang in there at #7.

Here's the rest of the New York Times Manga Bestseller list for the week ending October 31, 2009:

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