Now that Dark Horse has added right-to-left reading capabilities to their Dark Horse Digital website and apps for tablets and smart phones running Apple's iOS (iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch) and Google's Android operating system, they're adding more and more titles from their extensive back catalog of manga from Japan and manhwa from Korea to their online offerings.

The latest additions to the Dark Horse Digital line-up?  Supernatural horror series (and critic's fave) Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Eiji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki, Mail by Housui Yamazaki and Blood+ by Asuka Katsura. The first volumes of each of these manga series are scheduled to debut on digital.darkhorse.com on Wednesday, January 25, 2012.

UPDATE: The three new manga titles (all licensed from Kadokawa Shoten) have region restrictions. They are only available to read online via digital.darkhorse.com or via Dark Horse's iOS or Android apps to readers in the U.S. (and some U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands) and Canada. Each volume is available for $5.99 each.

But that's not all. Dark Horse Digital also recently added four action-packed manhwa series from Korea for your online reading enjoyment. They include:

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So you say you can speak and read Japanese. Heck, you maybe even do a little manga translating on the side. Now here's your chance to put your nihongo -> eigo skillz to the test with JManga's First Translation Contest on Facebook.

Just download and translate the yon-koma (4-panel) comic strip from Young-kun, a gag manga by Muto Masaya featured on JManga.com. Send in your entry to contest@jmanga.com before February 14, and your entry will be reviewed by pro manga translator William Flanagan (translator for many CLAMP titles, including Tsubasa and Gate 7, A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori, and much, much more).

The best entry will win bragging rights, and a digital version of Young-kun Volume 1 + 1000 Points to spend on JManga.com. Needless to say you'll need to be a JManga subscriber to enter (because, well, the prize won't do you much good if you live outside North America and can't access JManga.com anyway).

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The countdown has started: It's only a week until the first full issue of Shonen Jump Alpha, the new digital-only weekly edition of Shonen Jump Magazine makes its debut. But if you live in Southern California, you can get a sneak peek of this new manga magazine at the Shonen Jump Alpha Launch Party on Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm at the West Hollywood Library in Los Angeles.

Attendees will get a chance to check out the very first issue, and read the latest chapters of Bleach, Naruto, Bakuman, Toriko, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan and One Piece only two weeks after they've been published in Japan, and days before the rest of the world gets to check it out.  Shonen Jump fans will get to preview SJA on iPads that the Shonen Jump crew will have available at the party.  You'll also get a chance to meet Shonen Jump editors and VIZ Media staff, hang out with Naruto and Kon from Bleach, munch on Japanese snacks from Ezaki Glico, get a chance to win lots of cool prizes, and go home with a gift bag too (while supplies last).

Think you have to get tickets or write an essay to get into this party? Guess again! It's free and open to the public! All you gotta do is show up at the West Hollywood Public Library at 625 San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood this Saturday and head to the Community Room. Need directions? The County of Los Angeles Public Libraries website has maps and more to help you get there to be a part of this shonen manga bash.

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If 2011 was the year that North American publishers got on board with online/digital manga in a big way, 2012 is looking to be the year that publishers want you to get on board with the program too. To nudge you in that direction, VIZ Media wants to give you some free manga to read just for downloading their apps for iPad / iPhone / iPod Touch. Meanwhile, Dark Horse Digital wants to make you a killer deal on a bundle of Lone Wolf and Cub manga for your iPad/iPhone/Android device or computer. To celebrate the Year of the Dragon, JManga is giving new subscribers a gift of bonus points to get even more manga to read online.

DOWNLOAD THE VIZ APP, GET A FREE MANGA VOLUME

First up, VIZ Media wants to tempt North American readers to give their iOS manga reader apps a try on your iPads, iPhones or iPod Touch devices.  Just go to http://www.viz.com/apps before January 30, 2012, download the app of your choice and sign up for VIZManga.com. You'll get a confirmation code in your welcome email that you can use to redeem for any volume 1 of any of the popular shojo, shonen and seinen manga titles available on VIZManga.com.

So you say you've got an iPad, an iPhone and a computer too? You'll be able to read your manga on any of these devices with a single log-in. Sorry, VIZ doesn't have a standalone Android app yet, but they will be offering titles for the Barnes & Noble Nook very soon. Read More...