SUSHI FOR BREAKFAST AT TSUKIJI MARKET
Day 2 of our Mind Over Manga tour found a few of us waking early to trek to Japan's, possibly the world's largest and busiest wholesale seafood market, Tsukiji Market. Located in central Tokyo within walking distance of the ritzy Ginza district, Tsukiji Market is where fresh, frozen and dried seafood of all kinds are shipped in from points near and far to be bought, sold and later consumed by Japanese diners.

Why the 5:00 am wake-up call? Because the market opens at 3:00 am and is in full swing by 6:00 am, with various stalls buzzing with fishmongers, chefs, seafood brokers, delivery men, auctioneers and bidders. The main auction begins at 5:30 am and ends at around 7:00 am, when those giant frozen tuna are all purchased and shipped off to restaurants, supermarkets, brokers and processors. By 11 am, most of the market is closed for the day.

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Things have been a little quiet on my blog for the past week or so -- mostly because I was off having way too much fun in the manga motherland, Japan!

If you recall, I was last in Japan for the Pop Japan Travel's Mind Over Manga tour in August 2008. This time, I went back for more, but was accompanied by a pack of talented (and fun) manga / comics artists from the U.S., Canada and Australia.

13 of us pooled our creative forces together to create Journeys, a 100-page original doujinshi / comics anthology to sell at Comitia 90, the quarterly show for independent artists / original manga, illustration, games and music. Comitia is held at Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center in Odaiba (home of the much bigger / more fan art-oriented Comic Market a.k.a. Comiket.) I'll post more about Comitia soon, as I work on my day-by-day reports about my trip.

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This week, Del Rey Manga is releasing the second volume of Nina Matsumoto's supernatural comedy-adventure series Yokaiden. To celebrate, the folks at Suvudu.com is holding a live webchat with Matsumoto on Tuesday, November 24, from 3:00 pm Eastern Time / 12:00 noon Pacific Time. Just go to http://suvudu.com/author-chat/nina-matsumoto/ tomorrow to join in the fun, ask your questions and see her discuss what's in store in Yokaiden Volume 2, and perhaps talk about her recent Eisner Awards win at San Diego Comic-Con 2009.

As the story opens in Yokaiden Volume 2, ever-cheerful Hamachi has ventured deep into the realm of the yokai in search of the spiteful, peg-legged kappa who has stolen his (admittedly crabby and unloveable) grandmother's soul. But Hamachi needs help to fulfill his mission, and enlists the aid of Ninetails, the fox god. The wily fox agrees to help Hamachi find the kappa, but wants a favor in return: Hamachi must find and retrieve three treasures for her. It all sounds simple enough, but nothing is what it seems when you're dealing with a kitsune.

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They say you can't judge a book by its cover. Deka Kyoshi, a new shonen manga series by Tamio Baba from CMX Manga provides a good example of this truism. With its cryptic title and innocuous cover art, Deka Kyoshi is a series that's actually a lot more interesting than its cover would suggest.

When the CMX Manga folks first announced Deka Kyoshi, I have to admit I wasn't that intrigued by the concept nor the art -- I mean, come on, does anyone really need another "Kindergarten Cop" type story? But I took a read and was surprised at the heavy subjects covered in this series that's labeled for older teens, but is really meant for tweens and younger teens. Wrist cutting? Shoplifting? Bullying? Yep, we aren't in kiddie comics land anymore...

Check out my review of Deka Kyoshi Volume 1 and see the three reasons why you might not pick it up, and the reasons why it's worth a look anyway.

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