Readers' Poll: Best New Edition of Classic or Reissued Manga

And the Reader Polls just keep a-coming! Now it's your chance to vote for your favorite classic or reissued manga. By "classic," I mean manga that was originally published in Japan prior to 1980. "Reissued" refers to manga that were previously released in the U.S. but came back in a new edition in 2008. Check out the 2008 Best New Edition of Classic or Reissued Manga Readers Poll page for plot summaries, cover artwork and links for more info about each nominee and choose your favorite there, or scroll down to vote now.

The vast majority of manga that makes its way to American shores nowadays were originally published in Japan after 1995 -- but there's a whole lot of great stories that were published prior to then. Thankfully, more stories by manga masters like Kazuo Umezu, Osamu Tezuka and Yoshihiro Tatsumi arrived in 2008, and many American fans got their first taste of manga by Jiro Kuwata and Tatsuo Yoshida this year too. Rumiko Takahashi's One-Pound Gospel returned after a long hiatus and gave fans a chance to read the long-awaited conclusion to this romantic comedy about a binge-eating boxer and a Catholic nun. So lots of good stuff! Learn more about the 10 nominees for 2008's Best New Edition of Classic or Reissued Manga poll and vote today!

Is your favorite classic or reissued manga not included in this list? You can still put in a good word for your favorite by adding your write-in vote in the comment space below or post it in the forums.

Ready to make your voice heard? You can pick and click below, or if you'd like to know more about the nominees, visit the poll page to to see more about the 10 classic / reissued manga up for your vote.. UPDATE: Polls closed on January 25, 2009, with results to be announced by end of January.

1. Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan by Chip Kidd, Saul Ferris and Geoff Spear (Pantheon Graphic Novels)
2. Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
3. Cat-Eyed Boy by Kazuo Umezu (VIZ Signature / VIZ Media)
4. Dororo by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
5. Good-Bye by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
6. One Pound Gospel by Rumiko Takahashi (VIZ Media)
7. Red-Colored Elegy by Seiichi Hayashi (Drawn & Quarterly)
8. Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue (Shonen Jump / VIZ Media)
9. Speed Racer: Mach Go Go Go by Tatsuo Yoshida (DMP Platinum / Digital Manga Publishing)
10. Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue (VIZ Big / VIZ Media)

Voting will be open until Sunday, January 25 at midnight, Pacific Time. I'll be posting the final results by the end of January 2009.

To qualify for this poll, the debut (first) volume of the manga must have an on-sale date between January 1 thru December 31, 2008, and it has to be a title that was released as a graphic novel in English in the U.S.

There's a few manga here that were nominated in other categories, but remember, if a manga that's nominated in two or more polls, only the highest total votes earned in any one category will count toward that title's chances to win the Readers' Choice for the Best New Manga of 2008.

These polls do take a while to format and get up, but I hope you'll stick around for the ones coming up: Best One-Shot Manga, Best Original English Language Manga, Best Manga Magazine and more.

Image credit: © Tezuka Productions