We paid tribute to the Best New Manga of 2007, so now it's time to give a nod to the current manga series that kept me coming back for more. Here's my picks for the Best Manga of 2007 list, featuring the top 10 series that I'm hooked on, two notable books and one manga I never want to read ever again.
Did I miss picking your favorite? Sound off in the forums and share your favorites.
Best Book About Manga - Manga: The Complete Guide
© Jason Thompson / Del Rey Manga
Publisher: Ballantine Books / Del Rey Manga
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With so much manga out there to choose from, how can any one person read it all and sort the must-reads from the must-skips? Manga editor and expert Jason Thompson bravely stepped into the stacks and came back with the guide to the wide, wild world of Japanese manga in English. Packed with cultural notes that newbies and hardcore otaku alike can appreciate, Manga: The Complete Guide should be an essential part of every manga reader's collection.
Best Book About Japanese Pop Culture – Japanese School Girl Inferno
© Chronicle Books
Artist: Kazumi Nonaka
Publisher: Chronicle Books
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If you've ever wondered why Uo-chan from Fruits Basket is called a "yankii" and why Momo from Peach Girl is treated like a tramp just because she's tanned, Japanese School Girl Inferno is here to enlighten you about the finer points of Japanese teen fashion trends.
Illustrated with tons of photos and drawings, with commentary from Japanese pop culture experts Izumi Evers and Patrick Macias, Japanese School Girl Inferno is a fabulously fun guide to the Harajuku girls and Gothic Lolitas who are turning the fashion world on its ear.
Worst So-Called Excuse for Manga – Avalon High: Coronation
© Meg Cabot , HarperCollins Publishers / TokyoPop Inc.
Artist: Jinky Coronado
Publisher: TokyoPop
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Lame art. One-dimensional characters with an emotional range limited to two facial expressions. Inane paint-by-the-numbers story. Avalon High came with all of these strikes against it, and not much to tie it to manga-style storytelling at all. And they had the nerve to label it "manga"? Please, give us more credit than that. At least DC had the integrity to shelve their Minx stories in the young adult section.
No other book in 2007 irked me like this one, although The Manga Bible I got in the mail this week is already in the running for the 2008's Worst So-Called Excuse for Manga title.
