Darn it, Robofish, I’m starting to think you’d make some mighty fine sashimi!

These log-in issues are making it fiendishly hard to post blog entries, respond to messages, or leave comments. (Whenever I enter my name and password, the little “Online Now” icon appears, but I can’t actually access my account. Gyaaaa!) After my third unsuccessful attempt to log on last night, I was ready to douse you in some wasabi-infused soy sauce and do some damage. And what, pray tell, was I trying to do—post a dancing Kagome avatar? Pimp my profile with my favorite Evanescence song? Upload an AMV starring Father Nightroad? Nothing that exciting, I’m afraid—I just wanted to post links to the latest reviews at PopCultureShock. Since Robofish seems more kindly disposed towards me right now, I’m going to try again.

MANGA AND MANHWA REVIEWS
Our resident manly-man manga expert Ken Haley (a.k.a. LostPhrack) tackles Shirow Masamume’s cyberpunk classic Appleseed: The Promethean Challenge and Maximo V. Lorenzo’s OEL title Bombos vs. Everything, then switches hats and reviews the latest Death Note DVD… Ninja Consultant Erin F. posts a round-up of recent Del Rey releases, from Aventura to Mamotte Lollipop and My Heavenly Hockey Club; weighs in on Gackt: The Greatest Filmography, 1996-2006; and reviews Fall in Love Like a Comic, Honey and Clover, and Sand Chronicles… and I also gorge myself on shojo with reviews of three high school dramedies, Crimson Hero, High School Debut, and Love*Com and a supernatural thriller from NETCOMICS, Two Will Come. Whew--that’s a lot of estrogen!

PICKS & PANS
The Weekly Recon column is back from hiatus with the low-down on Kamikaze Girls, The Manga Bible, and Tears of a Lamb as well as the 411 on the latest installments of Cantarella, The Guin Saga: The Seven Magi, and Hikkatsu! Look for my next column on Sunday, when I’ll be reviewing Déjà vu: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, a collection of short stories from Korea; Ral Ω Grad, a new title illustrated by Takeshi “Death Note” Obata; and Red String, an OEL title from Dark Horse. We also have a batch of Manga Minis in the oven; they’ll be fully done next week, so stay tuned.

If your reading habits extend across the aisle to include the occasional bit of spandex or alt-comix goodness, I recommend our weekly Picks & Pans feature, which includes an assortment of brief comic, manga, and graphic novel reviews from a variety of contributors (including yours truly). And speaking of alt-comix, I finally had an opportunity to review Jeffrey Brown’s The Incredible Change-Bots, an entertaining spoof of The Transformers. I’m not sure it’s worth the $15.00 cover price, but I did get a few good chuckles out of it.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Manga Recon Clan member PhoenixfireV, a.k.a. Lori Henderson, recently got a big promotion—she’s now the Editor in Chief for Manga Village, a new website dedicated to manga reviews and news. Congrats, Lori! Lori also posts manga commentary at her own personal site, Manga Xanadu, including information for parents of young manga fans. Show your fellow clan member some love and check ‘em out!

And speaking of TP alums, Higashi, a.k.a. Chloe Ferguson, just launched a new manga-themed column at ComiPress called Panelosophy. The first one is now posted, and takes a look at one of the most important (but overlooked) elements of marketing manga: cover design.

POLL OF THE WEEK
What was your favorite new shojo series of 2007? Vote in this week's Manga Recon poll by clicking here.

GO PATS!
By the way Sixxx, I’m still holding out for a new avatar: Father Nightroad wearing a Tom Brady jersey! C’mon, girl, don’t make me get all Crusnik on your Chargers-lovin’ a$$—embrace the Dark Side and root for the Patriots!

--ChunHyang72