What is Manga Life? It's the newest offshoot of Silver Bullet Comics, dedicated to MANGA news, reviews and features. When SBC decided to cover manga, we decided that rather than just dedicate a small portion of the website to it, it needed to be done properly - a fully fledged, 100% manga site, with dedicated writers. Our aim is to guide you through the masses of manga appearing on the shelves of your book store, to pick out THE essential books to own.
Can I get involved? You certainly can. Every writer at Manga Life appreciates reader contact and feedback. There is an opportunity to post your comment on the bottom of each item - look for the link to COMMENTS. Plus we're always looking out for talented new reviewers to join our team, just email us at info@mangalife.com and we'll tell you more.
Lifer Profiles:
Jason Brice Jason Brice is mangalife’s publisher and web monkey – his favourites include Eagle: The Making of an Asian American President, Club 9, What's Michael, and Barefoot Gen.
Glenn Carter Glenn Carter only recently got into manga, and to a certain extent still prefers the realms of "westernized" manga but he’s open minded enough to try anything.
Kat Collyns Kat Collyns got into to manga two years ago through anime. Karoi Yuki is one of her favourite manga-ka at the moment; she also loves Angel Sanctuary and Saiyuki, and apart from that most things that are shojo without being too sugary. Although preferably not CLAMP. She’s very interested in older manga (not really that old, just before it ever became popular in the west) and tries to buy anything that comes out by Hagio Moto or Takemiya Keiko.
Michael Deeley The origins of Michael Deeley are as mysterious as the fog-covered streets of Silent Hill. Disillusioned by the demise of Raijin Comics in 2004, he has resigned himself to the artistic and cultural stagnation that is the American comics industry. He prepares for manga's inevitable domination of graphic culture with 'Lone Wolf & Cub', 'Battle Royale', and 'Samurai Executioner'.
He moves through the night, with the stealth and grace of an SUV. He strikes quickly, leaving nothing but blood and corpses, like a credit card bill.
Kelvin Green Kelvin Green likes the stuff that's a bit off the "mainstream"; for example, FLCL and Toriyama's failed sideproject Sandland. He’s quite drawn to some "Amerimanga", particularly the work of Adam Warren and Ben Dunn and is very interested in the mechanics of manga; how it's similar and different to Western comics in terms of storytelling, layouts, and so on.
Kevin Hill Kev Hill started reading manga in the late 80s, with Shirow's first Appleseed book, followed by Outlanders and a few of the early Viz comics (Silent Mobius, Pixy Junket, Striker/Spriggan), and Epic's Akira. The majority of his monthly purchases are Asian (manga, manwha, manwhatever else...), the main series he goes for are ones from Viz.
Craig Johnson Craig Johnson is mangalife’s editor-in-chief and – perversely – doesn’t really like Akira the manga too much (the first two books are fine, but it drags after that), prefering Akira the anime. It’s Lone Wolf and Cub and Battle Royale that kick-started his interest, which now encompasses a vast range of titles and genres.
Hannah King Hannah King is mangalife’s art director, and a big fan of the mainstream manga, such as Kenshin, Inu-Yasha, Mermaid Forest, Ranma 1/2, Love Hina, Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Ai Yori Aoshi, Chobits (though, not so much) and the Manga Blast magazine. She’s also a very big fan of yaoi titles…
Lisa Anderson Lisa Anderson has been interested in manga since the mid 90s. While her favorite titles range from Azumanga Daioh to Lone Wolf and Cub, she will give almost anything a read. Despite exposure to more mainstream titles, she enjoys bringing lesser-known manga to light whenever possible. Along with enjoying manga, she also loves crossing paths with a good comic from almost anywhere else in the world.
Quita Paul Quita has been a manga and anime fan ever since she picked up her first copy of GTO. Ever since then she has been a writer for various sites such as Section 31, J-fan, United Federation of Trek and many others. Currently, she is a college student at UW-Waukesha doing a double major in broadcast journalism / photojournalism with a minor in graphic design. On her spare time she enjoys playing music, singing, yoga, paranormal studies, weightlifting, pro wrestling, vampires, gothic fashion, and reading. Some of her favorites manga include GTO, Slayers, Vampire Princess Miyu, Street Fighter, Cowboy Bebop, Ranma 1/2, and Hellsing. She is always willing to try new things, and her growing manga collection varies from romance tiles to action/adventure. Offical site: http://www.freewebs.com/oraclexena
Tom Rosin Tom Rosin works for Britain’s best comic shop, Page 45 in Nottingham, and is a huge manga fan, knowing far too many tiny details than is healthy for him. As soon as his PC is sorted, he’ll be cranking out reviews…
