News & Things: "KANEDAAA!"

Welecome back to News & Things! Today we have a lot of manga, anime, and animanga news to share. For some reason.

Kickstarter of the Week

World War Kaiju! No we’re not talking about Pacific Rim. World War Kaiju is a graphic novel celebrating the kaiju genre and asks the question, “What would happen if we used monsters to fight wars instead of bombs?” World War Kaiju is the brainchild of Josh Finney (Titanium Rain, Utopiates), Kat Rocha (01Publishing), and artist Patrick McEvoy (Call of Cthulhu, Game of Thrones). Having already raised $20,266, the project has surpassed its original $15,000 goal, but you can still get in on the giant monster action.

Check out some preview art below:

Read of the Week

Catching Fire costumer Trish Summerville did a Q&A with Nuzhat Naoreen of Entertainment weekly:

“[S]ome of the looks in [Catching Fire] are pretty intense, very colorful, so that was great fun because it took me completely into another world that’s not particularly my aesthetic. I like a lot of muted tones and unsaturated, washed out… and that was great because it propelled my mind to think in a really different manner because it is quite over the top. It’s kind of futuristic, but it’s not sci-fi on any level. It’s really bold and really colorful and quite campy at times, then it gets really serious. I tried to bring a little bit of darkness to it, you’re seeing a world that was already created in a book. You want to try to be really respectful to the writers, and you want to be respectful to the fan base, but then you also have to figure out what works visually and what you can bring to it as well. [And] I did the second installation so there’s certain things you want to be respectful about for the characters from the first one, but then also show a period of growth and transition.”

News

The New Thor: The Dark World Trailer is Out!
Excited for the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? The wait is almost over. (Oh, and don’t piss off Jane Foster.)

New Sailor Moon Anime Streaming Worldwide This Winter:
The hotly-anticipated Sailor Moon anime will stream worldwide simultaneously this winter on Niconico. Female idol group Momoiro Clover Z confirmed the news, and will also perform the opening and closing songs for the new anime series.

SHF Sailor Mars Figure Also Coming This Winter:
And if that isn’t enough Sailor Moon goodness for you, Sailor Mars is joining the S.H. Figuarts toy lineup in December, on the heels of Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury. Mars Fire Ignite!

Funimation Announces AKIRA 25th Anniversary DVD/Blu-Ray:
Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA will have a new 25th anniversary edition DVD/Blu-Ray this fall from Funimation. Extras will include both the 2001 Pioneer English dub as well as the 1991 Streamline dub–sure to please fans nostalgic for the Sci-Fi Channel’s Saturday Anime programming.

DC Nation’s Animated Metal Men Preview:
Youtube has a 50-second preview of DC Nation’s first Metal Men animated short, devised by Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dwyer (Space Ghost: Coast to Coast).

Russell Simmons Developing “Harlem Shadow” Animated Series:
Russell Simmons is developing a new animated online serial based on the comic book The Harlem Shadow created by Brian Williams and Christian Colbert. Published by RavenHammer Comics, The Harlem Shadow is about a paranormal superhero operating during the Harlem Renaissance of 1920s New York City.

First look at the most exciting new manga project of 2013
The Wikia collaborative writing project Masters of Animanga allows new-to-the-biz writers and artists to create work based off of original concepts and characters from Kazuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub), Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy), Takashi Okazaki (Afro Samurai), Shin-ichi Hiromoto (Return of the Jedi manga), and others. The project will be supervised by producers Masao Maruyama Hiroaki Ikegami.

Dallas Middaugh on Kodansha’s E-Book Program
Dallas Middaugh, director of publishing services for Kodansha Comics talks e-books, apps, (and the future of publishing), and why ultimately, e-books were right for Kodansha.