Hello readers! It’s a holiday weekend for many people but regardless of whether that is the case for you, I hope the past few days have been treating you well. While you’re gearing up for the week ahead, why don’t we catch up on some headlines from the world of comics? This past weekend was Anime Expo, so let’s take a peek at some exciting manga news!

Yen Press continues its annual tradition of unveiling an impressively long list of licenses at Anime Expo. Among the titles intended to hit print are farming manga Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa of Fullmetal Alchemist fame, the manga adaptation of the gangster light novel series Baccano!, and Mermaid Boys, a genderflipped take on The Little Mermaid. The North American publisher also announced a handful of titles for digital release, which included MAOYU, another manga adaptation of a light novel series.

Not to be outdone, VIZ Media also made several announcements at Anime Expo. First is a new hardcover edition of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist, complete with an updated translation and new lettering. The edition will include original color pages, character sketches, and new art from the mangaka. I don’t know about you, but I’m sold. And if you’ve never read this amazing series before, this is your chance! Speaking of titles up my alley, the publisher also licensed Fire Punch, which is about an ice-locked world where people depend on fire to survive and two orphaned siblings who have the power to regenerate.

For those of you wanting some cuteness, VIZ has you covered with a couple Neko Atsume titles:

Announcement: Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector–Where am I Meow? Out February 2018. Can you find all the kitty cats? ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/NwCngf61TP

— VIZ (@VIZMedia) July 1, 2017

Announcement: Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector–Haiku coming February 2018. pic.twitter.com/BsGhyU5ywq

— VIZ (@VIZMedia) July 1, 2017

In other VIZ Media news, the company named Chris Butcher as consulting editor-at-large. In addition to being the manager of Toronto comics bookstore The Beguiling and founder of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Butcher has worked for Image, Oni Press, and Udon Entertainment. As part of his new role, Butcher will be scouting new talent and projects for acquisition. In addition to manga, he will also be looking for non-Japanese original comics projects.

In non-Anime Expo news: horror manga, rejoice! A manga by horror master Junji Ito is getting an anime adaptation. Which one, you might be wondering? Well, it turns out all of us have that same question. No one knows yet. Ito is celebrating his 30^th anniversary as a mangaka this year, so there’s a lot to choose from. Will it be Uzumaki or Tomie? What if it’s The Enigma of Amigara Fault? I know I will be watching, even if I will ultimately regret my life choices.

Guess who’s also having an anniversary this year? Weekly Shonen Jump is celebrating its 50^th anniversary. As part of the festivities, publisher Shueisha is re-publishing some of the manga anthology magazine’s most iconic issues: the first pack contains the inaugural Weekly Shonen Jump issue published in 1968 and 1995’s combined #3-4 issue, which garnered the magazine’s highest circulation numbers ever. The latter contains some very familiar titles: Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, Rurouni Kenshin, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The next pack contains the issues that launched JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and One Piece, which are also celebrating anniversaries of their own this year. The third, and final, pack contains issues that feature pivotal chapters of Fist of the North Star and Dragon Ball.

To continue the celebration, Shonen Jump is also hosting the Universal Manga Contest. Not only is the contest open to the entire world, the screening committee is chaired by Naruto‘s Masashi Kishimoto. The announcement coincides with the release of the manga-drawing app, Jump Paint.

Other news highlights from the past week:

• VIZ Media announced at its Anime Expo Shonen Jump panel that romantic comedy Nisekoi: False Love will be joining the free section of the Shonen Jump website next week. VIZ previously published the manga as digital and print volumes. The series ended last August.
• The Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card sequel hit English-language shores late last week—digitally at least.
• The novel spin-off of record-breaking anime film Your Name will be receiving a manga adaptation this month.
• The Amatsuki manga, about a high school boy who finds himself trapped in a VR rendition of Edo, will be ending later this year with volume 24.
• The sequel novels of the Basilisk manga, about a pair of star-crossed ninja lovers, will be getting a manga adaptation later this year. Oh boy, are we in for another ninja Romeo and Juliet story?
• Baseball manga fans, get hype! The Big Windup, aka Ookiku Furikabutte, returns from hiatus this month. The mangaka, Asa Higuchi, took a hiatus due to the birth of her second child.
• Anticipating Thor: Ragnarok? Here’s some of the merchandise you can look forward to!

That’s it for this week. See you next time!