Lissa Pattillo
September 28, 2011 
Happy Autumn! I’m not a big summer person myself so I love when the season fades out to nice breezy days and crisp, colourful leaves. Mother Nature still isn’t sure what she’s doing here with steamy hot sunshine and biting cold winds at the same time but she’s trying to find some kind of Autumn-like medium I think. Not like any wonky weather could keep me away from my local comic shop tomorrow, though, which has finally been granted volumes of Sailor Moon by the direct market—yay!
Speaking of magical girls, the second volume of Bandai Entertainment’s Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens comes out this week. The series name fits it well as a boy accidentally releases a goddess trapped within a sacred tree. He invites her to live with him (that’s only polite… right?) but gets more than he bargained for when she ends up having two personalities housed within her. Crazy hijinks ensue and then ensue some more!
BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT
• Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens (Vol. 02),
($10.99/US, $12.00/CAN)
Magic themes continuing, Kodansha Comics is releasing Negima! (Vol. 31). This many volumes in and Ken Akamatsu is still keeping up his mix of pervy comedy, varied characters and magical mischief. The series began with a young prodigy graduating from magical school and becoming teacher to a classroom of female students. While the harem elements remain, quite a few volumes throughout the series have surprised me with some compelling continuing plot lines and fun character-oriented one-shot chapters. Fingers crossed for more of that here in the newest book.
KODANSHA COMICS
• Deltora Quest (Vol. 02) ($10.99/US, $11.99/CAN)
• Fairy Tail (Vol. 15) ($10.99/US, $11.99/CAN)
• Negima! (Vol. 31) ($10.99/US, $11.99/CAN)
• Ninja Girls (Vol. 07) ($10.99/US, $11.99/CAN)
• The Wallflower (Vol. 26) ($10.99/US, $11.99/CAN)
This week’s hidden gem is Stargazing Dog from NMB Publishing. The company puts out an assortment of graphic novels, but publishing manga is fresh territory for them. Stargazing Dog is a one-shot title about a down-on-his-luck man who struggles to get along with his friends and family. He finds, however, unwavering loyalty and compassion from his dog, which in turn has an effect on the way he lives his life. The most interesting aspect of this story is that it’s told from the perspective of the dog. I have a soft spot for stories involving dogs so I’m really looking forward to reading this. Hopefully it won’t be a tear-jerker, but with these kinds of dog-related stories, it always seems to happen. Best get a tissue ready…
NBM PUBLISHING
• Stargazing Dog ($11.99/US, $11.99/CAN)
When I’m ready to put a smile back on my face, I need go no further this week than A Certain Scientific Railgun (Vol. 02) for its cover design alone. I love the way this volume looks! Honestly I didn’t even give the first book a second glance during first impressions, but this? I could stare at this book cover all the day—the combination of colours, panels and complimenting font all looks great. Beneath the cover continues a story about students wielding psychic abilities who join forces in their own pseudo police task force to investigate a dangerous power-enhancing drug. And they all look super cute doing it! It’s an odd combination of style and substance but tries to give a little something for everyone. In this second volume there’s even some medical drama as a team sets out to find a cause behind mysteriously comatose individuals.
SEVEN SEAS
• A Certain Scientific Railgun (Vol. 02)
($11.99/US, $13.99/CAN)
It’s the calm before the storm from Viz Media with only one title this week. This one-shot title—Pokémon: Zoroark Master Of Illusions—is the manga adaptation of the thirteenth Pokémon film, which is released on DVD this week, as well. Like the currently running Pokémon series, this manga is a great mix of new and old generations of Pokémon so it has something for fans of all editions. It also has Pokémon Broccer which is where Pokémon compete in a game that’s a cross between soccer and battle tops. What I couldn’t believe was that legendary Pokémon such as Entei, Raikou and Suicine are playing—how weird is that? Perhaps a little too weird… I sense something fishy in Crown City!
VIZ MEDIA
• Pokémon: Zoroark Master Of Illusions
($7.99/US, $9.99/CAN)
That does it for this week’s On The Shelf—what on the list are you most eager to buy? Any must-have recommendations? Share your thoughts in our handy comment area for all our readers to see!
* All dates are based on distributor listings and may not necessarily reflect exact release dates. Some books may be ship prior to or after the date listed above varying by location and availability.
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