Surprise! Well, either I’m a little messed up with the time zone differences, I missed a lot of submissions, or people got theirs in just after the deadline, but the moral of the story is there are quite a few submissions to the vampire MMF that didn’t get covered in the last roundup – enough that I felt they merited their own roundup! So, without further ado, here is (I promise) the last vampire MMF roundup post:
Lori posted a review for Vampire Knight volumes 12 and 14 over at Manga Village much earlier in the week, and I’m embarrassed to say that I missed it in my previous roundup posts (sorry, Lori!). I love how she is candid about not really liking the series, though I’m sure that statement might offend not a few fans. Personally, I never really could get into the series aside from its gorgeous art and a few drool-worthy male characters… Well, do volumes 12 and 14 renew her interest in the series? Head over to her review to find out!
Kate wrote a lovely piece called “The Manga Critic’s Guide to Vampires” over at The Manga Critic. She’s compiled all the vampire-related manga she’s personally reviewed over the years, breaking them down by “the story,” “the low-down,” “demographic,” and “recommended for.” She covers everything from popular titles such as Blood+, Hellsing, Trinity Blood, and Vampire Knight to lesser-known series such as Lament of the Lamb and some single-volume titles like Cowa!, Crimson Cross, and How to Seduce a Vampire. It’s definitely a must-read for anyone looking for a quick vampire manga suggestions.
Anna at Manga Report took a look at Record of a Fallen Vampire volumes 1-3, and though she felt that it wasn’t quite as good as some of her other favorite vampire manga, she thinks “inexhaustible vampire manga fans” would probably enjoy the series. She does have a request to anyone who’s read past volume 3 to let her know if it “gets better,” so if you are familiar with the series, do head over to her review and share your thoughts!
Lori was quite busy this week – she also reviewed two Chibi Vampire spinoff volumes, Airmail and Bites, at Manga Xandu. As a big fan of the Chibi Vampire manga, she wanted to see if these side-stories were up to snuff. It sounds like Airmail is pretty close to being a must-read for fans, and while her reaction to Bites was a little less positive, she still would recommend it to those who’ve read the original series.
Michelle and Karen got together to chat about CMX’s 90’s shojo series Canon over at Soliloquy in Blue, and I’m oh so glad they did! Their lengthy chat does contain some spoilers for those who haven’t yet read the four-volume series, but even if you haven’t read the series yet, definitely go have have a look at the first couple of paragraphs – their enthusiasm will certainly make you want to put this on your to-read list! Michelle also announces their intention to start a monthly feature called “The CMX Project” in January 2013, where they’ll be covering some lesser-known gems from the CMX library.
Last but not least, Johanna reviewed Twilight: The Graphic Novel Collector’s Edition at Comics Worth Reading (can’t have a proper vampire discussion without Twilight in there somewhere!). The recently-released hardcover contains both previously-released volumes of the graphic novel, but we’re going to count in the vampire MMF since it was drawn by a Korean artist (meaning we can fudge and call it manhwa, right?). Johanna notes that though she doesn’t like Stephenie Meyer’s story, she felt that “[t]here’s something very seductive about the idea of a super-powerful, perfect lover whose only weakness is how much he adores an otherwise normal girl.” You have to admit, that does sound compelling!
Well, I dare say that’s the last of the submissions! I was really surprised to see so many come in towards the end, and I’m really happy we got so many varied posts! Thank you everyone for your submissions, and remember, if you have something I’ve missed, please do let me know via Twitter, email, or in the comments of this post and I’ll be sure to add it. Hope you enjoyed the feast!
Remember, be sure to check out the archive for some great older reviews and links to all previous roundup posts!
