Adrian Tomine, translator Taro and Yoshihiro Tatsumi at the Tatsumi panel.

Currently, Tatsumi is working on an 800-page autobiographical graphic novel, A Drifting Life in Gekiga, and has almost 765 pages finished. PWCW sat down with Tatsumi and his translator at this year's San Diego Comic-Con to talk about the birth of manga, the birth of a new genre and the birth of an industry that often required 50 pages a night from its creators.

The idea of Houghton Mifflin’s distinguished Best American series turning to the comics would once have seemed unlikely, but the powerful narratives in this collection prove why it’s a good idea. Editors Pekar (American Splendor) and Moore (Punk Planet magazine) concentrate on the graphic equivalents of literary fiction and essays, and the best results are haunting. The contents range from the fantastic (Rebecca Dart’s “Rabbithead,” which channels Topo Gigio and Clint Eastwood) through fiction (an excerpt from Alex Robinson’s graphic novel Tricked) to serious nonfiction (Joe Sacco’s account of a Marine unit in Haditha). The longer chunks of story tend to be the most effective, like Justin Hall’s “La Rubia Loca,” an engrossing story about a bunch of hippie slackers stuck on a bus tour through Mexico with a crazy woman. Although there are strong offerings from established comics greats like Crumb, Jaime Hernandez and Lynda Barry, the editors also showcase newcomers like Jesse Reklaw (his touching “13 Cats” is the story of a fractured childhood told through the author’s attachment to a series of doomed kittens. A few of the shorter pieces are almost amateurish by comparison, but in general this volume shows the Best American Comics concept to be a showcase for thought-provoking and evocative work. (Oct.)

Trained as screenwriters, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir began writing together on the HBO series Arli$$. They jumped into comics, writing several original graphic novels for Oni Press such as Skinwalker, Three Strikes and The Tomb. They also have written for Marvel and DC, scripting superhero series such as New Mutants, New X-Men, Wonder Woman, Detective Comics and Adventures of Superman. Now they're jumping into manga with two original creations, last spring's Amazing Agent Luna, and the girl pirate drama Destiny's Hand, about to hit store shelves.

• Kingdom Come Absolute Edition (DC)
• Building Opposite (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Because I'm The Goddess Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
• Exterminators: Bug Brothers (DC/Vertigo)
• I Am Going To Be Small (Top Shelf Productions)
• Kafka (Active Images)
• More Than Sparrows (Blind Wolf Comics)
• Nat Turner (Kyle Baker Publishing)
• X-Factor: The Longest Night (Marvel)

• Claypool goes to the Web
  
• Kokmen joins Del Rey
  
• Seven Seas adds new titles
  
• Rocky takes on the U.S.A.
  
• Blair Butler's weekly comics reviews on G4TV