NYAF08: Bandai Rules
Even though Bandai held the first panel of the convention at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, the room was full of excited fans. Bandai was the “winner” of New York Anime Festival, with their mecha anime series, Gurren Lagann gracing the cover of the schedule, the placement of their booth front and center, and the many happy cosplayers dressed as Gurren Lagann and Code Geass characters. Gurren Lagann, the latest from otaku-favorite Studio Gainax, is currently airing on the Sci Fi channel in their AniMondays block. Bandai rescued the Gurren Lagann license from anime distributor/producer ADV when ADV's deal with Sojitz fell through. Bandai held a Gurren Lagann cosplay contest on Friday and a held a panel with the complete English voice cast on Saturday. Currently the Gurren Lagann DVDs are being released sub-only, but a deluxe box set featuring the English dub and an LED drill toy is to follow.

Bandai announced their acquisition of the Gurren Lagann manga. There are two tankoban of the series in Japan. There is no American release date yet, just "early 2009". The manga is based on the anime series and Bandai representatives emphasized that they are only interested in manga that ties-in to their anime properties. Bandai does not produce Original English Language manga with the exception of Witchblade, which is done in collaboration with American comics publisher Top Cow. Bandai's other hit property, Code Geass, features character designs by the superstar manga collective CLAMP and is currently airing on MTV’s Adult Swim. Akira is coming to Blu Ray DVD in February 2009, with 192 kHz audio (normal CD quality stereo is 44.1 kHz) and retails at $49.98. The disc will be released simultaneously in Japan. One fan sitting next to me said happly, "I own three different releases of [Akira] and I'm still totally buying that." During the Q&A one fan asked how Bandai had lost the Haruhi Suzumiya license to Yen Press. "Kurt's a good guy," Robert Napton said referring to Yen Press copublishing director Kurt Hassler, "and he beat me with a light saber." —E.F.

NYAF08: The Iron Chef Speaks
Masaharu Morimoto, best known as the star chef on the now-defunct Japanese competitive cooking show Iron Chef and on the ongoing American version of the show, Iron Chef America, appeared dressed as a samurai at a panel held in his honor. The Hiroshima native, who currently lives and owns a restaurant on the Westside of Manhattan, released a 2007 cookbook with DK Publishing titled Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking, which he autographed for fans at a signing after the panel. The former Iron Chef Japan told the audience that he had recently lost forty pounds thanks to a diet composed primarily of vegetables, but added that he did not want to lose any more weight because “if [I’m] too skinny, maybe you don’t trust the chef.” Asked by a fan why he decided to become a chef, Morimoto replied, “My mother was not a good cook.” —L.H.

NYAF08: Closing Ceremonies
NYAF director of programming Peter Tatara led closing ceremonies, which were more of a cosplay circus than the usual con gripe session. Fans gathered at the stage area to collect prizes for the best costumes, not to give creative feedback about the festival. "What do you want to see next year?” Tatara asked the enthusiastic crowd. "A Sasuke shrine!" one girl squealed, getting a favorable reaction from the audience by her use of a Naruto reference. Gurren Lagann (Sci-Fi Channel), Code Geass, and Death Note (both on Adult Swim) provided the inspiration for some of the most popular costumes at the convention besides Gothic Lolita outfits and Soul Eater cosplay. Soul Eater is currently being serialized in Yen Plus magazine, but the popular anime title has yet to be licensed. —E.F.

Viz Episodes Online
Viz Media
is releasing episodes of Naruto, Bleach, and Death Note on Joost.com, an Internet television service. The episodes are the uncut versions in Japanese with English subtitles, and will be available for free. Viz is also releasing the uncut episodes of Naruto, Bleach, and Death Note on Hulu.com, another online television provider; the episodes will be free on Hulu.com as well. Episodes of Naruto and Death Note are already available on Hulu, and all the shows will be updated regularly on both websites.

Digital Manga News
Digital Manga’s online manga rental site, eManga, has completed the beta stage, and is now open. Users can rent Digital Manga titles for 300 points for 72-hour access; 1000 points can be purchased for $10. The manga are streamed through Adobe flash player. Free samples are available of all the titles, and for a limited time L’Etoile Solitaire by Yuno Ogami is being offered for free. Also, Rachel Livingston, who handled Digital Manga’s press releases, has left Digital Manga; Michelle Mauk is taking over the Livingston’s press release duties. Yoko Tanigaki, who is now in charge of Sales and Marketing, is taking over Livingston’s main duties.

Second Printing of The Stand #1
Stephen King’s The Stand: Captain Trips #1 sold out through Diamond, and Marvel is going back to print with the issue. The Stand is a five issue series based on Stephen King’s novel; the comic is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, with art by Mike Perkins. The second printing issue will go on sale October 22nd, and the second issue will be out October 8th.

Dan Pink at the Japan Society
Dan Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, will be speaking at the Japan Society on October 6th at 6:30 p.m.. In his lecture, “Dan Pink’s Adventures in Manga,” he will discuss the world of dojinshi, Japanese amateur fan manga. After his presentation, there will be a reception and book signing. The event is $10 for the general public, $8 for Japan Society members, and $5 for students and seniors. The Japan Society is located at 333 East 47thStreet between 1st and 2nd Avenues in New York City.

Spider-Man and Stephen Colbert
Spider-Man #573 will feature an eight-page story featuring Stephen Colbert. The issue presents Colbert as a presidential candidate in the Marvel Universe, and he teams up with Spider-Man. Mark Waid wrote the story, with art by Patrick Olliffe; Joe Quesada, Marvel Editor in Chief, drew a variant cover for the issue. Spider-Man #573 is available on October 15th.

Richard Thompson at SPX
Small Press Expo
announced that Richard Thompson will be a guest at the show. Thompson is a contributor for The New Yorker and has a weekly political strip, Richard’s Poor Almanac in the Washington Post. Thompson will be signing copies of his new strip collection, Cul De Sac: No Exit. SPX will be held October 4th and 5th at the North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Abel, Madden at Housing Works
Jessica Abel and Matt Madden will discuss their new comics’ textbook, Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, at the Housing Works Bookstore and Café on October 1st at 7 pm. Tom Hart will moderate the discussion. A book signing will follow their presentation. The Housing Works Bookstore and Café is located at 126 Crosby Street between Houston and Prince in New York City.

This Week @ The Beat:
Recently seen in The Beat, PW's daily news blog of comics culure: thoughts on the Minx cancellation; pictures from the Harvey Awards; photos from Paul Pope's birthday party; Robert Kirkman and Brian Bendis's debate on how to make a living in comics; and how the San Diego Convention Center's expansion plans will affect Comic-Con International.