* the manga industry observer Simon Jones notes that with the state of the USA manga market right now, Kodansha may have had no choice but to enter the market if it wanted to see its full catalog utilized.
* if you have some extra time heading into the holiday weekend, and you're an industry wonk, you might want to reacquaint yourself with Steven Grant's long-running Permanent Damage column. I thought this new one was a strong outing, and his analysis that Brian Bendis has to be okay while Grant Morrison has to be sublime on their respective summer series seems dead on to me.
* the writer and long-time industry watcher Johanna Draper Carlson catches that a recording promised for a special edition of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier is not going to be included in the final package.