Manga Monthly: Comedy and Card Games

It’s a new month, which means new PREVIEWS and new manga! This round of Manga Monthly brings you new twists on popular stories as well as new series in general! Have a look below and don’t forget to pre-order your manga at your local comic shop today!

Dark Horse gets things started this month with the first volume of Oreimo: Kuroneko (DEC140167).

This book is a spin-off of the popular comedy series, Oreimo (short for “Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai,” which translates to “My little sister can’t be this cute”) and sees series protagonist Kyousuke dealing with a new threat: Ruri Gokou.

Gokou, also known as Kuroneko, has transferred to Kyousuke’s school just as Kirino leaves to study abroad – but can he support her and her dreams of manga writing? Find out in Oreimo: Kuroneko!

As always, Dark Horse has plenty of manga available. More offerings from this month’s catalog include Lone Wolf and Cub, Gantz, and Bride of the Water God.

Kodansha also has plenty of new manga offerings in this month’s PREVIEWS, including the first volume of Maria the Virgin Witch (DEC141566)! Maria is a witch living during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.

She hates war, so to keep the people of the village she protects safe, Maria will use all the power at her disposal to stop the fighting, whether that means conjuring giant dragons or sending her succubus familiar out to mesmerize the warring generals with her charms.

But what do the villagers think of her "help"? And what will happen if Heaven notices her interference into human affairs?

Other Kodansha books in this month’s PREVIEWS include the Tsubasa Omnibus, Cage of Eden, Fairy Tail, and Air Gear!

Viz’s Perfect Square imprint has continued to publish the Pokémon manga series, and this month is no different! In Pokémon Black and White volume 20 (DEC141621), secrets are finally revealed when Black learns the truth behind Musharna’s disappearance, and when White learns the true origin of the King of Team Plasma, N! Plus, an epic battle between legendary Pokémon Reshiram and Zekrom – wielded by Black and N themselves – rages on! Who will triumph? Find out in Pokémon Black and White!

Seven Seas Entertainment is debuting a new manga series with Servamp (DEC141658)! This action comedy focuses on a power struggle between vampires. When a stray black cat named Kuro crosses Mahiru Shirota’s path, the high school freshman’s life changes forever. Of course, Kuro is no ordinary feline, but a servamp: a servant vampire. Mahiru becomes embroiled in an ancient and surreal conflict between vampires and humans!

Don’t forget to check out other great manga series from Seven Seas Entertainment, including Alice in the Country of Joker, Kokoro Connect, and Strike Witches!

Vertical Inc. also continues to bring over great manga series to the west! In volume 5 of Cardfight!! Vanguard (DEC141737), Aichi Sendo continues to compete in the winner-take-all world of trading card battles. Also available from Vertical are Witch Craft Works and Wolfmund, among others!

Viz has translated JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure before, but up until now, English readers have only had a chance to read the third arc, Stardust Crusaders. That’ll change with the release of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood Volume 1 (DEC141742)!

Hirohiko Araki’s long-running shonen series has run for eight story arcs so far, but it all began with Phantom Blood!

See the beginning of the long and hateful relationship between Dio Brando and the Joestar family. Jonathan Joestar’s life is forever changed when his adopted brother, Dio, arrives! This book is a special edition that features color pages and newly drawn color art by Araki himself, and don’t forget that the entirety of Stardust Crusaders is also available to order!

Viz is also kicking off the first volume of the 3-in-1 edition of Yu-Gi-Oh (DEC141759)! Anime fans who got their start in the late 1990s probably remember this card battle game from the television show, but Yugi got his start in this manga.

In this first part of the story, readers meet Seto Kaiba, master of the world's most dangerous collectible card game. When Kaiba discovers that Yugi's grandfather owns the incredibly rare "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card, he will stop at nothing to get it, even if he has to duel with Yugi's dark alter ego Yami Yugi! Then, out of the sands of Egypt, the mystic Shadi has come to test Yugi's powers, which will give Yugi his greatest challenge yet. If he loses, his best friends will die!

Also featured in this month’s PREVIEWS is Assassination Classroom, Volume 2 (DEC141762)! In this second chapter of the popular story by Yusei Matsui, a sexy new teacher comes to Class 3-E to do the students' job for them. When the 3-E students begin exhibiting signs of self-esteem, Principal Asano demands that Koro-sensei crush their spirits so they continue to set a bad example for the rest of the school to rise above. Then a class field trip goes terribly wrong when two 3-E girls are abducted. Who will come to their rescue?

Viz has tons of other manga available in this month’s catalog, including One Piece, Tiger and Bunny, and Food Wars!

Yen Press continues to publish Barakamon (DEC141804), a comedic slice-of-life series about a calligrapher in the countryside!

Kawafuji, the only friend of handsome young calligrapher Seishuu Handa, has come to visit the island! However, the lack of cell phone signal and any useful landmarks is preventing the two of them from meeting up!

Also, why has Kousuke Kanzaki, who beat out Seishuu for an award (in the "Second-Place Calligraphy Incident"), come along for the ride. There's a storm brewing in the third volume of this mature, heartwarming island comedy!

As always, Yen Press also has plenty of other manga to check out in this month’s PREVIEWS, such as High School DXD and Ani-Imo!

Though this month’s Manga Monthly may be coming to a close, there’s a huge variety of great other manga series to check out in the December PREVIEWS.

Don’t forget to read from right-to-left, and be sure to pre-order any of these great series at your local comic book shop!

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