Manga

Paramount has rolled out a new international trailer for Scarlett Johansson’s live-action Ghost in the Shell, which is faster-paced and shorter than the first one we got early last month. There isn’t a whole lot of new footage in this aside from a few second-long shots, but we see the Major and her partner Batou in action again, and less of those scary-looking spider leg people.

Now that we're several years into digital comics being a going concern, the usual response to hearing that a publisher has joined up with Comixology tends to be something along the lines of, "Wait, they weren't on there already?" This week, though, we got one that's definitely worth talking about. Yen Press just made its debut on the digital comics platform, bringing almost 200 manga titles, including Fullmetal Alchemist, the Kingdom Hearts manga, and even the American manga adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels. But what really matters here is this: Yotsuba&! is now on Comixology.

Sakura Tsukuba's Sweet Rein tells the story of Kurumi, a teenage girl who discovers that she's a Santa Claus when she encounters Kaito, a wispy and beautiful boy who is also sometimes a reindeer, and who is quite literally bound to her with an invisible rein that compels him to obey her commands. Also, they are in love. It is, without question, the single most bonkers premise I have ever encountered in a lifetime of reading Christmas comics, and I've saved the second volume for an entire year waiting to read it. And folks... it does not disappoint. Because this is the one with Dark Santa.

Western comics have been drawing inspiration from manga and anime for a generation now, both artistically and narratively, and a whole bunch of today's bestselling comics creators owe a debt to their lifelong love of Japanese pop culture. If you know a fan of anime and manga who wants to make the jump to North American comics, we've put together this gift guide full of great suggestions.

A largely light-hearted series for anyone who can't get enough of slice-of-life comics, Horimiya is the manga adaptation of the webcomic Hori-san to Miyamura-kun. On top of a sweet school romance, Horimiya has lovely art, and compelling characters with surprising depth, and it doesn't take a decade for the main characters to fall in love.

From its days as unfamiliar black-and-white single comics discovered as if by chance in Western comics shops, manga has become the biggest-selling sector of the comics industry, and an influence on dozens of creators in the North American industry. Much like Western comics, manga is for everyone, so if you know someone who loves comics but has never got into manga, we've put together a gift guide with great ideas for books and movies that you can buy them this holiday season.

On this day in 1982, the first issue of Akira was published. Written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo, this post-apocalyptic tale was crucial in the popularization of manga outside of Japan.

There's always been a seamless crossover between video games and comic books, and odds are if you're a fan of one, you're a fan of the other. Comics have been adapted into video games and vice-versa for almost as long as video games have been "a thing," and as both mediums have evolved, so too has the quality of those crossovers. With the holidays around the corner, we've put together a selection of some of the best video game related comics and art books for the gamer in your life.

Magical girls are special. They defend love and justice with a squad of their best friends, and they look cute while they're doing it. Their transformation sequences into their alter-egos are filled with sparkles. They remind us that the girly aesthetic is not a bad thing, and can actually be very powerful. You've probably got a few magical girls in your life, so we've put together this gift guide to inspire you to find the perfect presents for them.

Today is Black Friday and that means every retailer, both physical and digital is competing for your attention and your money with some of the biggest deals, sales and savings you'll see this year. If it all seems like too much to take in, we've assembled a round-up of some of the best comics sales happening this Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend to get you stocked up on great reads for the holidays.