Bleach

Friends, how many times have you seen this story play out? Boy meets girl who ushers him into a hidden world beyond our own where he gets special powers. Girl mentors boy in use of said powers. Girl and boy, despite a solid bond formed in battle, argue constantly. But then, after enduring innumerable trials and hardships only to come out the other side stronger, girl and boy realize they can't live without each other and finally admit their feelings. Cue Big Dramatic Kiss and Sappy Montage of Happiness, right? Well, in the case of Tite Kubo's Bleach, which concluded last August after 15 years, the answer turned out to be a firm "no." And that still kinda bugs me.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent. This week's best cosplay ever includes D.Va, Starfire, Nightwing, Kaneda, Ramona Flowers and more!

This past Monday, August 22nd, saw the end of one of the Big Three shonen manga of the 2000s (alongside One Piece and Naruto), and what was at one time one of the most popular shonen titles in the world. Tite Kubo's Bleach published its 686th and final chapter, "Death and Strawberry," in the latest issue of Viz's Weekly Shonen Jump. In anime and manga circles the reaction has been celebratory, but also somewhat muted. Given that Bleach ran for over a decade, and spawned a highly successful anime, four feature films and many stage musicals, and is still a merchandising and cosplay bonanza, why is that? The truth is, to most Western fans at least, Bleach overstayed its welcome.

The weekend is here! Take a look back at what’s happened in the past seven days. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

Good news, manga fans who prefer Comixology over all other digital comics platforms: it's now easier to get your VIZ Media manga fix. This seems to be part of VIZ's ongoing dedication to diversifying the platforms their digital manga is available on, which leaders at the company reported as important over a year ago. As of this week, VIZ has added 650 volumes - over 65 total series - to the Comixology library. These titles are from those originally published by Shogakukan in Japan. This brings the grand total of VIZ offerings up on Comixology to 190 series and 1,100 volumes. Plus, to celebrate this occasion, there's a sale on a few VIZ bundles to get your collection started or to continue building your collection.

Click through to take a look at Tuesday's links.

Toys: Sideshow Collectibles has released more images of its upcoming premium 1/6 scale DC Comics figures as part of its "12 Days of Sideshow" reveals. TV: The Today Show's Jenna Wolfe visited the MAD Magazine offices over the weekend and chatted with Editor John Ficarra, Art Director Sam Viviano and longtime MAD artist Al Jaffee...

The neck-breaking speed with which the much maligned AKIRA live-action film goes in and out of active development has me unsure as to its present status, but the movie blog people seem to think it's dead for the moment. However, seemingly determined to bring some manga to American cinema audiences, Warner Bros...

Upcoming: Mike Norton's Battlepug webcomic will be collected for a print edition through Dark Horse Comics that will go on sale July 4. Books: If you're a fan of the Scary Stories to Read in the Dark books, you might want to have a seat...

Upcoming: Shout! Factory will release Transformers: Beast Wars the complete series collector's edition DVD box set on June 7. The set will include all 52 series episodes, new bonus content and a special 24-page comic, among other goodies...