Tite Kubo

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.

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!

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...

It looks like fans of the "Bleach" anime are going to have to wait until at least after April to catch new episodes of the series on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim program block. As reported by Anime New Network, Adult Swim's schedule shows repeats for the foreseeable future despite a previously aired bumper promoting new episodes during April...

Press Release VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced it has secured from TV Tokyo and Shueisha the download rights to the hit supernatural action anime series BLEACH™. Twen ...