Graphic novel news

Del Rey, a division of Random House, has launched the first four titles in its new manga collection, publishing titles from Japanese publishing company Kodansha. The four titles retain the original Japanese format, reading from right to left, and feature extensive translations and cultural explanations, while maintaining the spirit of the original version.

Gundam Seed: Mobile Suit Gundam, by Hajime Yadate, Yoshiyuki Tomino and Masatsugu Iwase, is a science-fiction war story, pitting natural human against genetically enhanced human in a desperate civil war. Negima: Magister Negi Magi by Ken Akamatsu is about a boy wizard who, instead of becoming a practicing mage, is forced to go and teach English in a school for girls. If you're more interested in the supernatural, try xxxHolic, created by the all-female manga collective Clamp, in which a haunted young man goes to a witch for help but ends up with more than he bargained for. Or try Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, also by Clamp, featuring the adventures of Sakura and Syaoran, characters from a magical world that crosses over with xxxHolic.

Negima and xxxHolic are recommended for mature readers.