Calvin Reid, Publishers Weekly  
After a year of unprecedented expansion into general bookstores, Los Angeles-based manga publisher TOKYOPOP is now making moves to get its titles into at least five mass market retail outlets. TOKYOPOP is also stepping up its efforts to develop American manga creators. The house announced plans for its third Rising Stars of Manga competition and signed one of the past winners to a multibook deal.          

Marlene Satter, Forward 
Manga, or Japanese comics, cover almost all subjects and age groups. They are such hot sellers in the West that many dealers say they can't keep them in stock, despite the fact that graphic novels require more display space. Manga are translated and often modified for the American market. Manga is big on 'cute,' even for serious themes... And cute or not, manga has become so popular in this hemisphere that The Rising Stars of Manga series (TOKYOPOP, 0-59822-246) offers would-be manga-ka (manga artists) a chance to audition their brands of cute and not-so-cute to the audience at large; competitions offer the chance of publication in one of the Rising Stars anthologies.          

ANIMERICA
It is a pleasure to see American comic artists reacting so powerfully to manga on a professional level.           

WIZARD  NEXT BIG HIT
Winners of TOKYOPOP's Rising Stars of Manga contest could have their manga join a stable of books that includes ShutterBox... Want to be a manga artist? No one makes it easier than TOKYOPOP, especially since they've announced the third Rising Stars of Manga contest, set to run tentatively from Jan. 1 through March 15.

Library Journal 
With the current popularity of books on how to draw manga, this collection is recommended for teens and adults not only for its best stories but also as an inspiration to budding artists.           

Steve Raiteri, Library Journal 
With the current popularity of books on how to draw manga, this collection is recommended for teens and adults not only for its best stories but also as an inspiration to budding artists.           

Richard Foss, Los Angeles City Beat
Rising Stars of Manga, Volume One show that, when the graphic form fits the material this elegantly, there's much for even a casual manga reader to enjoy and appreciate. I have even reread several pieces to savor them again. It's worth getting up to speed, as this phenomenon is only gaining momentum. Volume Two hits stores on December 9, and a third contest is slated to start January 1.          

The MangaManiacs.org 
But the first volume of The Rising Stars of Manga is a total delight from beginning to end.           

Bill Hutchens, News Tribune 
These are not your first-grader's comic books. Shane Konecny, an artist from Graham, came up with the concept for 'Possessions.' He and Nate Scott of Orting took at top 10 spot in a recent contest... For their efforts, each won $250. They'll be published in December in the second 'Rising Stars of Manga' anthology, including all 10 winners. The anthology will be distributed nationwide. 'That's the real prize,' said Scott, the more well-versed manga fan of the two.          

Anneli Rufus, East Bay Express
Talking turkey, actually: A roasted drumstick speaks in Andrew Wong's award-winning new comic--and it's not happy. By the time Wong realized that Los Angeles-based Japanese-comics publisher TOKYOPOP was staging its second Rising Stars of Manga contest, the recent Cal grad and El Cerritoite had only four weeks to devise a story--and write and draw it... The result is Fowl Play, in which poultry snarks, one of ten entries chosen from nearly a thousand to be included in Rising Stars of Manga II (TOKYOPOP, $9.99).           

Lindsay Meade Bigoness, Old Colony Memorial 
Bet you didn't know a Plymouth North High School graduate is a rising star in one of the world's most popular, and competitive, art forms. Bettina Kurkoski, a 1991 North graduate was named one of the top 10 'Rising Stars of Manga' by the United States' leading publisher of the art... The Rising Stars of Manga contest is only in its second year, and was launched by TOKYOPOP, the leading United States publisher of manga. Winners received cash prizes, publication in a contest anthology and potential future contracts with TOKYOPOP.           

Jessica Bennett, Patriot Ledger 
[Kurkoski] was one of 10 winners of the Rising Stars of Manga contest, a national competition for aspiring cartoonists of the Japanese-style graphic novels. The contest, sponsored by the leading U.S. publisher of manga, Los Angeles-based TOKYOPOP, is a call for up-and-coming manga artists, said company spokeswoman Mina Sung. 'For a lot of people, this is a lifelong dream,' she said. 'This gives them an opportunity to get their foot in the door. For us, sponsoring this contest is a way to bring these creators out.'          

Becky Ohlsen, Bookpage
TOKYOPOP's upcoming World of Hartz promises to be huge with the teenage crowd, blending manga-style art with a story that centers on the world of Internet gaming, a sure bet to corner the young geek market. TOKYOPOP has also published its first annual The Rising Stars of Manga, a collection drawn from hundreds of entries in a 2002 contest to find the best of American manga. The book shows an impressive range of styles, tones and subject matter; it's a great starting point for checking out up-and-coming artists and getting a feel for the current scene.           

Paul Leakan, Burlington County Times
Healey, 21, has come a long way since the days of drawing his favorite characters from 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' 'Voltron' and 'Ghost-busters.' The township resident is among 10 artists who won a national contest to have their work published and distributed in an upcoming paperback compilation titled 'The Rising Stars of Manga.' Hundreds of artists of all ages and abilities entered the contest, which was sponsored by TOKYOPOP Inc... Healey said he was shocked to learn he was among the winners. 'They called me during dinner, and I nearly choked,' he said.          

Amelia Mularz, Daily Californian 
Wong became such a [manga] fanatic that last summer he created his own comic book, finishing a 20-page edition in just under a month... After four weeks of work, he put the finishing touches on his comic and entered it into a contest called 'The Rising Stars of Manga,' from the company TOKYOPOP. He and nine other winners will have their manga published in an anthology...           

Robert Marchant, The Journal News 
TOKYOPOP editor, Mark Paniccia, said del Rio's work had the qualities he was looking for in putting an American face on the manga tradition. 'It's an appealing story. It's the epitome of teenage angst, and there's great narration and nice pacing,' he said. TOKYOPOP is banking on animators like del Rio to put manga into the hands of legions of new comics fans, especially those who grew up watching Japanese-style cartoon shows on Saturday mornings like 'Pokemon.' 'It's already crossed over to the mainstream in animation. It's breaking through,' Paniccia said.