Starting off with print news, Fanboy has made a number of announcements recently about both old and newly acquired manga series. Most notably is their acquisition of Kia Asamiya's prequel to the highly popular Silent Möbius, Möbius Klein. While Fanboy and Asamiya have worked on a number of project together already, including artbooks and merchandise, this will be the first translation effort of one of his series. Not only will it be the first translated Asamiya work for Fanboy, but the eight issue Möbius Klein mini-series will also mark the launch of their new translated manga line, as all previously published series had been original works.

Möbius Klein will offer fans a look into the history of the Silent Möbius universe and its characters, helping to make sense of the mysteries in the series. Fanboy is dedicated to producing a top quality publication with the series and has made arrangements with Asamiya to allow them access to his original Möbius Klein artwork to ensure a high level of fidelity in its print quality. The first of eight issues, each being 32 pages long, printed in black & white, and costing $2.95, will go on sale January 2001. For further details, read the full press release here.

In other Fanboy news, the second volume of Sidekicks was release last Wednesday, October 11th. Written by J. Torres and illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa, this original series has an unquestionable manga feel to it, blurring the line between North American comics and Japanese manga.

Also available to fans of the series is an official Sidekicks T-shirt, the logo for which can be seen above. Large and extra large are the only sizes currently available, but expect smaller sizes to be available directly from Fanboy in November. You can see the original reminder send out by Fanboy's C.B. Cebulski here.

In a final bit of Fanboy news, aspiring manga artists are encouraged to send samples of their work to Fanboy, as three positions, one penciler and two inkers, are currently open for a number of upcoming 2001 project. The penciling position was originally only open to female artists, as the series upon which they'll be working will fall under the shoujo genre, but it has since been opened up to male applicants as well. For more information, click here.

Moving on to video release news, ADV has sent out an announcement on the release of the third volumes for both the Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 and Martian Successor Nadesico DVDs. The BGC 2040: Leviathans DVD will hit retails shelves January 23rd 2001, as will the Nadesico: Danger Zones DVD, both carrying a price tag of $29.98. For a plot synopsis on each volume, read the full press release here.

Also on the ADV news front, the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs will be shown at the Alamo Drafthouse on Sunday, October 15th at 9:30 PM. This will mark the big screen premiere of Kenshin in its entirety, shown in its dubbed form known as Samurai X. The screening will cost $7 per person, and depending on the success of this event, future screenings featuring local Austin voice over talent may be possible.

Moving from the big screen to the small screen, the Cartoon Network's broadcast of Gundam Wing:Endless Waltz, the short follow up OVA to the Gundam Wing TV series, has been delayed till November 10th. While delays are certainly no fun, it could've been worse; they could've thrown continuity to the wind by showing Endless Waltz while the TV series was still in the early stages of its run, as YTV chose to do. Unfortunately, things most certainly are worse when it comes to Fox's broadcast of Escaflowne. Due to poor ratings, the televised incarnation of the series has been canceled, NASCAR Racers scheduled to take over its time slot. It's a sad day when shows like Dinosaurz pull in higher rating than a masterpiece like Escaflowne. Such is life I suppose when networks try to shoehorn a series into a demographic it simply wasn't made for via a series of heavy edits, potentially alienating an audience that could've enjoyed the series as is.

For those disappointed with Escaflowne's cancellation, or simply eager to pick up the series in an unedited form, Bandai has your fix, already having released the first volume of the series on DVD and VHS dub, both edited and uncut; VHS sub was released previously. Volume 2, titled Betrayal and Trust, will street December 5th, the bilingual DVD retailing for $29.98, while the edited and uncut VHS dub will go for $14.98 and $19.98 respectively. For further details, click here. Also on schedule for a December 5th release from Bandai is the third volume of Jubei-Chan, Heart of Steel, the bilingual DVD selling for $29.98, while the VHS dub will go for $29.98, and the DVD collection of Don't Leave Me Alone Daisy. This DVD box set will contain all 13 episodes of the series on 2 discs, adding up to 325 minutes of entertainment for only $39.98, a similar high value release format to Bandai's DVD releases of both Eat-Man '98 and Haunted Junction. Their respective press releases can be read here for Jubei-Chan and here for Don't Leave Me Alone Daisy.

Other Bandai titles recently given dates include the fourth and final volume of Jubei-Chan, set to release on January 9th for $29.98, and the first of three DVDs in the release of the Saber Marionette J TV series. SMJ Collection 1 will feature nine episodes in its two disc set for $44.95, while the second and third volumes will contain eight episodes a piece.

Wrapping things up with a few final announcements and confirmed dates, Media Blasters has announced DVD releases for a couple of new titles. January 30th will see the release of the Earthian Angelic Collection for $29.95 and the Ninku / Yu Yu Hakusho Movie Double Feature for $19.95. Finally, Manga has given dates to their DVD releases of the Macross II OVA series and the Wings of Honneamise movie, both discs set for release on November 28th and retailing for $29.95. The DVD release of Wings of Honneamise is looking very promising with preliminary details indicating that an anamorphic transfer, a newly remastered 5.1 DD English audio track and a host of extras, including deleted scenes, an audio commentary, a photo gallery and a theatrical trailer, will be included.