Tuesday's New York Times includes an article by anime/manga maven Charles Solomon about Clamp, the four-woman collective that has produced 22 manga series in 17 years.  According to the article, 'more than one million copies of the Tsubasa manga have been sold in the United States.'  In addition to popular manga series like Chobits and Tsubasa, other Clamp series have been made into popular anime series that have been released in North America, including X, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits and the upcoming Tsubasa anime, which FUNimation will begin releasing early next year.

Solomon correctly points out the wide range of subject matter that Clamp has tackled, which ranges from the 'robot girl' comedy of Chobits to the dark fantasy of X to the magical girl saga Cardcaptor Sakura, and he also notes another aspect of Clamp's broad appeal, the group's ability to work in a variety of art styles that are perfectly suited for their diverse projects.

The article concludes with a discussion of how the Japanese and American comic book industries differ as well as the increasing international cross-pollination. As Clamp spokesperson Agetha Ohkawa put it, 'It used to be difficult to find American comics in Japan, but they've become more accessible.  As creators in Japan, we're very curious about American work and are pretty sure we're influencing each other.'