Yen Press will join Orbit, Hachette’s science fiction and fantasy imprint, in a new division named Orbit, with Orbit’s Tim Holman as VP and Publisher of the division.

“We are standing at the brink of what will be two years of carnage for western media.”

Mattel, the nation’s largest toymaker, reported that third quarter sales rose 6%.

Hasbro announced earnings of 89¢ per share, with contributions in the quarter from CCGs, board games, Iron Man, Star Wars, and Transformers.

ADV has announced a slate of anime releases for 2009 led by Clannad from Kyoto Animation.

In Part Two of this two-part interview, we continue our discussion of the changing licensing environment in Japan, ADV’s strategy for subbing vs. dubbing, and pricing and packaging; the status of its catalogue; the state of anime on American TV including the Anime Network, and ADV’s plans for Blu-ray releases and for its product mix in the future.

In Part One of this two-part interview, Leford talks about the current status at ADV; ADV’s changing strategy; some new anime announcements; his assessment of the anime market in North America, and the changing licensing environment.

Marvel has announced that it is launching a new wave of exclusive digital comic book offerings.

Scott Moore of Galaxy Comics in Saginaw , Michigan attended the Diamond Retailer Summit in Fort Wayne , Indiana and had an overall good experience in spite of a few fellow attendees.

An ICv2 Release. The ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference will be held on Thursday, February 5th, in association with the New York Comic Con. These are the panelists currently booked for the event.