Comic and graphic novel orders (dollars) to Diamond US by pop culture stores for August were up sharply, increasing 14% over 2001 orders and 21% over 2000.

CDS was very close to getting Marvel's bookstore business last summer, before Marvel moved to Diamond, so there was already a relationship long before the LPC bankruptcy led to the creation of a graphic novel division inside CDS, and this deal was probably unrelated to the new initiative.

Estimated quantities for initial orders on comics shipping in August 2002 from pop culture stores ordering from Diamond US.

The division being created by Cient Distribution Services (CDS) to distribute graphic novels to the book trade is taking shape as the deadline for LPC's client publishers to choose new distribution grows near.

Multiple sources have confirmed to ICv2 that Marvel is moving from Diamond to CDS for book distribution, as rumored last month.

Bandai Entertainment announced the acquisition of North American broadcast and video rights to Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex , an anime TV series that functions as a sequel to and extension of the original (1995) anime.

Volumes 4-6 of the Astro Boy VHS series will hit the street on August 27, but Manga can't release the DVD versions until 2004 because of an agreement with the Tezuka estate.

Senator International, a Hollywood studio that specializes in moderately budgeted genre pictures, has optioned 30 Days Of Night , a three-issue horror comic series written by Steve Niles and published by IDW.

Tokyopop announced two new acquisitions at the recently concluded Anime Expo. The first was the Lupin III (pronounced 'Lupin the Third') manga by renowned creator Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Kato).

Initial critical reaction to Sam Mendes' film of the Max Allan Collins graphic novel, The Road to Perdition , has been ecstatic.