Manga Week: Manga Pick Hits

NEWS
MANGA WEEK: MANGA PICK HITS – FALL 2026
‘Black Jack Deluxe,’ New Volume by Creator of ‘Delicious in Dungeon,’ More
Posted by Brigid Alverson on August 20, 2026 @ 4:10 pm CT

It may feel like the dog days of summer will never end, but fall is just around the corner, and along with the changing leaves and the return of pumpkin spice, we can look forward to some very interesting new manga. Here’s a look at the most promising upcoming releases.

Black Jack Deluxe Edition,Vol. 1
Publisher: Kodansha Manga
Release Date: November 3, 2026
Price: $54.95
Creator: Osamu Tezuka
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9-781-6472-9615-5
Age Rating: 16+

What It’s About: Osamu Tezuka’s classic series about an outlaw doctor who goes to extraordinary lengths to save his patients and operates on an idiosyncratic moral code of his own.

Why It’s a Pick Hit: Tezuka’s storytelling really shines in this series, and the new edition is a best-of-the-best collection that includes color sequences that have never been published in English before, along with archival material that makes it a true collector’s edition.

Terrarium in a Drawer
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: November 24, 2026
Price: $15.00
Creator: Ryoko Kui
Format: Tarde Paperback
ISBN: 9-798-8554-4747-7
Age Rating: N/A

What It’s About: This one-shot manga is a collection of 33 short stories by the creator of Delicious in Dungeon in a variety of genres including comedy, fantasy, and science fiction.

Why It’s a Pick Hit: Kui is the creator of Delicious in Dungeon, which surged in sales a few years ago when the anime came out and has remained a solid series; the first volume was one of the best-selling titles in comic stores in 2025 (see “Top 20 Manga in Comic Stores – Full Year 2025”). As a one-shot, it’s an easy addition to any Delicious in Dungeon fan’s collection.

The Apothecary Diaries: Maomao’s Notes on the Inner Palace,Vol. 1
Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: October 20, 2026
Price: $22.99
Format: Trade Paperback, 396 pgs.
ISBN: 9-781-9747-6871-4
Age Rating: Teen+

What It’s About: A young girl works as an apothecary in the Emperor’s inner court, the home of his many wives, in ancient China. This is an alternate manga adaptation of the Apothecary Diaries light novels, which are also the basis for the Square Enix series that’s simply titled The Apothecary Diaries. 

Why It’s a Pick Hit: The Apothecary Diaries is a gossipy soap opera with a bit of romance and comedy thrown in. The Square Enix version was a solid series that got a boost from the anime, and the popularity of the light novels (the first volume was the top-selling light novel in comic stores, per ComicHub, in the first half of 2026) suggests that fans like to read about the characters and story arcs in different formats. Square Enix is also launching a spinoff of its own in October: The Apothecary Diaries: Xiaolan’s Story is set in the same world as the original but told from a different character’s point of view.

For more ICv2 Manga Week – Fall 2026 coverage, click here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brigid Alverson
Contributing Editor. Alverson has been writing about comics since she launched MangaBlog in 2005. She wrote the Comics A.M. column for Robot 6 (now part of CBR), and currently edits the Good Comics for Kids blog at School Library Journal. In her earlier life, she had roles at magazine and book publishers.
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