One manga that I've been slowly rediscovering (and really enjoying) is Sgt. Frog (a.k.a. Keroro Gunso). Now TokyoPop is giving readers a chance to catch up with this alien amphibian comedy, flex their artistic muscles and score something really cool with their Sgt. Frog Coloring Contest.

The cool prize that's up for grabs? An copy of the extra chunky Sgt. Frog omnibus edition that collects volumes 1-3, autographed by creator Mine Yonezaki, plus an "exclusive Sgt. Frog pencil case, straight from Japan." But color quickly, because the contest ends on Thursday, January 22, 2009 at midnight.

Reading manga doesn't always require a long-term commitment. In fact, some of the most enjoyable manga that came out this year were one-shot wonders, or short story collections that were complete in one volume. Check out the 2008 Best New One-Shot Manga / Short Story Collection Readers Poll page for plot summaries, cover artwork and links for more info about each nominee and choose your favorite there, or scroll down to vote now.

In 2008, there were examples of great one-shot manga in almost every genre. From the kid-friendly comedy of COWA! to the gritty, grown-up gekiga stories of Good-Bye, or the genteel Victorian slice-of-life shojo of Shirley to the no-holds-barred rampage of the undead in Tokyo Zombie -- well, let's just say there's probably something for (almost) everyone in this batch.

As promised, yet another year-end readers' poll for you! After spotlighting graphic novels for teen girls, teen boys, men and women, it's time to shine a light on manga geared for younger readers. Check out the 2008 Best New All-Ages Manga Readers Poll page for plot summaries, cover artwork and links for more info about each nominee and choose your favorite there, or scroll down to vote now.

Now, I'll be frank here -- there just wasn't a whole lotta manga geared for readers age 12 and younger published in 2008. I bent the rules a bit by adding a children's book, Dayan's Birthday to the nominee list because, well, I felt like that kid-friendly title for Dark Horse deserved a little more love in this small, but thankfully growing segment of the manga market. There more all-ages titles coming soon from VIZ Kids, Del Rey Manga and Udon , so it seems that there'll be much more to look forward to in 2009.

Here's another readers' poll for you! This time, I'm looking for your choice for the Best New Original English Language (OEL) Manga of 2008. Check out the 2008 Best New Original English Language (OEL) Manga Readers Poll page for plot summaries, cover artwork and links for more info about each nominee and choose your favorite there, or scroll down to vote now.

I didn't nominate the various Chinese / Korean manhua/manhwa that came out this year, because they seemed to deserve their own category. Besides, I feel like I still have much to read and much to learn about the finer points of manhua and manhwa, so maybe I'll tackle that next year. In the meantime, find out more about the 10 nominees for 2008's Best New Original English Language Manga poll and vote today!