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Author Archive for Lissa Pattillo

PR: Apocalyptic Vampire Manga SERAPH OF THE END Debuts June 3rd In Print & Digital!

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, May 15, 2014

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF NEW SHONEN JUMP SERIES SERAPH OF THE END: VAMPIRE REIGN

A Young Orphan Borrows Demonic Power to Battle Bloodthirsty Vampires That Have Enslaved The Earth

San Francisco, CA, May 14, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, delivers a new manga (graphic novel) title straight from the pages of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP as it announces the print and digital launch on June 3rd of the apocalyptic vampire series, SERAPH OF THE END.

The series, illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto with story by Takaya Kagami and storyboards by Daisuke Furuya, will be published under the Shonen Jump Advanced imprint, is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. The debut volume also features a fold-out full-color poster, as well as revealing author commentary. Future volumes of the continuing series are scheduled to be published domestically 3 times a year.

A digital version of SERAPH OF THE END: VAMPIRE REIGN will also launch on June 3rd for $6.99 (USD/CAN) on VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, and Android-powered smart phones. It will also be available through the Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks and GooglePlay stores.

After trumpets of the apocalypse proclaim the fall of humanity, vampires arise from the shadows to rule the earth. Yuichiro wants just one thing – to get revenge by killing each and every vampire. Yuichiro’s dream is near-impossible, given that vampires are seven times stronger than humans, and the only way to kill them is by mastering Cursed Gear, advanced demon-possessed weaponry. Not to mention that humanity’s most elite Vampire Extermination Unit, the Moon Demon Company, wants nothing to do with Yuichiro unless he can prove he’s willing to work in a team – which is the last thing he wants!

The latest chapters of SERAPH OF THE END: VAMPIRE REIGN are also currently serialized in VIZ Media’s WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP digital manga anthology, alongside legendary series such as BLEACH, NARUTO and ONE PIECE.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: seraph of the end, Shonen Jump, Viz Media

Yen Press Launches Light Novel Imprint – Yen On

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, May 4, 2014

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Yen Press’s new manga titles weren’t the only treat they had in store for Sakura Con 2014. The publisher also announced a brand new imprint – Yen On – dedicated to the publication of Japanese light novels. As the name directly implies, light novels are novels only… light, meaning not as dense or lengthy as most novels we’re accustomed to. They also have accompanying artwork inside.

A publisher for light novels is something I’ve seen plenty of interest for, but of course seeing interest from inside the anime/manga fandom isn’t necessarily indicative of an actual support base. Though many light novels are original properties – with the most popular receiving manga and anime adaptations after the fact – they’re still mostly seen as simply counterparts to their other more popular connected mediums in North America. Cute anime girls on covers also aren’t a big selling point for the average reader like they are in Japan, as evident by Yen Press’s decisions to sell the original volumes of Spice & Wolf with new photo-realistic cover art. I can’t say if those had any positive or negative affect on sales but it was certainly a thing that happened.

So how about Yen On then? If any publisher was going to do this, I don’t think anyone’s surprised it’s Yen Press. The manga publisher has already released several light novels including The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Sword Art Online, and the aforementioned Spice & Wolf. I’m curious to see if they’ll keep promotion focus on the existing anime & manga fan base, or if they’ll continue trying to push light novels to the wider young adult reading audience as well. Where will I see these books shelved in Chapters & Indigo stores in 2015?

Yen On is launching with three series to start:

Another – Yukito Ayatsuji
A Certain Magical Index – Kazuma Kamachi & Kiyotaka Haimura
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? – Fujino Omori & Fujino Omori

Another is a title I know from Yen Press’s omnibus release of the manga last year, a creepy horror story that had me almost leaving the lights on when I went to sleep. It’s about a class of students haunted by a vengeful spirit, one who appears among them as an extra classmate and brings about gruesome deaths.

Yen Press previously released the Another novel back in 2013 but in digital format only. This October they’ll be launching their new imprint with a hardcover print edition of Another that includes both volumes combined into one.

A Certain Magical Index is also a title I’m familiar with, but by reputation only. This light novel series has spawned multiple manga series and an anime. The story is set in a world where people have supernatural abilities, but political and societal struggles erupt between different factions of these individuals depending on how they gained their powers, plus what they are. The main setting for the stories is a technologically advanced academy where students with these abilities reside.

Yen On’s first volume of A Certain Magical Index is scheduled to be released this winter.

Last but not the least bit short in name is Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?. I’ve seen the joke about long light novel names plenty of times, so Yen On launching with a title like this seems a perfect fit. As for the story itself, the series is set in a fantasy world where a floundering adventurer teams up with a failed goddess.

The author of IIWTTTPUGIAD is new to North American publication but the artist, Suzuhito Yasuda, is known for their manga series, Yozakura Quartet, which was published by Del Rey. The first volume of IIWTTTPUGIAD is due sometime this winter as well.

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: A Certain Magical Index, Another, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Light Novels, Yen On, Yen Press

PR: Viz Media Supports 2014 Free Comic Book Day with Graphic Novel & Manga Samplers

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, May 1, 2014

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VIZ MEDIA SUPPORTS 2014 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY WITH GRAPHIC NOVEL & MANGA SAMPLERS SHOWCASING EXCITING NEW TITLES

Visit And Support Local Comics Retailers On May 3rd To Receive 2 FREE Samplers Featuring HELLO KITTY®, BRAVEST WARRIORS, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, And TERRA FORMARS!

VIZ Media is proud to be a supporter and sponsor of 2014 Free Comic Book Day, and participates this year with a pair of special FREE manga and full-color original graphic novel samplers from the all-ages Perfect Square imprint, as well as out-of-this world previews from its first Haikasoru original graphic novel and VIZ Signature.

Scheduled for Saturday, May 3th at thousands of locations nationwide, Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional campaign in the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers of all ages and interests into independent comic book stores. Free Comic Book Day began in 2002 and is coordinated by the industry’s single largest distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors. Readers should visit freecomicbookday.com to find a local participating retailer in their area.

VIZ Media participates this year as a Gold Level Sponsor and will offer two FREE exclusive releases (available while supplies last).

HELLO KITTY AND FRIENDS, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2014 EDITION
Readers of all ages can join in the fun with Hello Kitty and her friends in all-new full-color adventures! This time they’re letting their imaginations run wild in two stories from the upcoming HELLO KITTY: JUST IMAGINE…, scheduled for August 2014 (MSRP: $7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN). Plus don’t miss a special sneak peek of Perfect Square’s upcoming tribute book, HELLO KITTY, HELLO 40: A CELEBRATION IN 40 STORIES, celebrating Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary and iconic cultural impact. Scheduled for Fall release (MSRP: $29.99 U.S. / $34.99 CAN).

Also debuting in the Perfect Square 2014 Free Comic Book Day sampler are special bonus pages from BRAVEST WARRIORS: THE SEARCH FOR CATBUG (July, MSRP $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN), featuring the adventures of the irrepressible Catbug, the darling, fan favorite character from Cartoon Hangover’s Bravest Warriors!

A special Perfect Square trailer for Free Comic Book Day may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE-4DlsiWMc&authuser=0.

The VIZ Media 2014 Free Comic Book Day VIZ Signature manga sampler is aimed at older teen and adult readers and will offer excerpts from the new ALL YOU NEED IS KILL official graphic novel adaptation and the forthcoming manga series, TERRA FORMARS.

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, AND TERRA FORMARS SNEAK PREVIEW!
Live…Die…Repeat… The mantra continues in exciting new graphic novel form and sci-fi and action fans are invited to preview an entire chapter from the new ALL YOU NEED IS KILL official graphic novel adaptation (May 6th debut, MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $17.99 CAN). The gripping release from the Haikasoru imprint offers a single-volume retelling of the acclaimed ALL YOU NEED IS KILL novel, and is written by Haikasoru editor and noted sci-fi author, Nick Mamatas featuring full-color artwork by popular comic book artist Lee Ferguson (Green Arrow, Miranda Mercury). When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is one of many recruits shoved into battle armor Jackets and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn to fight and die again and again. He receives a message from a mysterious ally – is she the key to Keiji’s escape or his final death? The full ALL YOU NEED IS KILL graphic novel carries an MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $17.99 CAN.

Manga fans can also catch an early peek of TERRA FORMARS, the tense sci-fi horror series created by Yu Sasuga and illustrated by Kenichi Tachibana that has become a bestseller in Japan (MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN). In TERRA FORMARS, the colonization of Mars is an epoch-making event, but an unintended side effect of the terra-forming process unleashes a monstrous horror that no one could ever have imagined… Look for its serialized debut this July in print and digital formats from the VIZ Signature imprint and VIZManga.com.

For information on other all-ages titles available from the Perfect Square imprint, please visit: www.perfectsquare.com.

For more information on VIZ Signature and other manga titles published by VIZ Media, please visit: www.viz.com.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Free Comic Book Day, Viz Media

Dark Horse Licenses Legal Drop and Oreimo Spin-Offs at SakuraCon 2014

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, May 1, 2014

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Even when you’re pretty sure something is going to happen, that doesn’t make it any less sweet when it occurs. At the recent-ish Sakura Con, Dark Horse announced five new manga licenses, including a new CLAMP license rescue:

Drug & Drop – CLAMP
Legal Drug – CLAMP
OPUS – Satoshi Kon
Oreimo: Kuroneko – Sakura Ikeda
Seraphim: 266613336 Wings – Satoshi Kon & Mamoru Oshii

Legal Drug is a three volume series by CLAMP that was originally released by Tokyopop. The series went on hiatus in Japan, leaving fans of its boys’ love heavy subtext and mysterious unresolved plot left wanting. Rejoice however as CLAMP did eventually continue the series, titling the continuation Drug & Drop, which until now has never been released in English.

Dark Horse will be releasing an omnibus book collecting the three volumes of Legal Drug, the same treatment they’ve given to several other re-released CLAMP series including Cardcaptor Sakura, Tokyo Bablyon, and Angelic Layer. The omnibus will have a new translation and shiny new print, and likely with some bonus colour illustrations as well if Dark Horse’s past omnibus are any indication. Legal Drug is scheduled for September 2014 at $19.99/US, $21.99/CAN. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.

The first volume of the sequel Drug & Drop will be released in January 2015 for $11.99/CAN, $10.99/CAN. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon.ca | Amazon.com as well. Currently there are two volumes in Japan for the series with new chapters on-going. Both series follow two young men who work as errand boys for a strange shop that sends on supernatural jobs. More mysterious than even their work is the pair’s back story, and the true purpose behind their employer’s store.

I will sum up the CLAMP news by saying THANK YOU, DARK HORSE! Signed, a huge fan of everything CLAMP.

Dark Horses pleases another fervent fan base with their license of Oreimo: Kuroneko. The series is a spin-off to Oreimo which Dark Horse has released four volumes of to date. This three volume spin-off stars the original’s secondary female lead, Kuroneko, as the main heroine. Volume one will be released in April 2015.

OPUS is a manga title by acclaimed film director, Satoshi Kon. Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, or Paprika anyone? This two volume series is being released by Dark Horse as one omnibus book. OPUS predates Satoshi Kon’s film career, and follows a manga artist who is pulled into his own creation.

Dark Horse’s second license drawn by Satoshi Kon is Seraphim: 266613336 Wings, which is one heck of a name to remember. The one volume title is written by Mamoru Oshii, famous for quite a few titles in his own right. Seraphim is about a group of individuals on a journey to discover the truth behind a deadly ailment called “the angel disease”. Dark Horse’s edition will ship February 2015.

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: CLAMP, Conventions, Dark Horse, Drug & Drop, Legal Drug, Satoshi Kon

Yen Press Kicks Off Con Season with New Manga at Sakura Con 2014

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 29, 2014

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Earlier in the month Yen Press released their first big wave of news for 2014, starting with a number of new manga licenses at Sakura Con:

King of Eden – Takashi Nagasaki & SangCheol Lee
Gou-Dere Sora Nagihara – Suu Minazuki
Love at Fourteen – Fuka Mizutani
The Angel of Elhamburg – Aki

King of Eden immediately grabs attention with its author, Takashi Nagasaki. He co-authored the majority of Naoki Urasawa’s most popular series, including Pluto, 20th Century Boys, and Monster. I didn’t actually know this until reading Yen Press’s introduction to King of Eden, and this new knowledge ensures I’ll be keeping an eye out for Takashi Nagasaki’s name in the future. This is the artist, SangCheol Lee’s, debut professional work.

Yen Press describes King of Eden as “a sweeping new masterpiece of the grotesque”, beginning with a village massacre and the capture of the killer responsible. They’ll be doing a simultaneous publication of King of Eden starting May 1, 2014 – only two days from the time this post goes up!

Gou-Dere Sora Nagihara – which I’m going to have one heck of a time trying to pronounce to my local comic store if I choose to order it – is an amusingly perverse sounding story that reminds us to be careful what we wish for. A young man wishes that his beautiful beloved manga heroine was real, only to suddenly find himself face to face with her. However to his surprise she’s not the docile woman he’d always read about and now he has to learn how to deal with her very forward and overprotective nature.

Gou-Dere Sora Nagihara is scheduled for November 2014. This will be the second Suu Minazuki title released in English, the first being Tokyopop’s completed Judas.

In contrast to that pervy romantic comedy comes Love at Fourteen, a romance Yen Press describes as “a charming, bittersweet slice-of-life story” for those who “have a soft spot for subtle (not to mention adorable) romance”. The story is about two mature-for-their-age teenagers falling in love in junior high.

Admittedly nothing about that description is much of a grab. Teenagers falling in love… okay, we’ve read that a million times. The artwork though – pictured above on the right – does look really charming. I believe this is Fuka Mizutani’s first title to be released in English as well. I’ll likely give the first volume a try when it’s released this November.

The title that did get me giddy right away was The Angel of Elhamburg. I own both Aki titles that have been released in English previously – Olympos by Yen Press and Utahime by Digital Manga. I was immediately smitten with Aki’s gorgeous artwork (pictured above to the left) and thoughtful writing. The stories are more emotional than plot-driven and have given me food for thought on more than one occasion. I’m really excited to own another Aki book, plus see how Yen Press handles the publication after their beautiful work on the single volume, Olympos.

The Angel of Elhamburg is about a knight and his king when their friendship is strained by jealously, all as an angel overlooks their lives. This one-shot book is scheduled for Spring 2015. In the meantime you can see sample pages for The Angel of Elhamburg on Amazon.jp.

Along with all those lovely looking manga titles, Yen Press also announced an art book for Jun Mochizuki’s Pandora Hearts, titled Pandora Hearts ~odds and ends~. Yen Press’s past art book releases – which have included Kingdom Hearts and Soul Eater – are fantastic quality and definitely collectible items worth every penny. I’m confident Pandora Hearts‘ fans are in for a treat!

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: Aki, artbook, Gou-Dere Sora Nagihara, King of Eden, Love at Fourteen, Pandora Hearts, Takashi Nagasaki, The Angel of Elhamburg, Yen Press

PR: Viz Media’s Perfect Square Imprint Announces Three New Pokemon Manga Box Sets

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 29, 2014

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VIZ MEDIA’S PERFECT SQUARE IMPRINT PREVIEWS THREE NEW UPCOMING POKÉMON MANGA BOX SETS

Look Forward To New Multi-Volume Box Sets For POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE, POKÉMON ADVENTURES RUBY & SAPPHIRE, And POKÉMON ADVENTURES DIAMOND & PEARL/PLATINUM

San Francisco, CA, April 28, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga, graphic novels and anime in North America, delivers exciting adventures featuring favorite Pokémon characters with the announcement of three new POKÉMON manga (graphic novel) box sets later this year from the Perfect Square imprint.

The POKÉMON ADVENTURES RUBY & SAPPHIRE Box Set and the POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE Box Set 2 are scheduled for release in September. A POKÉMON ADVENTURES DIAMOND & PEARL/PLATINUM Box Set will debut in October. POKÉMON manga are rated ‘A’ for All Ages and each of the forthcoming sets will include a collectible full-color poster.

POKÉMON ADVENTURES RUBY & SAPPHIRE BOX SET •
MSRP: $59.99 U.S. / $79.99 CAN • Rated ‘A’ For All Ages •
Available Sept. 2014
Ruby’s father Norman is the new Gym Leader of Petalburg City. But Ruby doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps – he wants to win Pokémon Contests! Sapphire’s father Professor Birch is the local Pokémon researcher. But Sapphire is tired of gathering scientific data – she wants to win Pokémon Battles! When Ruby and Sapphire meet, they’re more likely to hit each other than hit it off. But then Sapphire challenges Ruby to a competition! Which of them will achieve their dreams in just eighty days?! Set contains the complete Ruby & Sapphire arc (Vols. 15-22) of the bestselling POKÉMON ADVENTURES series and a collectible color poster!

POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE BOX SET 2 • MSRP: $25.99 U.S. / $29.99 CAN • Rated ‘A’ For All Ages • Available Sept. 2014
Meet Pokémon Trainers Black and White! His entire life, Black has dreamed of winning the Pokémon League! Now he embarks on a journey to explore the Unova region and fill a Pokédex for Professor Juniper. White has an exciting career as the Trainer of a talented troupe of performing Pokémon. She dreams of making her Tepig Gigi a star! Together, Black and White continue on their journey… What surprising new Pokémon – and people – will they meet along the way?! Compact manga set includes POKÉMON BLACK AND WHITE Volumes 9–14 and a collectible color poster!

POKÉMON ADVENTURES DIAMOND & PEARL/PLATINUM •
MSRP: $89.99 U.S. / $115.99 CAN • Rated ‘A’ For All Ages •
Available Oct. 2014
Set contains the complete Diamond & Pearl/Platinum story arc (Vols. 1-11) of the bestselling POKÉMON ADVENTURES series, along with a collectible color poster! Pokémon Trainers Pearl and Diamond are starstruck! Their goal? To perfect their Pokémon comedy act. So how do they wind up as bodyguards to a pampered little rich girl on a quest to reach the peak of Mt. Coronet? Thrills and laughs are guaranteed as the POKÉMON ADVENTURES series continues with POKÉMON DIAMOND & PEARL/PLATINUM.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Perfect Square, Pokemon, Viz Media

PR: Viz Media Announces Fall Debut of World Trigger

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, April 22, 2014

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A PAIR OF UNLIKELY HEROES ARE EARTH’S LAST LINE OF DEFENSE IN VIZ MEDIA’S MANGA, WORLD TRIGGER, DEBUTING THIS FALL

Gear Up As A Geek And His Peculiar Friend Take On Alien Invaders In Series Straight From The Pages Of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP

San Francisco, CA, April 21, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announces the launch of a new manga (graphic novel) series this Fall with the release of WORLD TRIGGER in October. Created by Daisuke Ashihara, it has been thrilling domestic fans with new chapters featured regularly in the company’s WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP digital manga magazine and will captivate even more readers as it begins its release in graphic novel format.

WORLD TRIGGER debuts under its Shonen Jump imprint with the first two volumes releasing simultaneously on October 7th. Vols. 1 and 2 are rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN each. Digital versions will also launch for $6.99 (USD/CAN) each on the same day on VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones, as well as through the Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks and GooglePlay stores. New volumes will be released by bi-monthly.

WORLD TRIGGER begins four years after a mysterious portal to another dimension bursts open and invincible monsters called Neighbors invade Earth. Osamu Mikumo may not be the best among the elite warriors who co-opt other-dimensional technology to fight back, but along with his Neighbor friend Yuma, he’ll do whatever it takes to defend life on Earth as we know it.

In the series’ opening volume, upstanding Osamu always does the right thing, whether it means pitching in to save Earth after school or turning the other cheek to bullies. But when he meets a feisty humanoid Neighbor named Yuma, everything that he thinks is right is turned on its head. Can the two natural enemies ever become friends?

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Shonen Jump, Viz Media, World Trigger

TCAF Adds Third and Fourth Manga Guests With Akira Himekawa

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, April 19, 2014

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Toronto Comics Art Fest just keeps sweetening the pot for its attendees, and possibly proving itself to be the best venue for meeting manga artists in North America. TCAF organizers recently announced that manga-duo Akira Himekawa would be attending as one of their 2014 featured guests.

Akira Himekawa – who is actually two women who work together under the singular name – is best known to North American manga readers as the artist behind The Legend of Zelda manga series that are published by Viz Media. They’re currently working on the official My Little Pony manga in Japan.

Along with autograph sessions and interviews, the two manga artists will be participating in live art demonstrations and a panel about women working in the manga industry.

As someone who eagerly collected all of The Legend of Zelda manga – and was really impressed with the quality and artist’s ability to shift their style to suit each individual game – you can bet your manga-reading butts that I’ll be doing my best to attend each of those events.

We don’t hear of manga artists being brought to conventions here nearly enough, so I’m completely thrilled we’ve got four now coming to TCAF 2014. How amazing is that? And they’re no small names either. Akira Himekawa joins the already announced est em and Moyoco Anno, not to mention the large assortment of other artists from around the world.

TCAF 2014 takes place in Toronto, May 10th-11th, and is free to attend.

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Categories: News
Tags: Akira Himekawa, Conventions, TCAF, The Legend of Zelda

PR: Yen Press Announces New Licenses and Light Novel Initiative at Sakura-Con

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, April 19, 2014

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Yen Press Announces New Licenses and Light Novel Initiative at Sakura-Con

NEW YORK, NY (April 19, 2014) – At its panel at Seattle’s Sakura-Con today, Yen Press announced a dedicated program for the English-language publication of Japanese light novels, to be branded Yen On. The newly established Yen On brand will expand on the imprint’s previous light novel offerings, which include such properties as Spice and Wolf, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (co-published with sister company Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), and the forthcoming releases of Sword Art Online and Accel World. Yen On will formally launch in Fall 2014 with a goal of releasing approximately twenty-four books in 2015.

Yen Press also announced several new licenses of popular manga series. The following is a summary of the new acquisitions announced today:

King of Eden
Takashi Nagasaki, critically acclaimed co-author of Monster, 20th Century Boys, Master Keaton, Billy Bat, and Pluto, pens a sweeping new masterpiece of the grotesque with artist SangCheol Lee. Released in cooperation with Haksan Publishing, chapters will be serialized digitally with global availability beginning May 1, 2014.

PandoraHearts ~odds and ends~
The dark whimsy of Jun Mochizuki’s New York Times best-selling world comes to vivid life in this art book featuring over 120 color and black-and-white illustrations from the imagination of the author. This lavish edition will be available in November 2014.

Gou-Dere Sora Nagihara
Two-dimensional love bursts into reality when Sora Nagihara leaps off the manga page and into Shouta Yamakawa’s life in this hilarious fantasy romp from Suu Minazuki. The first volume will debut in November 2014.

Love at Fourteen
Fall in love with Kanata and Kazuki, two unusually mature teens, in this bittersweet manga from the creative talent of Fuka Mizutani. The first volume will be available in November 2014.

The Angel of Elhamburg
Aki returns to the Yen Press list with the tale of a precarious friendship between a king and his knight that begins to crumble under the weight of jealousy and contempt as a beautiful angel looks on. The Angel of Elhamburg will release in Spring 2015.

Another
Published digitally in two volumes by Yen Press in 2013, Yukito Ayatsuji’s spine-chilling horror novels make their way to bookstore shelves in a hardcover omnibus edition under the Yen On brand in October 2014.

A Certain Magical Index
One of Japan’s most beloved light novel series (and one of our most requested), A Certain Magical Index will help launch the Yen On venture. Kazuma Kamachi’s epic tale of clashing Magicians and Espers, accompanied by Kiyotaka Haimura’s lush illustrations, will debut in Winter 2014.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
One of the light novel category’s latest breakthrough successes, Fujino Omori’s hilarious fantasy about a hapless adventurer and a failed goddess, with illustrations by Suzuhito Yasuda, will round out the Yen On initial launch list in Winter 2014.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Another, King of Eden, Light Novels, Love at Fourteen, Pandora Hearts, Sakura Con, The Angel of Elhamburg, Yen On, Yen Press

PR: Viz Media Releases Weekly Shonen Jump Pack Print Edition

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, April 18, 2014

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LEAP INTO THE WORLD OF MANGA AS VIZ MEDIA RELEASES NEW WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP PRINT EDITION “JUMP PACK” ISSUE 2

New Print Issue Features 100+ Pages Of Manga Content,
A 3-Month Digital Subscription And An Exclusive
Blue-Eyes White Dragon YU-GI-OH! Collectable Trading Card

VIZ Media’s WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP manga (graphic novel) magazine returns to its roots in print as it gives North American fans a special treat with the release of the WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Jump Pack 2014, Issue 2 available now. The jam-packed print edition contains more than 100 pages of the world’s most popular featured series and is an ideal way to check out what the digital WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP magazine offers.

The WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Jump Pack is available in the U.S. and Canada exclusively through retailers serviced by Diamond Comic Distributors and also from leading online anime/manga retailer Right Stuf. The WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Jump Pack 2014, Issue 2 is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN.

The latest Jump Pack issue features the current hit series, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, by DEATH NOTE and BAKUMAN｡ artist Takeshi Obata, as well as chapters from continuing fan favorites such as BLEACH, NARUTO, ONE PIECE, YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL and much more. The issue also includes a promotional code for a 3-month weekly digital subscription to the magazine along with a limited edition Blue-Eyes White Dragon YU-GI-OH! trading card with exclusive variant art from Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of the YU-GI-OH! series.

WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP is the world’s premiere manga brand and leading weekly manga magazine. The digital version published by VIZ Media features the latest installments of some of the world’s most popular manga series released every week to English readers on the same day as the magazine’s general print release in Japan. Currently serialized titles include the sci-fi action series, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (based on the novel of the same name which is the source material for the major motion picture, Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt!), and the recently launched STEALTH SYMPHONY, with story by Ryohgo Narita (Durarara!!) and bold artwork by Yoichi Amano. These join other popular series such as BLEACH, ONE PIECE, NARUTO, NISEKOI, ONE-PUNCH MAN, SERAPH OF THE END, TORIKO, and WORLD TRIGGER. The latest new chapters of monthly series BLUE EXORCIST and YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL debut on the closest Monday after their Japanese release.

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