NYCC 2009: New manga releases from Del Rey
Del Rey presented its new manga and manga-related releases at New York Comic Con this weekend.
This fall will be the 20th Anniversary of the superstar shojo manga studio CLAMP. To commemorate the occasion, Del Rey will be releasing the xxxHolic Official Guide, featuring everything you need to know about the manga series xxxHolic, of which Del Rey has released the English translations of the first 12 volumes so far.
The official fan book will include character profiles, an index to the witch Yuko’s wardrobe (did you know one of the members of CLAMP is also a kimono designer?) and a complete key to the crossovers between xxxHolic and CLAMP’s other manga series brought to you by Del Rey, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. The format of the xxxHolic guide will be similar to that of the previously-released Genshiken guide.
Speaking of Tsubasa, Del Rey will also be releasing an oversized full-color art book this fall, Tsubasa: Album de Reproductions, featuring covers of all the Tsubasa manga, as well as art bever before published in the US and an additional manga feature.
CLAMP in America by Shaenon Garrity is an original project also hitting the stores this fall. Garrity edits manga for Viz Comics, as well as writing original webcomics and manga-related blogs such as All the Comics in the World for comixology.com and the Overloooked Manga Festival. CLAMP in America is a chronicle of the rise in popularity of CLAMP’s work in the US and their role in building the fan base for anime and manga in this country. It includes interviews with editors and creators and will also feature 300 pieces of art.
New Original American Manga:
KING OF RPGS, story by Jason Thompson, "manga guru extraordinare," author of Manga: The Complete Guide and manga editor for Otaku USA magazine. Art by Victor Hao. In addition to Thompson’s manga cred, he is also a longtime creator of webcomics, and this new book is his sendup of all manga. The story revolves around a young gamer with a "dark past" — he is recovering from his extreme addiction to the online game called World of Warfare. When he goes to college he starts hanging out with tabletop gamers. Hilarity ensues as the cultures of online gaming clash with that of its "analog" predecessor.Release date December 29 — but you can see previews on www.KingofRPGS.com.
Other new manga series:
NIGHTHEAD GENESIS Volume 1, art by You Higuri, story by George Iida, is about two brothers with supernatural powers that led to an anime series AND a live action series in Japan. (The anime series, by the way, has been licensed in the US by Media Blasters.) You Higuri is known for her shojo manga series such as Seimaden (published in the US by CMX) and Cantarella (Go! Comi). To be released November 2009.
FOUR-EYED PRINCE Volume 1, story and art by Watari Mizukami is about a teenage girl named Sachiko who meets a shy, cute boy who wears glasses. What she doesn’t know is that by night, he’s a nightclub host who entertains older women! To be released September 2009.
ONLY ONE WISH Volume 1, story and art by Mia Ikumi, is one-volume collection of 4 stories about a mysterious witch who grants wishes to strangers. Ikumi is also the creator of Tokyo Mew Mew, and the volume also contains a bonus short manga with characters from that title. To be released December 2009.
SAYONARA, ZETSUBOU-SENSEI volume 1 by Koji Kumeta is a dark comedy about a sucidal middle-school teacher and his class of misfits. Release date February 24, 2009.
GAKUEN PRINCE, Volume 1 by Jun Yuzuki is a "saucy" shojo manga about a prestigious all-girls school that admits boys for the first time, giving its "man-starved students a strong reaction," especially since the new students are bishonens who somehow often end up with their shirts off. Release date March 24, 2009.
SAMURAI 7, Volume 1 by Akira Kurosawa and Mizutaka Suhou. You may have seen the anime version of this on the Independent Film Channel — it’s a science fiction take on the classic story that has also been made into American westerns. A VERY motley group of fighters get together to protect a small rice-farming town from mechanized bandits. Release date March 24, 2009.
NEGIMA!? NEO, volume 1 – story by Ken Akamatsu, art by Takuya Fujiyama — the manga adaptation of the anime…based on the manga "Negima!" about a ten-year old wizard prodigy from England…who is assigned to teach English to a class of very excitable Japanese girls. Release date March 24, 2009.
Prose Novels:
GENSHIKEN: RETURN OF THE OTAKU by Kio Shimoku and Iida Kazutoshi is a light novel based on the manga featuring illustrations by Shimoku. Coming out in September 2009.
KITCHEN PRINCESS: SEARCH FOR THE ANGEL CAKE by Miyuki Kobayashi is based on the cooking-themed manga about the "Rachel Ray of the manga world." The heroine, teenage chef Najiki, is asked by an old woman to recreate a recipe that has been lost for 50 years — but the only thing she can tell her about it is that it was "light and fluffy." Illustrations by Natsumi Ando. Coming out in November 2009.
