Kodansha Comics Announces All-Ages and Teen Manga for 2019
New York (October 11, 2018)—At their industry panel at New York Comic Con, top-ranking graphic novel publisher Kodansha Comics announced two exciting upcoming all-ages manga, perfect for teen and adult readers as well as parents introducing kids to manga for the first time.
Beginning in April 2019, Kodansha will release Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier. The lushly-illustrated story of a girl who longs to be a witch in a magical society that keep telling her she doesn't have what it takes placed No. 6 in a prestigious manga industry poll in Japan last year, and it is likely to be one of the most-anticipated new series in the English-speaking market, appealing to fans of Studio Ghibli and Disney films. Shirahama is known in the United States for her exquisitely-detailed variant covers featuring on comics from DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and other publishers.
July will bring Vol. 1 of Magus of the Library, a story about a poor boy swept away by a kind library mage and the (literal) magic of reading. In a lushly-detailed fantasy world reminiscent of Arabian Nights, the Great Library is the center of learning in the world, and its librarians are capable of magnificent feats of magic. In a small village far from the main Library, a poor little elf boy struggles against bullies who call him "Knife-Ears." His only solace: the books that he sneaks out of the village's tiny branch library. When a librarian from the Great Library arrives, he's dazzled by her knowledge and glamor. Their meeting will change his life and begin the adventure he's always dreamed of.
“These two beautifully-drawn fantasy adventures show that there truly is manga that everyone can enjoy,” said Naho Yamada, general manager of Kodansha USA Publishing. “We're excited at these chances for American families, who have come to know and love Japanese films like Kiki's Delivery Service, to dive deeper into the world of Japanese sequential art.”
Expecting more than 180,000 attendees this year over its four-day run from Oct. 4-7, New York Comic Con is the largest gathering of pop culture fans in North America. It is the hometown show for New York City-based Kodansha Comics, and the publisher is operating a 30-foot booth (#2109) on the Jacob Javits Convention Center exhibit floor featuring exclusive merchandise, giveaways, and events for series including The Ghost in the Shell, Attack on Titan, BECK, and Sailor Moon.
About Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC
Kodansha USA Publishing (KUP) is a subsidiary of Kodansha, Japan's largest publisher. Since it began publishing under its Kodansha Comics imprint in 2019, KUP has grown into one of the world's top graphic novel publishers, thanks to classics such as Akira, The Ghost in the Shell, and Sailor Moon, as well as hit new titles including Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, and Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card. Kodansha Comics is distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services.
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