@Captain:
I figured as much. At least Viz is finally going to release Phoenix volume 6.
I still want to see some of Tezuka's other works in english. But it's understandable I guess…they wouldn't sell that great.
Dark Horse might do good with something more well known, like Black Jack...does Viz still have the rights? Because they only released like two volumes and that was a long time ago...And Black Jack is one of the more popular Tezuka characters. (One of the Astro Boy volumes Dark Horse released had a Black Jack story in it too).
I believe not, since it was a long time ago, the ownership probably expired or something. I mean, Viz published Crying Freeman a long time ago, but now DH acquired the rights and is going to publish it again. Also, there are rumors that DH might buy the rights for Gantz and Fist of the North Star.
Btw, I posted the Black Jack suggestion on their forums.
Here's what DH stated at Newsarama prior to the Wondercon convention…
@Dark:
In regards to new titles and initiatives, Dawson said that the publisher will be kicking off an official horror manga line of titles later in the year, allowing Dark Horse to pull its existing horror manga, as well as bring in new horror manga. The launch titles for the line include: Octopus Girl, School Zone, Scary Bok, Xuan Video Side, and Museum of Terror.
And here's an announcement from their official site…
@Dark:
The end of 2005, and into 2006 and beyond will be an exciting time for Dark Horse Manga, as we have been busy preparing tons of quality manga for enjoyment by Western audiences! Last Month, Katsuya Terada's depiction of the Journey West, MONKEY KING, hit shelves and contains some of the most beautiful "manga" art ever to be release outside of Japan! (Not sure if you could call it Manga Art – it's more like the ceiling of the Sisteen Chapel in a book -- and I'm talking about artistic detail, not content!) .
This month, the first of four installments of Koike's Lady Snowblood were released, and it delivers all the developed plot, action and gore that typify Koike titles. Additionally, Dark Horse will present the English translation of the 15 part series Path of the Assassin for the first time (Art by Goseki Kojima of LW&C and Samurai Executioner), and the 5 part series Crying Freeman, also by Koike, starting in 2006 and lasting through 2007!
Two personal favorites, Hiroki Endo's EDEN and Rei Mikamoto's Reiko the Zombie Shop will also be hitting shelves in November and December, respectively. Endo's EDEN features art much akin to that in Samura's Blade of the Immortal, and it's story is amazing and epic; this title will appeal to all sci-fi fans, but I think that Otomo and Samura fans will be particularly impressed. Reiko the Zombie Shop is the product of the cutest cute, goriest gore, mixed together with incredible art for non-stop action bathed in blood and viscera -- packed with the vitamins and minerals that only intestines and grey-matter can deliver!
Blood and brains will add color to part of Dark Horse's Manga Horror line, but we have a host of psychological thrillers, as well, including the JU-ON manga, Classic Horror Manga-ka Hideshi Hino's Lullabies from Hell (a one shot), Temporary Horror Manga-ka god Junji Ito's Museum of Terror, and a host of other terrifying titles, like Kazuo Umezu's Scary Books, Toru Yamazaki's Octopus Girl, and Japan's own Queen of Screams, Kanako Inuki, and her hit School Zone. Let Dark Horse chill you to the bone in 2006 with our terrifying Horror Manga!
Dark Horse also acquired the license for the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex novel series; these three books are written by one of the staff writers/creators of the TV Anime, Jun'ichi Fujisaku, and are packed with all the action you've come to expect from Kusanagi and the rest of Section 9.
Another special 'Samurai Manga' which is sure to please fans of Mr. Koike is a series by Hiroshi Hirata, Satsuma Gishiden; Hirata, as some of you may know, is not only an Manga-ka, but an accomplished calligrapher (He did the brush script logo for AKIRA).
If you have seen the movie OLD BOY (and if you haven't, I recommend it), then I'm sure you'll be happy to see the OLD BOY manga, which is just as graphic and exciting as the movie. After reading this, I can't hear the word "teeth" without thinking "hammer", and shivering...
We'll be continuing our currently-running series; you can expect to get more doses of Trigun, Hellsing, and Berserk on the Manga side, and as well as new installments of Vampire Hunter D. You'll also get to read about a sword-bearing school girl, Saya, in Blood the Last Vampire, which sparked the hit Anime.
We'll be updating this section more often, and in the coming months, there will be LOTS more announcements coming; we'll keep you posted, and we look forward to seeing you on the forums!
