The Kodansha Print Club, TECTIV, Spectrum, and Sláine
Manga, Maverick, Mad Cave Studios, and Rebellion
The latest comics news and previews including:
New manga from Kodansha.
Out now - TECTIV.
A preview of Spectrum #2.
And a new Definitive Edition collection from Rebellion.
Kodansha Print Club Brings Digital-First Titles To Print Starting December 2024
The link between digital manga and print is closer with Kodansha's announcement that their digital manga will be available in print.
Kodansha USA Publishing proudly announces the launch of the Kodansha Print Club — a new publishing program aimed at bringing digital-first manga favorites to print, and directly to fan’s bookshelves, starting with Love, That's an Understatement; Teppu; and Blade Girl. Kodansha will debut this select roster of currently digital-first series in print via Penguin Random House. Beginning December 10, 2024, debut Kodansha Print Club titles will be available worldwide, from online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Kinokuniya, and more.
The initial Kodansha Print Club titles will be the unlikely love story between a diligent student and delinquent Love, That's an Understatement by Fujimomo; the action-packed women’s MMA cult classic Teppu by Moare Ohta; and the passionate para-athlete coming of age story Blade Girl by Narumi Shigematsu. Volume 1s of each series will be priced at $14.99 USD / $19.99 CAD and will be available to order in print starting tomorrow, with subsequent volumes coming soon.
“In the US, manga has to check a lot of boxes to be viable in the traditional print publishing route. As fans know, there are many deserving stories that could reach more readers if given a physical format. Some folks have been following and championing these series in their digital releases, and it has been encouraging to see how ready people are for them,” says Haruko Hashimoto, Kodansha USA, Sr. Editor, Digital. “Internally, we’re actually quite a small team working on Kodansha Print Club books. Each series, each file takes careful consideration from all sides: editorial, production, design, etc. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s an effort that we’re excited to finally launch. My hope is for the Kodansha Print Club to bring refreshed and improved localizations to long-time fans, and introduce these series to new readers, too. There are a lot of English-language manga to pick from these days, so giving an often-overlooked story another chance at visibility is important. I’m looking forward to seeing if what we’ve curated for you finds a place in your shelf—or your friend’s shelf!—like it did mine.”
“One of the things Kodansha is known for is its sizable digital-only catalog, and ever since the start of the digital program, we’ve noticed fans clamoring to have a number of these series available in print. The Kodansha Print Club is our way of trying to bridge this gap and start fulfilling some of those fan requests,” says Ivan Salazar, Kodansha USA, Sr. Marketing Director. “Across conventions and online, fans have told us how important it is to have a physical copy of their favorite manga—to hold them in your hand, and display them on your shelf—and the Kodansha Print Club is just one more way to respond to manga readers by bringing even more fan-favorite manga into print.”
To purchase Kodansha Print Club titles starting December 10, 2024, customers need only search for print editions of Love, That's an Understatement; Teppu; and Blade Girl Volume 1s from the following online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, Kinokuniya, Hudson Booksellers, Indiebound, Powell's, Crunchyroll Store, Target and Walmart. These titles will be available to purchase at both online and physical retailers. If you don't see these titles at your local bookstore, you can ask them to special order it. Shipping of all ordered titles may vary from vendor to vendor and could take longer for international orders.
The launch of the Kodansha Print Club program is a boon to the publisher’s efforts in bringing sought-after digital manga to print and in the hands of fans. It is also through the continued support of the Kodansha Print Club that the publisher looks to expand the library of digital-first-to-print offerings to include more highly requested series. Kodansha would like to extend an invitation for fans to be part of this program by not only purchasing debuting Kodansha Print Club titles, but also by letting the publisher know which series they would like to see added to this ever-expanding roster. Suggestions, comments, and requests can be submitted via Kodansha’s Publishing suggestion feedback form.
Richard Ashey Hamilton's TECTIV, a new YA OGN that explores the classic detective noir genre set against the enigmatic backdrop of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles.
Out now is a new graphic novel from Maverick - TECTIV.
Mad Cave’s YA Imprint MAVERICK is pleased to announce TECTIV out December 10, 2024. With elements of classic detective noir set against the enigmatic backdrop of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, this is sure to be one of the most innovative and alluring new YA OGNs of 2024.
When her best friend vanishes, Bingo Finder — the only literate person in a post-apocalyptic L.A. — turns to her beloved, ancient books for inspiration, becoming the first detective in centuries. But to solve this mystery, Bingo must fight for her own life and uncover a conspiracy within this fragile civilization.
Bingo and every other teen in the sprawling farming village of Ellay knows the tales of the old days — of how their great-great-great-grandparents rebuilt what was left of society after some apocalypse or whatever. But that’s ancient history. Boring.
Nah, for Bingo’s generation, today is about staying busy — distracted, even — while tilling the reclaimed City of Industry fields or unloading barges at the seedy port of Bel Air. Or in Bingo’s case, scavenging ruins for artifacts to upcycle and trade at the bartering bazaars — including Bingo’s favorite leftovers, these old things called “books.” Ever heard of ‘em?
Her favorites are the TECTIV books, the ones about men who walked rain-slicked streets at night in hats and trench coats. They searched for answers in a city called L.A., just like Bingo. It was their job. And after her best friend, Fenn, goes missing, Bingo decides that’s what she’s gonna have to be if she wants to get answers — a new kind of TECTIV for a new world. Because everyone may believe Fenn's disappearance was the first crime in a long time. But Bingo’s about to learn that it wasn’t. And it sure won’t be the last…
Author Richard Ashley Hamilton said, “TECTIV is all about finding things — finding secrets at the heart of a mystery, finding justice for someone lost in an unjust land, finding your true self in the pages of an old P.I. potboiler. So it's only fitting that this story has found its perfect home with Maverick and Mad Cave! My deepest thanks go to Mark Irwin, Mike Marts, and Christina Harrington for reteaming me with lettersmith extraordinaire Dave Sharpe and my artistic brother, Marco Matrone. I can't wait for readers to find our wild, wonderfully weird characters and their savagely beautiful noir world of tomorrow!”
TECTIV (9781545812440; 180pp; Trade Paperback; $14.99); is available for preorder now, and on-sale wherever books are sold on December 10, 2024.
Mad Cave Studios: A First-look at SPECTRUM #2
Spectrum continues with the second issue from Mad Cave Studios. Here is a preview of what to expect.
Mad Cave Studios invites music enthusiasts and comic fans alike to experience the supernatural adventure's return with a first look at SPECTRUM #2!
Written by Rick Quinn (Uncanny Valley, Spirit Drifters, The Negatives) with art by mystical comics auteur Dave Chisholm (Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound), the continuation of this new ethereal series will delve deeper into the life of Ada Latimer as she confronts the echoes of her past, the power of music to reshape reality, and the mysterious forces that threaten to upend her quest for normalcy.
What is normal? Do you ever wish your life was more normal? Ada Latimer wants to be normal. She owns a quiet little record store. She’s in love with her corny (but sweet) boyfriend. But the chance for normalcy vanished when her father Leon abandoned her as a child to search for the mythical record producer George Parker. The ramifications of Leon’s quest come back around as Echo, one of the Sustained-a being with the power to alter reality through music-shows up at Ada’s shop looking for answers. So much for “normal.”
Packed with heartfelt storytelling and stunning visuals, Spectrum #2 brings readers into a world where emotions are amplified and every note carries a secret.
The issue drops Jan. 8th, 2025, and is now available for preorder.
The Definitive Slaine Begins in April 2025
Rebellion has announced a new definitive edition coming in 2025 - The Woad Warrior, the Battlin' Barbarian, The Horned God himself – Sláine!
Following the huge success of Nemesis The Warlock: The Definitive Edition, in 2025 a new trilogy of 'Definitive Editions' will begin collecting another one of 2000 AD's most enduring and loved characters – Sláine!
Sláine Mac Roth of the Sessair tribe is known as the Warped Warrior – a mighty barbarian who can master the ‘warp-spasm’, harnessing the power of the Earth to transform into a monstrous creature. Accompanied by his dwarf sidekick, Ukko, and wielding his legendary axe Brain-biter, he travels Tir-Nan-Og – 'The Land of the Young' – an ancient and magical realm marred by warring tribes and ruled by merciless gods.
Created by Pat Mills and Angie Kincaid, with art by Mick McMahon and Massimo Belardinelli, Sláine: The Definitive Edition collects the complete series in order, and includes original covers from the full run.
The three-volume Sláine: The Definitive Edition begins in April 2025, offering readers a chance to read the violent adventures of the Woad Warrior in a comprehensive collection which presents the complete storyline up to 'The Horned God' in order.
The first 256-page volume will be published in large-format size measuring 276 × 210 mm in paperback, on sale from 8th April 2025. There will also be a limited embossed hardcover edition, available from the 2000 AD webshop and comic shops through Diamond Distribution.
Tir-Nan-Og is a violent world, home to warring tribes who worship gods both benign and malevolent. One such tribe is the Sessair, brave warriors of enormous skill and the best of them is a young barbarian named Sláine Mac Roth. Sláine is, among other things, a master of the 'warp-spasm' channeling the mystical power of the Earth through his body to become a mighty, monstrous berserker!
In the first Definitive Edition you'll meet a young, reckless and angry Sláine as he lives in exile, travelling with his repellent dwarf companion, Ukko. The series quickly introduces readers to the customs and wonders of his world and the horrors, like the Sloughs: sinister magicians who worship death and destruction and can raise armies of the dead to do their dark bidding…
Featuring the artwork of co-creator Angie Kincaid, as well as 2000 AD legends Massimo Belardinelli and Mick McMahon, Sláine changed 2000 AD forever. A pure swords-and-sorcery fantasy adventure set in a ruthless and cut-throat world, it was a sharp contrast to the sci-fi adventures which filled the rest of the Prog. One of 2000 AD's most beloved characters, you can take home his earliest adventures in 'Definitive Edition' form!
Sláine: The Definitive Edition Volume 1 is available for pre-order now, and will be on shelves in April 2025.
