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DC: CMX - Local Hero - 06-23-2004
DC Comics has officially confirmed its forthcoming manga line, CMX, which will launch in October. Launch titles for the imprint will include the initial volumes of Madara, art by Tajima Sho-u (who created the character designs for the anime sequences in Kill Bill: Volume 1) and written by Otsuka Eiji from Kadokawa; Mekakushi no Kuni, illustrated and written by Tsukuba Sakura from Hakusensha; and Eroika Yori Ai Wo, illustrated and written by Aoike Yasuko from Akita Shoten.
"There's tremendous enthusiasm for manga in the States," said DC Publisher and President Paul Levitz in a press release. "New readers, particularly girls and women, have rushed to embrace new talent from abroad, which we're excited to bring to American audiences as part of DC Comics' commitment to publishing diverse and exciting works from around the world. "
Upcoming CMX titles will include Fujii Mihona' s Gals (the inspiration for the anime series SuperGals! from Shueisha), Tenjo Tange, by Oh! Great from Shueisha; 9 Banme no Musashi, by Takahashi Miyuki from Akita Shoten; Swan, by Ariyoshi Kyoko from Akita Shoten; Monster Collection by Sei Ito from Kadokawa Shoten; Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, by Tanemura Arina from Shueisha; and Akuma De Soro by Takanashi Mitsuba from Shueisha.
According to DC, each of the CMX titles are Japanese manga, which are being released for the first time in the United States, and will be published in the traditional manga format - sized at 5 x 7 3/8 ", with black and white interiors. Subsequent volumes of each series will be released on a quarterly schedule.
"We believe that manga readership is going to continue its rapid growth and also evolve in the US," said John Nee, Vice President of Business Development at DC Comics in the same release. "CMX is committed to publishing all genre of manga including horror, fantasy, science fiction and adventure titles and the line will be as diverse, and as author friendly, as that of DC Comics, Vertigo, and WildStorm."
Nee also announced today that DC Comics has hired Jake Tarbox as the Group Editor of the CMX imprint. Tarbox has spent the last 14 years living in Tokyo, Japan where he worked at Coamix, Inc. as the International Affairs Manager and Vice-Editor-Chief of Raijin Comics, administered the creation of the American subsidiary company Gutsoon! Entertainment, and edited the manga magazine, RAIJIN COMICS. Tarbox will handle the editorial responsibilities for the CMX imprint including overseeing the translation and printing of manga titles into English.
From DCâs release:
ABOUT THE LEAD TITLES AND TALENT:
MADARA Volume 1 (originally serialized in MARUKATSU FAMICOM magazine) represents the first work done together by the creators of the hit series MPD Psycho, artist Tajima Sho-u (who created the character designs for the anime sequences in the movie " Kill Bill " ) and writer Otsuka Eiji. When his village is attacked by demons, Madara, a blacksmith ' s apprentice, discovers that he possesses fantastic powers.
Artist Tajima Sho-u debuted as a manga artist in 1987 with the publication of Madara. He has worked on illustration and character design for computer games (including Galerians) and animation. He has illustrated MPD Psycho, Brothers Baby Baby, Madara Colors, and his current hit series Gorilla Kick.
In addition to his work with manga, writer Otsuka Eiji is a critic, essayist, and author of several successful non-fiction books on Japanese popular and " otaku " sub-cultures. In the 80s, Otsuka was editor-in-chief of MANGA BURIKKO, a leading women ' s manga magazine where he pioneered research on the " otaku " sub-culture in modern Japan.
Mekakushi no Kuni Volume 1 was originally serialized in LaLa DX magazine from 1998 to 2004. In this nine volume series, creator Tsukuba Sakura tells the story of Otsuka Kanade, a high school girl who can see visions of the future. Should she act to change their fate, or sit back and wait for events to unfold?
A rising young author in the shojo manga world, Tsukuba Sakura decided to become a manga artist in high school. As she was about to graduate college, she furiously distributed her work to publishers. Her first published work was A Bright Spring Day, in LaLa magazine. She has also written and drawn Invisible World: a Dog ' s Story (published in LaLa magazine) and Past Day Present (published in LaLa magazine).
Eroika yori Ai wo Komete Volume 1 was originally serialized in PRINCESS magazine from 1977 to the present. Eroika yori Ai wo Komete follows the adventures of a British aristocrat and international art thief who taunts his nemesis, Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach, by leaving notes behind at the scene of his crimes, signed " From Eroica with Love. "
Aoike Yasuko ' s first manga, Sayonara Nanette, was published in RIBBON magazine when she was fifteen years old. Afterwards, she garnered attention by publishing several hit stories in rapid succession, including Shojo Blend, When Roses Cry, Oh Carol, " I love you, Tetsu-sensei, " and " Hey, Young Guy. " In 1976 her sci-fi comedy Sons of Eve in PRINCESS magazine, represented a switch from pure shojo stories to a new kind of storytelling.
Debuting in 1977, Eroika yori Ai wo Komete became a huge best seller, and its sequel series is still being serialized today. The series is built on a great deal of research about European art history, and has helped to popularize many European painters in Japan as well as Japanese tours of European art museums.
Aoike Yasuko has continued a long and productive career in the pages of PRINCESS, a highly popular girl ' s manga anthology magazine. But her work is so popular that she is at present concurrently publishing stories in several magazines. She is the creator of Miriam Blue's Lake, Sons of Eve, Seven Seas, Seven Skies, The Castle, Ivy Navy, Trafalgar, Z, Der Freischutz, Alcasar, The Tale of a Priest and a Doctor, The Day of Saladin, Richard, the Lion-Hearted, Brother Falco, The Temptation of Scarlet, The Carthaginian Fantasy, The Melancholy of Her Majesty, The Knight of Drachen, and Plus Ultra.