San Diego Comic-Con 2014: New Manga Announcements from Udon
San Diego Comic-Con 2014 has come to a close, so it’s a good a time as any to take a closer look at the new manga titles that were announced at this year’s show.
Compared to years past, the list of new manga licenses announced at Comic-Con was fairly short this time around — possibly because a lot of announcements were made earlier in the month at Anime Expo, and possibly more will be made next week at Otakon. In fact, only four manga publishers had panels scheduled this year: VIZ Media, Kodansha Comics, Udon Entertainment and Drawn and Quarterly. VIZ Media had no new titles to announce at their panels, so that pretty much left Kodansha, Udon and D&Q to offer new news of coming attractions for manga readers. First up, here’s what Udon had to showcase at this year’s SDCC.
UDON ENTERTAINMENT
Clearly, the champ in the ‘new books to announce’ department at SDCC 2014 was Udon Entertainment. At their Saturday afternoon panel, they announced 10 new art books, a new manga title, a new original comics collection, three additions to their new Manga Classics imprint, and a freshly-inked deal to do a series of art books based on a beloved anime series, Robotech (a.k.a. Macross and Mospaeda)
Kill La Kill by Kyo Akizuki, TRIGGER and Kazuki Nakashima (NOT FINAL ART. PENDING LICENSOR APPROVAL)
Kill La Kill by Kyo Akizuki, Trigger/ Kazuki Nakashima – Late Winter/Early Spring 2015
This title was the clear winner in the new manga title that got fans a-buzzing department. Kill La Kill from Studio Trigger is one of the breakout anime hits of the past year, and the numerous fans who came to SDCC wearing Kill La Kill-inspired costumes (second only to Attack on Titan cosplayers) is a testament to that.
Kill La Kill centers around Ryuko Matoi, a girl who transfers to a town that is under a demented form of military law, enforced by the local high school and its imperious school president, Satsuki Kiryuin. Satsuki’s power largely stems from her ability to dole out special school uniforms that give students super powers; incidentally, these uniforms are made from fabric designed by her equally demented mother, who runs a worldwide clothing manufacturing empire. Meanwhile, Ryuko is out to shake things up because she too has a school uniform that give her special powers, a uniform that is a sentient creature who becomes her weapon and her trusted advisor all in one. It’s hard to explain how over-the-top crazy Kill La Kill is without revealing some of its many twists, but go watch it on Crunchyroll now, and you’ll see why fans are gaga over this manga.
Udon’s other manga announcement was intriguing to fans, especially gamers.
Katamari Damacy Vol. 1 by Alex Culang and Raynato Castro – December 2014
Following their other print editions of Wonder Momo and Bravo Man, original webcomics based on Bandai Namco games for the now defunct ShiftyLook website, Udon has added Katamari Damacy, the wacky tales of this surreal yet addictive game. Created by the team that brought you Buttersafe, this hardcover edition of full-color comics will please fans who enjoyed the clever humor of Katamari Damacy when they were posted online, and fans who simply love playing this game about a space alien prince who likes to roll… stuff into big balls of stuff… well, you’ll get it if you see it.
Emma by Jane Austen, adapted by Po Tse and Stacy King | © Udon Entertainment
Manga Classics: Emma by Jane Austen, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens – January 2015
Udon also shared news of their next Manga Classics adaptations, original comics adaptations of classic literature created in conjuction with Hong Kong’s Studio Morpheus made to appeal to manga readers. Their first releases, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo will hit stores in August, and enjoyed robust sales at the American Library Association (ALA) Conference in Las Vegas in late June, and was well received there as well. These are original comics created expressly for this edition — they were not previously published in Japan or Hong Kong, so they’re created with the N. American market in mind, with an eye toward making them available in other languages as well. I’ve read the Les Miserables and Pride and Prejudice comics and found them to have a nice balance of fast-paced, easy to follow, and entertaining stories that retain the key themes and events of the original novels but make them fresh and fun to read for comics readers.
The other announcements from Udon were mostly anime and video game artbooks, but there were some surprises that will delight manga readers as well.
Robotech / Macross Artbooks – Coming in 2015-2016
Tommy Yune, creative director from Harmony Gold came on stage to announce this freshly inked deal with Udon Entertainment to publish new art books that showcase concept art, sketches and much more from this beloved sci-fi action anime series. The deal was only recently firmed up, so not a lot of details were available about what books would be coming out and when they would hit the shelves, but from the preview art that was screened at the panel, it looks like there’s lots for Robotech fans to look forward to.
The other art books announced by Udon included several fan favorite series, featuring something to please almost anyone.
Osamu Tezuka Anime Character Illustrations | NOT FINAL ART. PENDING LICENSOR APPROVAL
Osamu Tezuka Anime Character Illustrations and Osamu Tezuka Anime Character Sketchbook – 2015
Next to the Robotech announcement, this one was an eye-opener for manga fans. This two volume release will include concept sketches from Tezuka’s many anime series inspired by his manga creations, including Jungle Emperor, Astro Boy and Black Jack. The Sketchbook takes readers inside Tezuka’s own sketchook to see pencil sketches by the “God of Manga” himself. A tantalizing look inside the creative process of one of the true giants of the comics world.
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies – 2015
Game fans will have no “Objection!” to seeing their favorite video game lawyer and friends spotlighted in this full-color art book.
Record of Agarest War: Heroines Visual Book and Record of Agarest War 2: Heroines Visual Book – 2015
Like seeing lots of pictures of very cute girls? Then put the Record of Agarest War: Heroines in your pre-order queue! If you know and love the game, then you’ve got yet another reason to check out this book when it comes out next year.
Shining Blade and Ark – 2015
A new artbook featuring the lush, detailed artwork of Tony Taka, following Udon’s publication of Shining Hearts: Collection of Visual Material, Shining Force Feather, and Tony’s Artworks from Shining World.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Art | NOT FINAL ART. PENDING LICENSOR APPROVAL
Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Art by Takahashi Kazuki – 2015
For fans of the Shonen Jump manga and the card game series, this showcase of the work of Yu-Gi-Oh Duelist creator Takahashi Kazuki, this look behind the scenes of this long-running fan favorite manga series will offer some new insights into its creation and it’s characters.
The World of Professor Layton: Official Fanbook – 2015
Based on the charming mystery-adventure game from Nintendo and Level-5, Professor Layton is also the star of an animated movie, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (available from VIZ Media)
Gungnir Official Art Chronicle – 2015
Described as “epic, Norse-inspired artwork” from the JRPG game from the Dept. Heaven series, Gungnir Official Art Chronicle promises to share some dazzling concept and character art for game and fantasy fans.
Border Break Artworks – 2015
A treat for mecha art afficionados, Border Break Artworks will feature some very detailed mecha schematics that will fascinate fans of giant robots and battle suits.
———-
You can see the rest of what Udon shared at their panel, plus even more cover art and previews at the Udon website, and their Facebook page. So which new Udon title are you most looking forward to picking up next year? Add your comments below!