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Get Ready For The Launch Of Two BRAVEST WARRIORS Titles, And An Exclusive Anniversary Hardcover For HELLO KITTY®

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced a fun collection of new titles it has licensed and scheduled for release under the company’s Perfect Square imprint.

The forthcoming titles feature memorable characters and stories that are universally loved by a diverse cross section of adult, teen, and young adult readers. Fans can look forward to the launch of two fun releases from Perfect Square’s newest addition, BRAVEST WARRIORS, as well as an anniversary collectible for HELLO KITTY that are scheduled for release in print and digitally via the Perfect Square App beginning this summer and continuing into fall.

The Perfect Square App, available from the iTunes store, offers a wide variety of All Ages titles available for the Apple iPad® and iPad® Mini. Fans can also find digital versions of Perfect Square titles for the NOOK, Kindle Fire, and Kobo ereaders, as well as in the iBooks and GooglePlay Stores.

“Each of our forthcoming titles will expand the Perfect Square catalog in a dynamic way, from the out-of-this-world and irreverent BRAVEST WARRIORS, to the anniversary companion book for the timeless HELLO KITTY,” says Beth Kawasaki, Senior Editorial Director, Perfect Square. “We look forward to issuing release dates and additional information on each of these exciting titles in coming months and to readers of all ages enjoying these new titles throughout the summer and fall.”

New Perfect Square 2014 Releases Include:

BRAVEST WARRORS PRESENTS: CATBUG’S TREASURE BOOK•
MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN • Print & Digital Available Summer 2014
In CATBUG’S TREASURE BOOK we see the world through Catbug’s unique perspective. Presented as a kind of scrapbook, the pages are filled with his playtime imaginings and souvenirs of his adventures with the Bravest Warriors. There’s no telling what will be revealed on the pages of Catbug’s Treasure Book!

BRAVEST WARRIORS: THE SEARCH FOR CATBUG •
MSRP: $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN • Print & Digital Available Summer 2014
An amazing collection of artists venture to multiple dimensions to help you in…THE SEARCH FOR CATBUG! Catbug ate some weird new cubes of food that caused him to lose what little control he already had over his jump abilities! Now he’s careening through dimensions, unable to stop! Help the Bravest Warriors travel the galaxy and find Catbug. Just don’t eat any of those cube snacks or you might end up lost too!

HELLO KITTY, HELLO 40: A CELEBRATION IN 40 STORIES •
MSRP: $29.99 U.S. / $34.99 CAN • Print & Digital Available Fall 2014
Forty years ago, Hello Kitty stepped on the scene, and she’s had the world wrapped around her little red bow ever since. Here, some of her biggest fans pay tribute in the best way they know how: through story and art. From comic artists to muralists to toy creators, everyone has a tale to tell about the little girl who speaks from her heart. The new book also features an introduction by Babymouse co-creators Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm.

VIZ Media’s Perfect Square imprint focuses on delivering original comics, graphic novels and other books with an emphasis on strong storytelling, eye-popping graphics, empowering themes, and a dash of irreverence, that captures the imagination of a whole new generation.

Additional information on titles published by Perfect Square is available at www.PerfectSquare.com.

For more information on other manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

The World’s Leading Digital Manga Magazine Offers Limited Time Special For Fans That Renew Or Sign Up For A New Annual Subscription 

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, offers something special to YU-GI-OH! fans, manga readers and WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP subscribers. For a very limited time – until March 31^st only – WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP brings back its popular 3-Card Annual Membership Promotion.

For the remainder of the month, fans that sign up for a new annual membership to VIZ Media’s popular weekly digital serial anthology or renew their current subscription will receive a special bonus premium in the form of 3 randomly selected YU-GI-OH! collectible trading cards. This is in addition to 4 exclusive YU-GI-OH! collectible trading cards that annual members already receive with each new paid subscription. Visit http://shonenjump.viz.com to renew or sign up for an annual membership today for only $25.99 and can claim 3 additional trading cards by entering the promo code, “YUGIOHPROMO,” in the checkout section. Limit one promo per customer; while supplies last.

Subscribers will each receive 3 bonus previously released YU-GI-OH! trading cards randomly selected from a collection that includes BLAST SPHERE, CYBER ELTANIN, ENDLESS DECAY, JUDGEMENT OF THE PHARAOH, NUMBER 30: ACID GOLEM OF DESTRUCTION, MALEFIC TRUTH DRAGON, MEKLORD EMPEROR GRANEL, RELIEVE MONSTER, and the UNITY card.

“This promotion is a wonderful incentive for fans to dive into WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and check out all of the great manga series we feature digitally with simultaneous U.S./Japanese release and also get an array of fun collectables and bonus premiums that come with each annual membership,” says Andy Nakatani, Editor-in-Chief, WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP. “Don’t miss this special opportunity to receive 3 additional YU-GI-OH! cards, along with the 4 that already come with every annual membership, that will add power and prestige to a player’s deck!”

WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP is VIZ Media’s renowned weekly digital serial anthology that features the synchronized latest chapters of a variety of popular manga series debuting on the same day as the Japanese Weekly Shonen Jump magazine counterpart. Subscribers can access issues via VIZManga.com, the VIZ Manga App, or with the Apple iPad Newsstand App. Exclusive 1 Year Memberships are available for only $25.99 and include 48 weekly digital issues as well as special premiums including 4 Yu-Gi-Oh! Collectable Trading Cards, rare one-shot manga releases, digital-only promotions, and access to additional subscriber-only content including creator interviews and insightful promo videos.

Current WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP issues feature the latest chapters of many of the world’s most popular series such as ALL YOU NEED IS KILL, BLEACH, NARUTO, NISEKOI, ONE PIECE, TORIKO, SERAPH OF THE END and WORLD TRIGGER. Monthly series such as BLUE EXORCIST and YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL debut on the closest Monday after the Japanese release. Also serialized in the anthology is fan favorite ONE-PUNCH MAN, and the most recent addition to the magazine, STEALTH SYMPHONY. More information on WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP is available at: http://shonenjump.viz.com.

For more information on WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and exclusive subscriber offers, please visit shonenjump.viz.com.

For more information on VIZ Media manga titles, please visit www.VIZ.com.

From Famed Manga Creator Arina Tanemura, A Young Girl With Magical Powers Becomes An Art Thief To Steal Paintings Possessed by Demons

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, steals the hearts of manga (graphic novel) fans with the launch of the series – PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE. The new magical-girl fantasy by beloved creator Arina Tanemura, is now available from the Shojo Beat imprint with an age raging of ‘T’ for Teens and carries an MSRP of $10.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN

A digital version is also available for $6.99 (USD/CAN) on VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad^®, iPhone^® and iPod^® touch, Android-powered smart phones, as well as through the Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks and GooglePlay stores.

The remaining volumes of the 5-volume fantasy adventure series are scheduled to debut every other month.

High school student Maron Kusakabe has a secret – she’s Phantom Thief Jeanne. She sneaks into private art collections to steal paintings in which demons reside. Jeanne’s task is to seal the demons before they can devour human hearts. So far she’s been able to evade the police on her midnight outings, but now another thief has come onto the scene – Phantom Thief Sinbad – and he’s trying to take the paintings before she does!

“PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE is our translated editions of the beloved Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne series in Japan,” says Nancy Thistlethwaite, Editor. “These books feature new covers by Arina Tanemura and color pages. They are must-have for new and current fans alike.”

PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE creator Arina Tanemura began her manga career in 1996 when her short stories debuted in Ribon magazine. She gained further fame with the 1997 publication of I•O•N, and she has remained a major force in shojo manga ever since with popular series such as Time Stranger Kyoko, Full Moon, and The Gentlemen’s Alliance † (all of which are published in North America by VIZ Media). Both PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE and FULL MOON have been adapted into animated TV series.

For more information on PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE or other popular shojo manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit http://www.viz.com/manga/print/shojo-beat.

Manga Series About An Investigator With An Unorthodox Set Of Skills From The Award-Winning Creator Of MONSTER And 20^th CENTURY BOYS Debuts In English In December

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has announced it has acquired the North American publishing rights for Naoki Urasawa’s post–Cold War suspense thriller, MASTER KEATON. The 12-volume manga (graphic novel) series has never before been available in English and is scheduled to launch in print in December under the VIZ Signature imprint.

MASTER KEATON was created and drawn by the award-winning manga artist Naoki Urasawa, story coproduced with Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki. MASTER KEATON will be rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and carry an MSRP of $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN. Each paperback volume will receive a deluxe treatment, including 18 pages of full-color artwork. In addition to publishing MASTER KEATON in North America, VIZ Media will also release it in print in the United Kingdom and Australia.

The riveting detective drama introduces Taichi Hiraga-Keaton, an archeology professor and part-time insurance investigator known for his successful and unorthodox methods of investigation. The son of a Japanese zoologist and an English noblewoman, educated in archaeology at Oxford and a former member of the SAS, Master Keaton uses his knowledge and combat training to uncover buried secrets, thwart would-be villains, and pursue the truth. The manga series was originally published in Japan between 1988 and 1994 in Big Comic Original magazine and also inspired a popular 39-episode anime adaptation.

“We’re thrilled to debut a deluxe edition of the Eisner Award-winning Naoki Urasawa’s MASTER KEATON series this December,” says Amy Yu, Editor. “Tales of intrigue and espionage are presented with the highly detailed artwork and masterful attention to plot development for which Urasawa is internationally renowned. Fans current and new won’t want to miss the tense action and the heady chase for truth in MASTER KEATON!”

Naoki Urasawa‘s career as a manga artist spans more than twenty years and has firmly established him as one of the true manga masters of Japan. The acclaimed creator won a 2011 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia for his series, 20^th CENTURY BOYS (also published by VIZ Media). Born in Tokyo in 1960, Urasawa debuted with Beta! in 1983 and hasn’t stopped his impressive output since. Well-versed in a variety of genres, Urasawa’s oeuvre encompasses a multitude of different subjects, such as a romantic comedy (Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl), a suspenseful human drama about a former mercenary (Pineapple Farm; story by Kazuya Kudo), a captivating psychological suspense story (Naoki Urasawa’s Monster), a sci-fi adventure manga (NAOKI URASAWA’S 20^th CENTURY BOYS), and a modern reinterpretation of the work of the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka in Pluto: UrAsawa × Tezuka. Many of his books have also spawned popular animated and live-action TV movies, and 2008 saw the theatrical release of the first of three live-action Japanese films based on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20^th CENTURY BOYS.

No stranger to accolades and awards, Urasawa is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award, a two-time recipient of the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, and has received the Kodansha Manga Award. Urasawa has also become involved in the world of academia, and in 2008 accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he teaches courses in, of course, manga.

For more information on MASTER KEATON, or other award-winning manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

VIZ Media invites fans to begin a sensational fantasy adventure with the launch of the new manga (graphic novel) series – STEALTH SYMPHONY – in today’s issue of its WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP digital manga magazine. Featuring an action-packed story by Ryohgo Narita (writer of Durarara!!) with bold artwork by Yoichi Amano, STEALTH SYMPHONY is rated ‘T’ for Teens and will have a simultaneous release in the English version of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP on the same day as its debut in Japan. New chapters will debut every week.

Jig is a young boy who has an unfortunate curse. He embarks on a journey to the town of Jinbo-cho seeking someone who can help him remove the curse. Little does he know he’s starting the adventure of a lifetime!

WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP is the world’s premiere manga brand and leading weekly manga magazine. The digital publication is available to North American fans as well as to readers in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa via the Newsstand App for the Apple iPad^® and iPad^® Mini, or the WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP App on the Google Play Store for Android devices. International issues debut each Monday at 10:00am (PST) and monthly subscriptions are available with automatic monthly renewals. Additional information on international subscriptions is available at: http://shonenjump.viz.com/international-wsj-app.

WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP features the latest installments of some of the world’s most popular manga series released each week to English readers on the same day as their general release in Japan. Currently serialized titles include the hot new sci-fi action series, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (by DEATH NOTE and BAKUMAN? artist Takeshi Obata), as well as other ongoing favorites such as BLEACH, ONE PIECE, NARUTO, NISEKOI, SERAPH OF THE END, TORIKO, and WORLD TRIGGER. Monthly series such as BLUE EXORCIST and YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL debut on the closest Monday after the Japanese release. Also serialized in the anthology is the fan favorite ONE-PUNCH MAN.

VIZ Media offers North American fans single issues of WEEKLY SHONN JUMP for only $0.99 each. Exclusive 1 Year Memberships are available for only $25.99 and include 48 weekly digital issues as well as special premiums such as Yu-Gi-Oh! Collectable Trading Cards, rare one-shot manga releases, digital-only promotions, and access to additional subscriber-only content including creator interviews and insightful promo videos. (*Note: Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are not available to iPad Newsstand or international subscribers) Current subscribers can also access their accounts via VIZManga.com, the VIZ Manga App, or with the Apple iPad Newsstand App.

For more information on WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and exclusive subscriber offers, please visit shonenjump.viz.com.

For more information on VIZ Media manga titles, please visit www.VIZ.com.

Comic veteran Mario “OMG” Gully launched his latest comic book on Kickstarter this week. Written and illustrated by Gully and colored by Thomas Mason, Dirty Bones is the story of a dog named Rover who’s caught up a world of organized crime and forbidden love. With incentives including signed printed copies of the comic book, posters and commissioned art, Gully aims to raise $50,000 to complete the artwork and get issue #1 on the stands.

“This is my first big project since I created ANT. I’m a much better artist and writer than I was a few years ago, and Thomas is just killing on the colors,” says Gully. “ANT was my Off the Wall album.Dirty Bones is my Thriller.”

At the center of this epic tale is Rover – an ex-gangster who gave up his life on the streets to embark on a quest of self discovery while standing against the segregation between the mutts and the pedigrees. Rover quickly finds out that life in the city has changed as Dirty, the notorious “Big Dawg”, has taken control of New Bark City by force, while fighting a vicious turf war with Madam Kitty for ultimate power.

“We’ve put a lot of energy into creating the best possible Dirty Bonespreview and incentives for fans, collectors and retailers,” says Gully. “I can honestly say this is the best project I have ever been a part of.”

To view his Kickstarter video and back the project, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/754131023/dirty-bones or click http://kck.st/1fiVaWN

from Loaded Barrel Studios:

Loaded Barrel Studios, the graphic novel studio that brought you GREY, the Independent Publishers Book Awards Silver Medalist for Best Graphic Novel, is proud to announce the long awaited release of the live-action, 200 Page, Full-Color Graphic Novel BRIELLE AND THE HORROR! Written by the Barel Brothers with artwork by Jared Barel, BRIELLE AND THE HORROR is the horror-action-mystery story of Brielle Hicks, a sixteen-year-old who was born possessed by an evil demon. Now, as she matures into adulthood, the beast inside of her is clawing its way to the surface. With a secret agency after her and a group of fanatical priests on her tail, can Brielle learn to control The Horror inside of her and arise a new kind of hero before it unleashes Armageddon?

BRIELLE AND THE HORROR is illustrated in the Loaded Barrel Studios signature “live-action” style derived from the creative team’s backgrounds in film and photography; shooting every panel of every book as if it were a movie shoot and converting those images into the unique artwork in every LBS project through a fusion of digital and traditional illustration, photo manipulation, and cgi. Here’s what some critics had to say about BRIELLE AND THE HORROR:

“It’s frigging impressive. You could put it on the shelves beside most of the output from the big two, and this book, just production wise, will take em. Absolutely gorgeous book, and possibly the future of comics.” – Heroic Times

Heartwarming and haunting, this book introduces a talented new trio to the world of comics!” – AmishOtaku.com

“BRIELLE AND THE HORROR was our favorite book from the con, no doubt. It’s just such a cool-looking book and great story, we absolutely loved it.” – N3RDCAST

Without further ado, Loaded Barrel Studios would like to invite you to take a look at the live-action trailer for BRIELLE AND THE HORROR: https://vimeo.com/77170834

Not enough? You want a preview of the book too? Check out a preview of some of the stunning interiors and get a snippet of Brielle’s story here: http://imgur.com/a/L2YVD#0.  Please feel free to repost artwork from the imgur file!

BRIELLE AND THE HORROR is only available from Diamond Comic Distributors, which means if you want your copy tell your local retailer you want BRIELLE AND THE HORROR! PREVIEWS Item# FEB141343 F

Stop on over at www.loadedbarrelstudios.com where you can order other great books, exclusive autographed merchandise, t-shirts, skatedecks and more! Also check out our website to find out more about Loaded Barrel Studios and check out a preview of all the Loaded Barrel comics.

GREY is available internationally through Diamond’s PREVIEWS (item #: SEP111172). GREY is available DIGITALLY through DriveThruComics.com, Graphic.ly, and Comics+ from iVerse.

For a look at a kick-ass live-action/animated hybrid trailer of GREY click here: https://vimeo.com/54650556

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See you at the next Con!
-Loaded Barrel Studios