ROBOT ANTHOLOGY MOVES TO UDON

[MattBrady]

Press Release

Conceived and edited by Range Murata (”Last Exile”, ”Blue Submarine No.6”), and published in Japan by Wanimagazine, ROBOT is a unique, full color anthology series which unites Japan's greatest Manga creators, many of whom are experimenting with color stories for the first time. New volumes of the series' English language version have been absent from store shelves for nearly a year. Now, UDON Entertainment and d/visual have teamed up to continue bringing the series to English readers, starting with ROBOT Volume 4 in December 2007.

The artwork of the ROBOT series is of unparalleled quality, with cutting-edge storytelling styles that bring awe-inspiring fairy-tale landscapes and exciting sci-fi worlds to life. The series' compiler and editor Range Murata created ROBOT with the goal of showing the world the hidden talents of the Japanese art world, and to give exposure to these skilled, up-and-coming artists. At the same time, many of Japan's more popular creators have also used the series' unique anthology format to experiment with their own original ideas. ROBOT Volume 4 features the work of such greats as yoshitoshi ABe(Serial Experiments Lain), Kouji Ogata (Boogiepop Phantom) and over a dozen more of Japan's finest artists.

Originally published by Digital Manga Publishing, the English edition of ROBOT premiered in 2005 to rave reviews from both manga readers and fans of great artwork. The first volume of the series went through several printings. Unfortunately DMP published only 3 volumes of the popular series, and now UDON Entertainment and d/visual are ready to pick up right where things left off. "Pretty much everyone at UDON is a huge fan of the ROBOT series," says UDON Chief Erik Ko. "d/visual has already done a spectacular job bringing ROBOT to Italian, and Chinese readers, so when they asked us if UDON wanted to co-produce and continue ROBOT in English we jumped at the chance. We're quite excited to be working alongside d/visual and with Wanimagazine."

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue releasing the English edition of ROBOT”, says d/visual director Federico Colpi. “In only three years, d/visual has become one of the most valued publishers in Europe and Asia in the field of art books, classic manga, and innovative Japanese graphic novels. We have also been selected by many publishers worldwide as a printing service. We are glad that books we have printed in the past such as ROBOT #2 and #3 and the ‘yoshitoshi ABe illustrations’ art book, released last year by DMP, have been so well received by North American audiences. Most of all, we are excited to partner with UDON Entertainment, a company we love for their astounding comics and videogame work.”

Koshi Yamazaki, president of Wanimagazine Inc., commented as well: "It was a real shame that a successful series such as the English edition of ROBOT was stopped after only three volumes, so I am incredibly happy about the return of ROBOT to North America and to the worldwide English audience. It is a pleasure to start this new venture with a skilled partner such as Udon Entertainment, and of course with d/visual, with which we already enjoy a strong relationship. Most of all, I am happy to know that our English readers around the globe will once again have a chance to enjoy the works of our outstanding artists."

ROBOT, which has previously been released roughly annually, will now be moving to a quarterly release schedule. With 9 volumes of ROBOT already released in Japan (and more to come!), English readers have a lot to look forward to. Look for ROBOT Volume 4 everywhere artbooks, comics, and manga are sold in December 2007.

ROBOT Volume 4
Release: December 2007
US Price: $29.95
ISBN: 978-1897376744
Diamond#: OCT073852
Format: 160 pgs, Full Color, Artbook, 8 ¾ X 11 ¾ inches

[00scotty]

Does Udon even produce it's own original comics any more?

[newfoundma]

With all of the talk about how great the art is, it would be good to see some of it.

[waterdragon]

Originally Posted by newfoundma

With all of the talk about how great the art is, it would be good to see some of it.

The problem is, 90% of it is just wrong on so many levels. It's a mature readers book with nudity and etc. I mean heck, there is no way Vol. 1 didn't at least feature naked pre-teen girls in it.

However, the art is stunning, just a shame it has some really uncomfortable subject matter for us Americans to view at times. Also, why did DMP stop doing this?

[DMP]

Originally Posted by waterdragon

Also, why did DMP stop doing this?

Without going into detail, it came down to licensing issues with Wanimagazine. These things happen sometimes. We at DMP still like ROBOT though, and wish UDON the best on their plans to continue it.

[Jed Saxon]

FINALLY!
I was pretty annoyed that DMP stopped putting the series out (I feared it failed on the American market and my Japanese is not so good that I could read the original volumes - it's pretty difficult to understand what's going on in the English editions, because this is more "mature" stuff!). The book is worth the high-prize just for the stunning art of Range Murata and Yoshitoshi ABe alone. I'm soooo looking forward to the new volume.

Originally Posted by waterdragon

The problem is, 90% of it is just wrong on so many levels.

Is it? For an all-ages board maybe, but there are still "harmless" pictures.

There is a preview for Volume 1:
http://www.dmpbooks.com/robot1

Originally Posted by 00scotty

Does Udon even produce it's own original comics any more?

ATM? No. Not as long as they are busy with the Street Fighter games. They are planning on releasing a second "Street Fighter Legends" series, though (starring Chun-Li).

[Faust]

And here I was hoping for this to be about robots.