SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT TO PRODUCE ORIGINAL MANGA IN US

[MattBrady]

Press Release

Dallas Middaugh and Jason DeAngelis today announced the formation of Seven Seas Entertainment, a new Los Angeles-based publishing house dedicated to producing original manga for the international market. Manga remains at the forefront of an explosive rise in graphic novel sales in American bookstores, and Seven Seas is the first U.S. company solely dedicated to publishing authentic original manga in the Japanese style.

In February 2005, Seven Seas will launch four ongoing graphic novel series. The company will debut these titles to the industry at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 5. A sneak peek of the publisher's work is available at the company's web site, www.gomanga.com, and full details about the four flagship titles will be made available to the public on October 25.

"This is the beginning of a fun ride," remarked CEO Dallas Middaugh. "Working with Jason has opened my eyes to some incredible artists who I honestly believe are destined to take manga to the next level in America, and to expand the market for original manga throughout the world." No stranger to manga publishing, Middaugh has worked as the director of sales and marketing for Viz and currently consults with Del Rey Books as their Director of Manga, a relationship that will continue for the foreseeable future.

"It's thrilling to work with such talented artists and writers," said Seven Seas' President, Jason DeAngelis. "Creating original manga is a dream come true, and I'm confident that our work is on par with content coming out of Japan." DeAngelis is also experienced in the manga field, having translated such prominent manga titles as Berserk and Gundam Seed for Dark Horse and Del Rey, respectively. He is an expert on Japanese culture, having lived in Japan for six years, and has attended the UCLA Professional Screenwriting Program.

Seven Seas is dedicated to producing high quality original manga with strong stories and dynamic artwork. While Japan is rightfully acknowledged as the birthplace of manga, the company believes it is an art form that can span all cultures. Seven Seas seeks to promote the concept of "world manga" by collaborating with talented international writers and artists to develop stories with a universal appeal for a worldwide audience.

[coreybean]

"World manga"? Good Lord. And if you drew the characters with small eyes would it be "world comics"? SO many people are missing the point of the whole rise of japanese comics in America. Whatever sells I guess.

[Shawn Fumo]

Well, usually I'd agree with you corey, but this seems a bit of a different animal than usual, despite some of the "marketspeak" of the press release. The main people involved are veterans of the anime/manga industry, and the art looks very polished and captures the feel of manga. The fact that before this press release, people on one of the main manga boards were debating whether the titles were Japanese translations or not bodes well for the quality.

Also, the fact that the preview art seems to be right-to-left and "international artists" is used in the pr, this might not be quite as cut and dry as it sounds at first. If something is published in Japan first (as Princess Ai was), what does that do the definition of manga?

I guess we'll have to wait for a bit more information, but it seems like these could be some fun titles judging by the artwork..

Shawn

[Alex Scott]

To me it sounds a lot like a comment I read from Paul Pope in that new "Manga: 60 Years..." book, who discusses Kodansha's philosophy of "World Comics" -- in other words, creating a truly universal comics style that can appeal to anybody in the world. This seems like the same sort of deal, getting manga artists to create books for an American market, in effect bridging the gap between manga and other comics.

Not that this is the first time they've attempted this. Back in the 90's, a small group of amateur manga artists had an anthology called "Chibi-Pop Manga," that was sold in American comic shops, as well as a webcomic site called cybermanga.com (which I was surprised to find still exists).

[bcondray]

Originally posted by coreybean
"World manga"? Good Lord. And if you drew the characters with small eyes would it be "world comics"? SO many people are missing the point of the whole rise of japanese comics in America. Whatever sells I guess.

Just what is the point of the "rise of japanese comics in America"?

I have read comics for 36 of my 39 years and as many times(and there have been many) as I have tried to "get into" manga I could not. What is the great appeal I cannot seem to grasp?