Kodansha sets up shop—for real this time

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Calvin Reid has the scoop at Publishers Weekly: Kodansha, the largest publisher in Japan, is setting up a New York office to publish and sell manga in the U.S. under the name Kodansha Comics. Apparently they plan to start slow, and yes, those reissues of Akira and Ghost in the Shell that popped up on Amazon a while ago are going to be their first two series. More titles are on the way. But don’t despair, Del Rey (and Vertical) fans—Kodansha U.S.A. honcho Yoshio Irie says “Kodansha Comics doesn’t aim to be the exclusive label for titles from Kodansha.” With a backlist the size of theirs, they probably have plenty of manga to go around.

About Brigid Alverson

Brigid Alverson has been reading comics since she was 4. After earning an MFA in printmaking, she headed to New York to become a famous artist but ended up working with words instead of pictures, first as a book editor and later as a newspaper reporter. She started MangaBlog to keep track of her daughters’ reading habits and now covers manga, comics and graphic novels as a freelancer for School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly Comics Week, Comic Book Resources, the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, and Robot 6. She also edits the Good Comics for Kids blog at School Library Journal. Now settled in the outskirts of Boston, Brigid is married to a physicist and has two daughters.
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5 Responses to Kodansha sets up shop—for real this time

  1. Kat Hall says:
    October 5, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    *GASP*

    SAILOR MOON?!

  2. Oliver says:
    October 5, 2009 at 4:57 pm

    So they will be publishing older titles while Del Rey publishes newer stuff? Is there a website yet?

  3. Michelle says:
    October 5, 2009 at 8:47 pm

    Uwahh! Hopefully we’ll see Love Attack back soon XD

  4. Nia says:
    October 5, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    @Michelle I hope so too! XD

  5. Steve says:
    October 6, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    I’ve been wondering what they’d be up to. Considering their extensive back catalog I figure the expense is low, the profit is high – and the multimedia opportunities are pretty good. It’s monetizing old, but popular, assets.

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