New UK manga publisher arrives; Naruto and Bleach lined up
Paul •
A new UK manga publisher has arrived! Having inked a deal with Viz Media, “Simon & Schuster” are set to publish the likes of Naruto and Bleach in the UK and Ireland. According to the press release, the US division of “Simon & Schuster” already distribute Viz Media manga in North America and this arrangement has now been extended to the UK too.
Quoted in the same press release is a statement from a sales director at Simon & Schuster. “The UK has a long established love of graphic novels and we are pleased to forge this agreement with VIZ Media to bring the hottest manga properties to a fast growing fan base hungry for the best in entertainment content,” says Jonathan Atkins, international publishing and sales director at S&S. “We look forward to bringing what is seen as the strongest manga title list to the UK.”
Interestingly, many of Viz Media’s titles in the US are already out in the UK – but via Gollancz Manga; this includes Dragonball and Rurouni Kenshin. Gollancz Manga was also releasing Naruto, but that now appears to have changed. More news on this as we hear it.
