TOKYOPOP Sees Stars, Sheep, and Manga in Their Future
On June 2, 2003, TOKYOPOP announced that its next Rising Stars of Manga contest has already begun. Running from June 1 to September 1, the competition calls for original "manga" submissions from American artists. Ten winners will be awarded a cash prize, and the potential to be nationally published in an anthology from the contest. There have been a few major changes to the rules, which have been listed on the Rising Stars homepage.
TOKYPOP has had an impressive response for the first contest, and were very surprised with the dedication, and creativity that the entrants demonstrated. They continued to say that they look forward to the response from the second contest.
This September, TOKYOPOP plans to release its Stray Sheep line of books, which will be illustrated by the famed Japanese animator, Tatsutoshi Nomura. There will be a hardcover picture book, as well as two softcover books, which all will be based on the 1994 Japanese television series. TOKYOPOP describes the books as follows:
The Stray Sheep hardcover picture book... introduces Poe and Merry, two curious sheep whose adventures take place in the enchanting world between Mt. Dizzy Tizzy and the See Saw Sea. When Poe awakens to find Merry gone, he fears that she may be hiding from Zack the Wolf, so he sets off in search of her and meets a host of new friends along the way. The first printing includes a bonus limited-edition DVD featuring the original Japanese animated shorts that inspired the books.
In Stray Sheep: Poe at Play... young readers meet Poe, the cutest and cuddliest stray sheep in Twin Forest. Poe's two favorite pastimes are playing and sleeping! And when these two hobbies collide, the result is nothing short of magical. Children can join Poe as he plays in the bright sun, flies up into the clouds, takes a dip in the refreshing sea and settles down to a nice long nap. Complete with a plush Poe insert, Poe at Play is the perfect book to snuggle up with at bedtime.
Merry searches for her forever-wandering best friend in Stray Sheep: Merry On the Move.... Where did Poe go? With Merry on the case, it's always an adventure! She searches high and low-across the Log Gone Bridge, along a sandy beach, and finally atop a big hill-until she finds him. Merry On the Move also includes an adorable plush sheep insert ideal for little hands to touch.
The hardcover edition will retail at $18.99, while the two softcover editions will retail at $9.99 each.
Rounding out the TOKYOPOP news is the announcement of five new manga acquisitions. TOKYOPOP has acquired the rights to .hack//Legend of the Twilight, Baby Birth, Forbidden Dance, FLCL, and X-Day, which offers a little of everything to manga fans of all types.
.hack/Legend of the Twilight is the anticipated manga release of the .hack series that has seen much acclaim here in the states. It revolves around two fourteen year old twins that enter and win a contest to portray two legendary avatars in the online game, "The World". What starts off as a game quickly escalates into a quest to save the world!
In Baby Birth, an ancient seal has been broken, sending a wave of demons into the mortal world. The only hope for this world lay in two descendants of the one who banished the demons many years ago.
Forbidden Dance follows a young female dancer that joins an all-male dance troupe to gain experience and (hopefully) land a man at the same time. Granted, she's missing a few things, the most important being the Y-chromasome, but she has skill, passion, and spunk to balance. She hopes that in the end, love will conquer all obstacles.
FLCL is the story of Naota, a boy, who after being brained with a mysterious vespa-riding girl's guitar, starts sprouting a giant robot from his forehead. On the other side of the story is Haruko, a vespa-riding alien that wields a mean bass.
X-Day is a story written in memorium of the Columbine tragedy that focuses around a group of stressed high school seniors that plan to blow up their school when nobody else is around.
.hack/Legend of the Twilight will see a September 9 release, while FLCL and Baby Birth will be released on September 16. Forbidden Dance will hit shelves on August 5, and X-Day will see an August 12 debut.
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