Del Rey Manga Announces Expansion Of Manga Line In 2008

SAN DIEGO, CA – July 28, 2007 – Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, today announced an exciting new manga lineup for Spring 2008, with acquisitions of bestselling manga and manga novels from Japanese publishing powerhouse Kodansha, a manga video game tie-in with video game leader Capcom, and brand new original English-language manga.

Del Rey Manga associate publisher Dallas Middaugh says, "As we move into our fourth year of publishing manga, we're excited to announce titles of the caliber of Fairy Tail and Hell Girl. I'm as excited to read these books as anyone, and they look amazing."

MANGA

FAIRY TAIL, a manga from Hiro Mashima, the bestselling author of Rave Masters, is the highly-anticipated highlight of the Spring 2008 list. Serialized in Kodansha's Shonen Magazine, FAIRY TAIL is a consistent player in the Japanese manga bestseller list, reaching #2 in May 2007. With an art style reminiscent of manga bestseller One Piece, this adventure series brings readers to a magical world to follow 17-year-old Lucy on her quest to become a full-fledged magician and join the ranks of her dream guild, Fairy Tail. FAIRY TAIL will hit stores in April 2008.

FAIRY TAIL

Miyuki Eto's HELL GIRL, a stylish supernatural thriller with dark concepts of revenge, will be published by Del Rey Manga in February 2008. The manga introduces a mysterious website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, Hell Girl will appear to drag whoever torments you into the inferno. The HELL GIRL anime will be released in the U.S. by FUNimation.

HELL GIRL

MINIMA!, by Machiko Sakurai, is a shojo series with high school drama, romance and magic. Quiet Ame doesn't have any friends at her high school, and spends most of her time and energy on her toy collection. One day she buys a toy unlike any other—Nikori. And while Nikori is a super-cute toy, she also talks and has a mind of her own! As Ame's new best friend, Nikori helps Ame to become the girl she's always wanted to be. MINIMA! will be released in March 2008.

Filled with action and comedy, YOZAKURA QUARTET features a group of heroic teens with supernatural powers who have started a unique club: The Hizumi Everyday Life Consultation Office. One day, a mysterious cat-eared man appears who affects their plans to defend their town. Is he friend or foe? Written by Suzuhito Yasuda, YOZAKURA QUARTET will be released in March 2008.

YOZAKURA

ME AND THE DEVIL BLUES is a fictionalized account of the life of Delta blues legend Robert Johnson. The manga explores the legend of Johnson selling his soul to the devil. Created by Akira Hiromoto and originally serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon magazine, the first volume will be released in Summer 2008.

FAN BOOK
The eagerly awaited GENSHIKEN FAN BOOK, by Kio Shimoku, will be released in Summer 2008. A welcome addition to the top selling Del Rey series GENSHIKEN, it will tell fans everything they need to know about the Genshiken club, as well as the anime and manga the group loves.

GENSHIKEN

MANGA NOVELS

From Hideyuki Kikuchi, the creator of acclaimed manga Vampire Hunter D, comes DARK WARS: MEIJI DRACULA, a manga novel featuring a new adventure in the Count Dracula saga. Set in 19th century Japan, Count Dracula engages in a battle to the death with Japan's greatest martial artists. DARK WARS: MEJI DRACULA will be published in February 2008.

DARK WARS

PSYCHO BUSTERS: THE NOVEL is based on the popular PSYCHO BUSTERS manga series, the first volume of which will be published in November 2007 by Del Rey Manga. A group of renegade teenagers with extraordinary supernatural powers find themselves on the run from a shadowy government organization intent on using their powers for evil. From Yuya Aoki, the creator of bestselling Get-Backers, PSYCHO BUSTERS: THE NOVEL is prose for manga readers with an entertaining, accessible style with manga-style themes. Volume one will be released in April 2008.

PSYCHO BUSTERS NOVEL

VIDEO GAME TIE-IN

The acquisition of the PHOENIX WRIGHT: ACE ATTORNEY manga series marks Del Rey Manga's first video game tie-in manga. Based on Capcom's hit series for the Nintendo DS, the manga chronicles the further adventures of the two main characters of the popular video game: Phoenix Wright, an ambitious young defense lawyer with more enthusiasm than experience, and Miles Edgeworth, his handsome and ruthless prosecutor rival. Fans of the courtroom-based video game will learn more about these characters' rich back stories while following their latest adventures. Originally printed as a four-volume series in Japan, PHOENIX WRIGHT: ACE ATTORNEY will be published in a unique 2-volumes-in-1 format for the Del Rey Manga edition. Volume one will be released in April 2008.

ORIGINAL ENGLISH MANGA

Del Rey is pleased to announce two additions to its original English manga line, YOKAIDEN and THE REFORMED. YOKAIDEN creator Nina Matsumoto's first claim to fame is a piece of fanart featuring characters from the popular television show, The Simpsons, reimagined in a manga style. Her first manga features the story of a boy who loves yokai, a class of creature in Japanese lore also known as demons, spirits, and monsters. However, a fateful encounter leaves our hero, Haramachi, in search of the single yokai who killed his last living relative. While in search of the one-legged water imp, Haramachi comes across a colorful cast of characters, including a ruthless wandering ronin haunted by a fox's curse. YOKAIDEN will be published in Fall 2008.

THE REFORMED features the writing talents of Christopher Hart, of the bestselling How To Draw Manga series, and unique art from Indonesian artist Anzu in her American debut. A mysterious, brooding vampire falls in love with a human girl, and she leads him on the path to redemption. THE REFORMED will debut in Summer 2008.

THE REFORMED

ABOUT KODANSHA LTD.:
Kodansha is the largest trade book and magazine publisher in Japan. Founded in 1909, the company by virtue of its long history, the quality of its publishing, and its established network of sales and marketing is regarded as the trade book market leader in the publishing business in Japan. Moreover, Kodansha has been recognized as the leading publisher with a mission to introduce Japan through its publishing business.

ABOUT CAPCOM
Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including best-selling franchises Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Devil May Cry. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Tokyo and Hong Kong, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom can be found on the company web site, www.capcom.com.

ABOUT DEL REY MANGA:
Del Rey Books (http://www.delreybooks.com) was founded in 1977 as an imprint of Ballantine Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, under the guidance of the renowned Judy-Lynn del Rey and her husband, Lester del Rey. Del Rey publishes the best of modern fantasy, science fiction, and alternate history. Ballantine Books is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, which is a publishing group of Random House, Inc, the U.S. publishing company of Random House, the trade book publishing division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's leading international media companies. In 2004 it expanded by launching Del Rey Manga (www.delreymanga.com), which has grown to be a major force in the U.S. graphic-novel field. Bestselling titles include Tsubasa, Negima, xxxHolic, and The Wallflower.