From YaoiSuki comes a brief talk with CPM's John O'Donnell regarding their company's licensing dispute with Japanese BL publisher Libre Publishing:

Since putting up their notice, O'Donnell says Libre has not taken any action to settle the matter, and even refuses to sit down with O'Donnell or any other CPM representatives to try and work it out. Libre has not filed a lawsuit. He hopes that Libre will bring their lawyers to the U.S. so that the matter can be settled, but thinks that they are trying to deliberately harm the sales of the books until CPM's license expires so that they can license the series to another company.

Read More »

"Oath to Love and Passion 1" and "Full House 5" to be available in July and to be priced at $9.99 SRP.

NEW YORK, NY (June 20, 2007) - Central Park Media announced today that the OATH TO LOVE AND PASSION 1 graphic novel will be available in July. The debut of this romantic comedy focuses on the relationships of four teens and the trials and tribulations they face in finding happiness both within themselves and each other. FULL HOUSE 5 is also scheduled for release and is the basis for the highly rated Korean TV show by the same name. The story focuses on an arrogant movie star and an up and coming screenwriter who are forced to feign their engagement while sharing the same house. Both books are geared for a teenage audience and will retail for $9.99 SRP.

Read More »

"YEBISU CELEBRITIES" and "LOVE A LA CARTE" available in July and to be priced at $15.99 SRP.

New York, NY (June 20, 2007) – Be Beautiful, America's leading publisher of yaoi manga graphic novels, announced today that its upcoming new releases will include two stand-alone romantic tales. YEBISU CELEBRITIES, the first of these stories, was written by Kaoru Iwamoto and drawn by Shinri Fuwa and is a stylish love story set in the world of a high profile graphic design studio. While LOVE A LA CARTE, by Haruka Minami, is a voyeuristic tale of a photographer enamored by his beautiful subject. Both books will be available this July and be priced at $15.99 SRP.

Read More »

From AoD comes a list of CPM titles that have received new release dates according to Amazon.com, MangaCast also has a report of the story.

The 184-page fantasy adventure available now and priced at $9.99 SRP.

NEW YORK, NY (May 15, 2007) - Central Park Media announced today that the PLATINA 1 graphic novel has been released. This fast paced journey into a fantasy realm beyond imagination was created by Yeon Joo Kim and is geared for a teenage audience. This book is priced at $9.99 SRP.

Platina 1
Story and Art by Yeon Joo Kim

Read More »

"Casino Lily" and "Kizuna: Bonds of Love 8" on shelves now.

New York, NY (May 15, 2007) – Be Beautiful, America's leading publisher of yaoi manga graphic novels, announced the release of CASINO LILY, a high-stakes tale of pleasure and passion from Youka Nitta (the creator of Embracing Love). In addition, the much anticipated release of KIZUNA: BONDS OF LOVE 8, the latest installment of Kazuma Kodaka's best-selling romantic epic was also announced. Both books are available now and priced at $15.99 SRP.

Read More »

Manga Jouhou has posted a reply from Libre Publishing regarding the CPM/Be Beautiful incident. According to Libre, the license agreement CPM had with Biblos became invalid after Biblos filed for bankruptcy. CPM has since failed to establish a new license agreements with Libre Publishing:

Read More »

According to Yaoi Suki, in response to Libre Publishing's recent copyright infringement accusation, CPM's Managing Director John O'Donnell is currently heading to Japan to sort things out with Libre:

I spoke with Matt Geller, who works for Marketing Director David Hair. He did not have any comment yet, but promised to get back to me as soon as he did. He was, um, unaware of the situation. So, I gave him the link to the Libre site and showed him the notice.

Japanese BL publisher Libre Publishing has posted a notice on its website claiming that Be Beautiful, CPM's yaoi imprint, has been illegally publishing its properties in the U.S. The notice encourages fans to refrain from buying Be Beautiful products.

An English version of the notice is available on Libre's website:

Read More »

MangaBlog reports that while CPM announced no new licenses, they did announce the release dates of many of their titles.

Manhwa publisher NETCOMICS has announced plans to publish Japanese manga and global manga.

Also, Newtype USA announced the acquisition of CLAMP's Kobato, which will start serialization in Newtype USA later this year.