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Shuho Sato Posts About 500 Manga Pages Online for Free
posted on by Egan Loo
As part of his initiative to self-publish his works online, manga creator Shuho Sato has posted about 500 Japanese pages from several different titles online for free on Tuesday. Sato posted the first seven chapters of Say Hello to Black Jack, the first six chapters of his current Shin Black Jack ni Yoroshiku (New Say Hello to Black Jack) title, the first chapter of The Isle of TOKKOU, the first chapter of the Musho-I manga by his wife Tomomi, and selections from his Jidan Kōshō-nin M and Hard Tackle books.
Users of Sato's Flash-based online comic browser dealt with slow loading times during its first full day of service. Sato plans to launch the paid version of the service with more content in the middle of next month. He revealed in his blog in April that he plans to post new chapters of his Shin Black Jack ni Yoroshiku manga online one month after their publication. At the time, he said that each new chapter will cost 30 yen (about US$0.30) for a one-year period, whereas older titles will cost 10 yen (about US$0.10) per chapter. Over the course of several blog entries earlier this year, Sato described the state of the manga industry which led to his decision to self-publish his manga online.
Another veteran manga creator, Kazuo Koike, began publishing his latest Lone Wolf and Cub manga online in April after his short-lived Jin print magazine ended last year in the middle of the manga's run.
Source: ITmedia News, Oricon life
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