Sakura-Con 2012

Dark Horse

Although their panel started half an hour late, Dark Horse had many announcements to make during their panel at Sakuracon, including several new title acquisitions. The first is Deva Zan, an original work by Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy, Vampire Hunter D) being published for the first time directly through Dark Horse. Both written and illustrated by Amano, this novel will be an artbook-sized fantasy epic with over 240 original paintings by the famed artist. The novel is Amano's personal interpretation of Asian legends for a Western audience, focusing on a samurai named Deva Zan who must track down twelve divine guardians of the universe who have vanished. The book will be released on October 31, 2012.

Also acquired is Neon Genesis Evangelion: Comic Tribute, a one-shot comic anthology by various manga artists, featuring characters from Evangelion. Filled with parodies and gags, this officially authorized anthology is helmed by Mine Yoshizaki (Sgt. Frog), and includes contributions from artists such as Yun Kouga (Loveless), Yōko Sanri (B Gata H Kei), Astroguy II (Queen's Blade Struggle), Kōtarō Yamada (The Sacred Blacksmith), Rikdo Koshi (Excel Saga), and many others. The volume will be released next year in February 2013.

Fans of the Oreimo (Ore mo imoto ga konna ni kawaii wake ga nai) light novel series and anime adaptation will also get the chance to read the manga adaptation by artist Sakura Ikeda and Oreimo creator Tsukasa Fushimi. The novel follows Kyosuke Kosaka, a high school boy who's always had a strained relationship with his younger sister Kirino, until she confides her secret hobby—collecting moe anime and younger sister-themed eroge. The 12-episode TV anime adaptation is available in North America from Aniplex USA. The first volume of the manga will be released by Dark Horse later this fall in September 2012.

Other manga adaptations from Dark Horse include the new acquisition of the Blood-C manga, which adapts the CLAMP TV anime series, Blood-C. It is illustrated by Ranmaru Kotone, who also drew the manga adaptation of the film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. A release date for the first volume is not yet available.

Dark Horse will also be releasing an anthology called Hiroaki Samura's Emerald and Other Stories, which collects seven shorts from Samura, the creator of Blade of the Immortal. This anthology will be released in February 2013.

The panelists also ran through some of their upcoming releases, including the last omnibus volume of Magic Knight Rayearth and the FLCL omnibus, as well as the continuing volumes of Gantz, The Monkey King, Oh My Goddess!, Blood Blockade Battlefront, and a handful of others.