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Dark Horse Signs CLAMP to 2009 Shōjo Manga Title (Updated)

Publishers Weekly reports that Dark Horse has signed the manga artist quartet CLAMP (Tsubasa, Chobits, X) to create a new manga series that will be published simultaneously in North America, South Korea, and Japan in 2009. In North America, it will first be released in the form of monthly 80-page issues which Dark Horse calls "mangettes." This title, which will be Dark Horse's entry into the shōjo market, will also be brought out in the form of traditional volumes that compile the contents of three mangettes.

Update: Dark Horse's director of Asian licensing Michael Gombos told ANN that CLAMP will have complete creative control, which is rare for a serialized title in North America but not for Japan. The simultaneous release will be limited somewhat by the time differences between North America and Asia, but Dark Horse is planning its mangette release date to be roughly the same day as the Japanese serialization's. "That's what we're aiming for," Gombos said. The mangettes will be "perfect bound" and 5 by 7 inches in size.