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Exclusive: New 'Kana' Imprint Shares Preview of Leviathan Horror Manga

Abrams ComicArts' new manga-focused imprint for the U.S. market Kana shared with ANN on Monday preview pages for its upcoming release of Shiro Kuroi's Leviathan manga.

Image courtesy of Kana ©Shiro Kuroi, Shueisha, Ki-oon, Kana

Image courtesy of Kana ©Shiro Kuroi, Shueisha, Ki-oon, Kana

Image courtesy of Kana ©Shiro Kuroi, Shueisha, Ki-oon, Kana

Image courtesy of Kana ©Shiro Kuroi, Shueisha, Ki-oon, Kana

Kana will release the first volume of Leviathan as well as Tetsuya Tsutsui's Manhole in English on Tuesday in bookstores and on Wednesday in comic shops.

The company describes Leviathan:

Perfect for fans of Moebius, Star Wars, and Katsuhiro Ōtomo, Shiro Kuroi's Leviathan Volume One follows a group of students pitted against each other in a brutal battle for survival in the depths of space. The gripping sci-fi survival horror centers around the Leviathan, an enormous spaceship, abandoned in a galaxy far, far away. When looters break into the abandoned ship, they discover the diary of a middle-schooler, Kazuma, who documented the horrific fate of the ship's passengers.

Along with the looters, the reader will piece together the decades-old tale of an innocent school trip to Earth with a tragic and brutal ending. Trapped in space without enough oxygen left to wait for rescue, Kazuma documents the mental collapse and treachery of his teacher and classmates as they realize that the only hope for survival is the cryopreservation unit at the heart of the ship, which can only fit one person. A bloody battle for survival ensues as friend turns against friend, teacher against student, and each survivor is forced to confront the value of their own life. As the looters read on, they reach a chilling realization—there is still one survivor somewhere inside! One of the top bestselling new manga titles in Japan, Leviathan's incredible, brutal illustrations and tightly paced plot will leave readers at the edge of their seats, and linger in their minds long after the last page of each volume.

Kuroi debuted the manga in France in January 2022 and in Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ in Japan in August 2022. The series ended in February 2023. The manga's third compiled book volume shipped in Japan in May 2023.

Abrams ComicArts, a division of Abrams Books, launched the Kana imprint in April. Kana is publishing both Japanese manga and French comics, and the imprint's initial list of licensed titles includes three manga and three French comics. Kana aims to publish 40-60 paperback titles every year. Hachette is the distributor.

All three of Kana's manga licenses have French editions by Éditions Ki-oon, and include: Kuroi's Leviathan (serialized in Shonen Jump+), Yumeji's Eden of Witches (serialized in Kadokawa's Harta), and Tetsuya Tsutsui's Manhole (serialized in Square Enix's Young Gangan).

Abrams Books founded the Abrams ComicArts imprint in 2009. The imprint focuses on graphic novels and books about comic book history. The imprint became a full division of Abrams Books in April 2023.

Source: Email correspondence