ACF 1249: New manga releases from VIZ Media for the holiday season

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST MANGA BOX SET:
© 2002-2010 Hiromu Arakawa/SQUARE ENIX.

VIZ Media will be offering a wide variety of unique art books and manga (graphic) releases – several of them brand new series – for the upcoming holiday season.

From the debut of Natsume Ono’s TESORO and the brand new shojo series, DAWN OF ARCANA, by Rei Toma, to a box set of the recently concluded FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, to the latest editions of popular ongoing titles including BAKUMAN｡, BLUE EXORCIST, DEATH NOTE BLACK EDITION, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, and the recently launched PSYREN, there will be plenty of aspiring young manga artists, spirit bending exorcists, royal romantic intrigue, charming stories of bonds between friends & family, tales of alchemy and more to complement everyone’s holiday season this year.

And for the fan that has been especially good all year, don’t miss two gorgeously illustrated art books for D.GRAY-MAN and VAMPIRE KNIGHT. Each is filled with vivid character art, concept drawings, and insightful artist commentaries and also includes a full-color poster.

BAKUMAN｡,Vol. 8 · Rated “T” for Teens · MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN· Available December 6th 

Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world?

BLUE EXORCIST, Vol. 5 · Rated “T+” for Older Teens · MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN · Available December 6th 

Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth – the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin’s veins! Rin swears to defeat Satan, but doing that means entering the mysterious True Cross Academy and becoming an exorcist himself. Can Rin fight demons and keep his infernal bloodline a secret? It won't be easy, especially when drawing his father’s sword releases the demonic power within him!

D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS · MSRP: $21.99 U.S. / $25.99 CAN · Available December 6th 

Enter the fictional 19th-century world of D. GRAY MAN with lavish color artwork from its creator, Katsura Hoshino, showcasing her graphic novel and magazine covers and more! Additionally, this book features insightful Q&As between Hoshino and two manga creators who inspire her: Takeshi Obata, the artist behind HIKARU NO GO and BAKUMAN and the smash hit DEATH NOTE; and Osamu Akimoto, the creator of Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo. Kochira has been serialized in the best-selling boy's manga magazine in the world, Weekly Shonen Jump, for 35 years and is the magazine’s longest-running manga series. Edition also includes an exclusive, double-sided, full-color poster.

DAWN OF THE ARCANA © 2009 Rei TOMA/Shogakukan

DAWN of the arcana, Vol. 1 · Rated “T” for Teens MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN· Available December 6th 

Princess Nakaba of Senan is forced to marry Prince Caesar of the enemy country Belquat, tantamount to becoming a hostage. While Caesar is pleasing to the eye, he is also selfish and possessive, telling Nakaba outright: “You are my property.” With only her attendant Loki at her side, Nakaba must find a way to cope with her hostile surroundings, her fake marriage...and a mysterious power!

DEATH NOTE BLACK EDITION, Vol. 6 · Rated “T+” for Older Teens · MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN· Available Now 

Don’t miss the final omnibus volume of the Black Edition series collecting DEATH NOTE Volumes 11 and 12. Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal…or his life?

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST MANGA BOX SET · Rated “T” for Teens · MSRP: $219.99 U.S. / CAN · Available Now 

This best-selling action series is now available in a complete manga box set! Includes volumes 1-27, plus extras such as Fullmetal Alchemist Novel: The Ties That Bind and a full-color, two-sided poster. Over a 20% savings over buying the individual volumes!

In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical ""auto-mail"" limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother's bodies...the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, Vol. 6 · Rated “T” for Teens · MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN · Available December 6th 

While the day belongs to humans, the night belongs to yokai, supernatural creatures that thrive on human fear. Caught between these worlds is Rikuo Nura. He's three-quarters human, but his grandfather is none other than Nurarihyon, the supreme commander of the Nura clan, a powerful yokai consortium. So, Rikuo is an ordinary teenager three quarters of the time, until his yokai blood awakens. Then Rikuo transforms into the future leader of the Nura clan, leading a hundred demons.

PSYREN, Vol. 1 · Rated “T+” for Older Teens · MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN · Available Now 

Ageha Yoshina just got transported to a warped alternate dimension where you've got to fight your way back to our world – or die trying. "Save me!" Those were Sakurako Amamiya's last words to her friend Ageha Yoshina before she mysteriously went missing. Now Ageha's on a quest to find her. He's convinced that the mythical Psyren Secret Society has something to do with the recent rash of disappearances. And now he seems to be caught up as a player in their very deadly game...

TESORO - ONO NATSUME SHOKI TANPENSHU © 2008 Natsume ONO/Shogakukan

TESORO · Rated “T” for Teens · MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN · Available November 15th  

TESORO is a treasure of 14 charming stories about family, friends, couples and unexpected bonds. Written by Natsume Ono over ten years, this is the long-awaited collection of her early work, including numerous illustrations and previously unpublished stories!

THE ART OF VAMPIRE KNIGHT · MSRP: $24.99 U.S. / $28.99 CAN · Available Now  

Cross over into the mysterious and deadly world of VAMPIRE KNIGHT with the lush, full-color artwork of Matsuri Hino. This hard cover edition includes an extensive gallery with author comments, a how-to tutorial, and an exclusive poster.

Cross Academy is attended by two groups of students: the Day Class and the Night Class. At twilight, when the students of the Day Class return to their dorm, they cross paths with the Night Class on their way to school. Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the Guardians of the school, protecting the Day Class from the Academy's dark secret: the Night Class is full of vampires!

X 3-In-1 DELUXE Collectors Edition, Vol. 1 · Rated “T+” for Older Teens · MSRP: $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN · Available Now  

X, the epic series from CLAMP, is now available in this deluxe collector’s edition. The pages have been recomposed in the original right-to-left reading order and restored to the highest quality. Each volume contains three of the original graphic novels, along with gorgeous, full-color illustrations never before published outside Japan!

Kamui Shiro is a young man followed by mystery. Taken from Tokyo by his mother when only a child, Kamui left behind his dearest friends—the gentle Kotori and her brother Fuma—in the aftermath of a terrible incident that claimed their mother's life. Returning to Tokyo following his mother's death, Kamui is a changed young man – moody and distant to his old friends, yet determined to protect them from the dark forces that swirl around him. It turns out that he is the nexus of a great cataclysm to come, and the inheritor to a strange destiny that could decide the fate of the entire world.

More information on VIZ Media manga titles at: www.VIZ.com.