VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, expands its novel and manga publishing roster with the addition of several noteworthy new title acquisitions set for release beginning later this year. Fans of the best-selling TOKYO GHOUL manga series will not want to miss the Fall debut of the first of three new original prose novels. Each novel will focus on lead characters from the popular horror manga series and feature original illustrations and cover art by series creator, Sui Ishida. VIZ Media continues to expand its collection of NARUTO original prose novels with the release of a trio of books focusing on the Uchiha brothers, Itachi and Sasuke.
VIZ Media also adds a new manga publishing acquisition to its library as it announces the debut this Winter of GANGSTA.: CURSED, a spin-off series based on the stylish manga crime thriller GANGSTA. A prequel to the original series featuring the backstory of the character Marco Adriano, GANGSTA.: CURSED is written by Kohske and illustrated by Syuhei Kamo.
New TOKYO GHOUL Publishing Acquisitions
TOKYO GHOUL: DAYS, Vol. 1 · Debuts Fall 2016
TOKYO GHOUL: VOID, Vol. 2 · Debuts Early 2017
TOKYO GHOUL: PAST, Vol. 3 · Forthcoming
MSRP: $12.99 U.S. ea / $14.99 CAN ea
TOKYO GHOUL: DAYS (Vol. 1) chronicles six all-new stories from the TOKYO GHOUL universe. TOKYO GHOUL: VOID (Vol. 2) depicts the aftermath six months after a major event in the TOKYO GHOUL manga. In the TOKYO GHOUL manga series, Ghouls live among us, the same as normal people in every way—except their craving for human flesh. Ken Kaneki is an ordinary college student until a violent encounter turns him into the first half-human half-ghoul hybrid. Trapped between two worlds, he must survive Ghoul turf wars, learn more about Ghoul society and master his new powers.
New NARUTO Publishing Acquisitions
NARUTO: ITACHI’S STORY – DAYLIGHT, Vol. 1 · Debuts Fall 2016
NARUTO: ITACHI’S STORY – MIDNIGHT, Vol. 2 · Debuts Winter 2016
NARUTO: SASUKE’S STORY – SUNRISE · Debuts Spring 2017
MSRP: $10.99 U.S. ea / $12.99 CAN ea
Three new NARUTO novels focusing on the Uchiha brothers, Itachi and Sasuke! Features original cover art by NARUTO creator Masashi Kishimoto.
Also catch other NARUTO original prose novels available now including NARUTO: KAKASHI’S STORY and NARUTO: SHIKAMARU’S STORY.
Additional New Manga Publishing Acquisitions
GANGSTA.: CURSED, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers ·
MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN · Debuts Winter 2016
A new series depicting prequel stories for several of the main characters featured in the original GANGSTA. manga series. In GANGSTA.: CURSED, the man named Marco Adriano is a loyal and beloved member of the Cristiano Family, helping them protect the persecuted Twilight population in the city of Ergastulum. But he was once a boy codenamed “Spas,” raised as a Hunter and assigned to the Destroyers Second Group for a single purpose: to track down and kill Twilights.
For more information on titles available from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.
Experience a masterful presentation of legendary artist Takeshi Obata’s works from 2001–2006, including definitive illustrations from smash-hit series DEATH NOTE and HIKARU NO GO, as well as surprises (video game design!), original works created for this art book and rare novel illustrations. This gorgeous oversized art book is encased in a silver-stamped slipcase and is stuffed with 132 pages of full-color art, several massive foldout posters, deluxe paper stock and 12 pages of artist commentary, including a “how to draw” section. The edition also includes three large double-sided laminated posters.
Every story is a quest of some sort, some admittedly more exciting than others. For me though, a story hits its stride in the middle of a quest, when the heroes are still seeking something. 
Shutter
There are many moments of reflection in this issue. A lot of self exploration on the part of Magnus, he continues to reflect on his role in the conversion, what it means for him., and how terrible the old gods have been to him. Although it is an effective way to give exposition, it took away from his brooding nature. There are times where I think silence would have been more effective than being able to see his actual thoughts. There is a point where Magnus asks the Cardinal about baptism, and about being able to go to Heaven when one dies. This would have carried more weight if silent panels had led up to it. It was still effective, but more in a 
It’s a game of trust in this issue. Everything goes around that. Who can Maika trust? Has her good (only) friend Tuya betray her? Can the monster inside her actually prove useful? Marjorie Liu successfully poises all these questions without fully providing an answer right away and allowing the story to organically come to that, even then some of those answers bring out more mystery than clarification and move the story along wonderfully. The dialogues and the narration flow is one of the best traits of this issue, another one being Maika’s character and her helplessness to be able to trust people or to take leaps of faith with someone, contrasted to Kippa who is able to put her faith in others so easily, because she has no other choice. It’s two characters with similar stories who have taken opposite reactions to it.
It’s very by the numbers. As a piece of comic noir, the series will almost certainly build upon itself over time. It has to. And looking back with knowledge from future issues will likely result in a greater appreciation of this installment. But we’re not there yet. I find myself searching for the hook, looking for the ways in which the book will differentiate itself. And I find nothing.
What I mean by that is that while Donny Cates doesn’t write like 99% of other comic book writers (that 1% is just in case I’m wrong), he does have a formula of his own that he follows. If you read Buzzkill or The Ghost Fleet (no, you didn’t because otherwise we’d all still be reading it!) then this issue will feel familiar. It’s the issue in which Cates tugs at those heart strings and takes a break for super witty dialogue and instead builds one of the main characters up in a way that they haven’t been yet.
By being put in a leadership position, Harley is pressured to consider someone else's well being. It is a job where her skills can be tested and applied for ostensibly selfish purposes. In reality, she has created a safe space where otherwise at-risk people can channel their efforts toward something not entirely destructive. The Harley's are only nominally superheroes. They like to get into fights and they hope to cause some good in the world as a byproduct of their violence. Beating up a gang of hipster bullies, for example, seems like a good enough deed and it's an act of violence no one will complain about. Don't know who is paying the Harley’s for that one. Don't know if the Harleys really care. In that sense, the characters are going to need a little more motivation in the future. They don't seem to want anything so much as they simply seem to enjoy carnage. Maybe, at this stage, the book doesn’t take itself seriously enough. Some readers are going to be turned off by the near constant flippancy.
Of course, Voracious really is all about the dinosaurs - mostly the killing and eating of same - and Naso again works well in building his story up this issue in what will almost assuredly be a fall, with some interesting plans sure to hatch in forthcoming issues. But perhaps his greatest achievement this time wasn’t that foreshadowing, but his natural dialogue, which, while already a series highlight, felt much more distilled and keenly focused this time.
Really once Jacob calls the dude back, who got all of ten feet away from his apartment by the way, that’s when the issue picks up. I liked it after that. The opening was stale and reminded me of a dream sequence from an anime in which something similar will likely happen later in the story.
Rebirth of the Gangster follows Marcus; the story line is even called “Meet the Family” with the chapter title being “Marcus.” It’s safe to say that we’ll probably follow different characters from the family. He’s giving a speech about his father for some fancy event or benefit. He leaves after talking to his mom because he doesn’t want to be there and plays his role and leaves with a friend. On the street a bum asks them for money and for some reason this conversation goes on and on until the bum says something that triggers Marcus’ memory.
Zula is by the Weyland-Yuntani Corporation to investigate a deserted spaceship which contains... aliens. Not much of surprise there. I’ve always found the Alien to be like a zombie outbreak. They’re a dangerous obstacle. The threat of the Alien is the same here as it has been throughout the franchise. We know what they do. We know how they look. It works in this issue because you know what you’re going to get and there’s more of a focus on character. What I was surprised by was how interested I was in Private Zula Hendricks as a character. Being an astronaut is just another boring day at the office for her until things pick up. Her narrations give insight into what makes her tick and how it would be to experience a zenomorph encounter in real-time. Flashbacks reveal that Zula is also dealing with recovery from a traumatic spinal injury. The cause of this injury isn’t revealed but we do we see the conflict for her to be a committed soldier but restricted by her injury.
The rest of the issue we see Mikey basically take up with a gang run by a kid not much older than him. I couldn’t tell you why. I guess Mikey is really just that mad about having to move which seems entirely blow out of proportion. We don’t get to Mikey’s powers and the last quarter of the issue is dedicated to introducing not one, but two potential threats/rival gangs.
Adding to the problems, are a couple of moments of philosophical ramblings that feel like Ferrier cribbed some notes on religion from Garth Ennis' Preacher and mixed them with, of course, D4VE. It turns out God is pretty much a business owner who is simply trying to peddle his goods and services (a point driven home by heaven appearing as mass of advertizing). It's a plot point that likely seeks to aim some barbs at organized religion but is too generic and nonsensical to have much edge to it. I'm rarely a fan of God showing up as a character, since he tends to be merely a stand in for a writer’s feelings about religion or a literal Deus ex Machina, and his appearance here is more than a little annoying.