Viz Signature launches IKKI Online Manga Magazine

[Bacon McShig]

Viz has had a good eye with their Signature line, so I'm sure there will be some excellent content here. And for free!

It's sort of a soft launch at the moment, only one series being put up now. Kicks into larger production in August.

Since its founding IKKI magazine has established itself as the home of some of the most innovative, bold, and compelling series in the world of contemporary manga.

Originally begun in 2000 as Spirits Zoukan IKKI—a special, bi-monthly tie-in publication to Big Comic Spirits magazine—the current form of the magazine took shape when it was re-launched in 2003 as Gekkan ("Monthly") IKKI. Under the leadership of editor-in-chief Hideki Egami, IKKI has since then built a catalog of titles notable for its diversity. From action to comedy to drama, from slice-of-life stories to surrealist fantasies, the one common thing these works share is an uncommon emphasis on creative quality and on pushing the boundaries of the norm.

Some of the ground-breaking creators who have been published by IKKI in the past include: Taiyo Matsumoto (Number Five), Naoe Kikuchi (Tetsuko no Tabi), Iou Kuroda (Sexy Voice and Robo), Koji Aihara and Kentaro Takekuma (Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga 2.0), George Asakura (Heibon Ponch). In 2008 IKKI celebrated its five-year anniversary, and as the magazine has evolved it has continued to captivate manga fans with the work of such popularly acclaimed creators as: Q Hayashida (Dorohedoro), Mohiro Kitoh (Bokurano: Ours), Natsume Ono (House of Five Leaves), and Daisuke Igarashi (Children of the Sea).

In addition to manga, each issue of IKKI contains a broad range of content in the form of prose commentary, photography, interviews, and feature articles. And alongside IKKI magazine itself, the IKKI COMIX imprint in Japan publishes graphic novel compilations of the work of its premier artists.

Now, in partnership with VIZ Media and its "VIZ Signature" line of graphic novels, IKKI is bringing the works of some of its top creators to the English-language audience. Each month, new chapters of featured manga series will be offered online in their entirety. After the completion of the online serialization of a volume, that volume will become available as a VIZ Signature graphic novel, subject to reader demand. Also, each month new content—such as creator interviews, feature articles, news, and giveaways—will be posted on the site.

[rama]

so it's august. i checked out a few of the stories they had up. i feel like there's a little something for everyone there. house of five leaves stood out the most to me.