Manga Monthly: Romance and Action in August!

The summer may be winding down but the manga’s as hot as ever! In the August PREVIEWS we see lots of great new series as well as some classic material. Don’t forget to pre-order yours today at your local comic shop!

Dark Horse Comics gets us started this month with the second volume of the Astro Boy Omnibus (AUG150078)! Osamu Tezuka’s legendary story of the super-powered boy robot is reprinted in this wonderful omnibus format, which follows Astro as he battles against invaders from space, robot slave masters, and a dictator producing human clones.

Kodansha will be printing the first volume of Appleseed Alpha (AUG151587) by Masamune Shirow. Shirow is probably best-known for his work on Ghost in the Shell, but the original Appleseed actually came before that.

Appleseed Alpha is a prequel to the series. In the 22nd century, New York City is a war-torn place ruled by warlords and a giant robot mayor with three eyes and a three-piece suit. While there, Deunan and her cyborg lover Briareos stumble across two citizens of a legendary utopia. It's up to them to guard what could be humanity's best chance to rebuild.

Fairy Tail has been a wildly popular shonen series, and now the girls of Fairy Tail will be taking the spotlight in Fairy Girls (AUG151588), thanks to Kodansha. Erza, Lucy, Juvia, and Wendy stumble upon a group of four female ruffians trying to pass themselves off as genuine Fairy Tail wizards. As they untangle the impostors' plot (with time for a few laughs along the way), the underworld of Fiore is going to learn who the real ruffians are!

Junji Ito is best-known for his variety of horror stories, such as Tomie, Gyo and Uzumaki.

Kodansha will be proving that Ito has a soft spot of the feline variety with Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (AUG151589).

In this book, Ito has recently purchased a new house and has decided to invite his girlfriend to move in with him. However, when she moves in, she comes with two cats, Yon, a strange-looking white cat with a ghastly fur pattern on its back that resembles a skull, and Mu, Yon's cute counterpart and playmate.

This manga is a diary of the author's life as he tries and often fails to connect with his two feline friends.

The manga is drawn in Junji Ito's horror comic style featuring intricate and finely drawn images, which when combined with the humorous story, results in a experience that is sure to bring laughter to the reader.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has had a long history with a huge cast of characters, but one of the favorites of the series’ creator, Hirohiko Araki, is Rohan.

NBM is printing Rohan at the Lourve (AUG151614) which follows young Rohan after he meets a mysterious young woman with a dramatic story to tell. She tells him of a cursed 200-year-old painting, created using the blackest ink ever known from a tree the painter had brought down without approval from the Emperor.

The painting had been saved from destruction by a curator of the Louvre.

Years later he asks the museum but little does he know how violently powerful the curse of it is until he has the museum unearth it from deep within its archival bowels.

Seven Seas Entertainment continues to expand their manga lineup with the second volume of Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace (AUG151684). Kato Marika is an ambitious seventeen-year-old student who is the president of the school's Space Yacht Club.

Full of pep and enthusiasm, Marika takes charge, even if membership in the club is flagging. Her true calling, however, is something a bit more daring. For in her spare time, the spunky teen moonlights as the captain of the Bentenmaru, an infamous ship full of rough and tumble space pirates who strike fear and delight in the hearts of many!

Seven Seas is also debuting the first volume of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (AUG151690).

Just when an unemployed thirty-four-year-old otaku reaches a dead end in life and decides that it's time to turn over a new leaf - he gets run over by a truck and dies!

Shockingly, he finds himself reborn into an infant's body in a strange, new world of swords and magic. His new identity is Rudeus Grayrat, but he still retains the memories of his previous life

Vertical is bringing the first volume of Tokyo ESP (AUG151800) to the west later this year.

High school girl Rinka Urushiba wakes up to find out she has attained extra-sensory powers, and eventually comes to use them against other espers who have begun wage havoc on Tokyo.

Viz Media will be wrapping up the legendary shonen series Naruto (AUG151802) when the final volume arrives in the US this fall. This incredible conclusion wraps up the story that began in 1999.

In Naruto volume 72, the peace following Kaguya's defeat is short-lived as Sasuke tries to take total control. Can Naruto change his old friend's mind and bring true peace to the ninja world in the final volume of Naruto?

But, while one story ends, another is just getting started. Viz is debuting the first volume of One Punch Man (AUG151812) later this year. Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique.

However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem -- he just can't seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on! Every time a promising villain appears, he beats the snot out of 'em with one punch! Can Saitama finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?

For those who prefer shojo over shonen, Viz will be debuting the first volume of QQ Sweeper (AUG151821) this fall.

In the old building at their school, a mysterious room has a door that beckons Fumi, even though she shouldn't be able to see it! Kyutaro goes in after her, but will he be able to save her before she's devoured by otherworldly creatures?

Yen Press also has plenty of new manga series coming down the line later this year, and Horimiya (AUG151845) is just one of these series. At first glance, the ultra-popular Hori-san seems like a frivolous high school girl, but in reality, she's plain, pragmatic, and family-oriented. On the other hand, the bespectacled Miyamura-kun comes across as an average, gloomy high school fanboy, but he's actually an attractive young man who has a bad-boy streak and is covered in piercings and tattoos. When these two unexpectedly similar classmates have a random run-in outside of the classroom, a bubbly, sweet tale of school life begins!

Strike the Blood (AUG151849) will also be getting started when it debuts this fall. Kojo Akatsuki is an ordinary high-school boy - but when that high school is in the Demon District of Itogami City, "ordinary" means something rather different.

He might be a vampire, for example. He might even be the most powerful vampire of all time. Middle schooler Yukina Himeragi, meanwhile, is the attack mage sent to observe him; a cute girl sent to observe a massively powerful vampire boy whose abilities activate whenever he gets aroused, on an island city full of all manner of supernatural individuals, each with their own shadowy agenda. What could possibly go wrong?

That wraps it up for this month’s Manga Monthly, but keep your eyes here for more updates on the biggest releases coming to you from Japan! And don’t forget to check out the August PREVIEWS for the full lineup of manga from all of these great publishers. Be sure to head to your local comic book shop to pre-order your favorite series, and check back with us next month for another edition of Manga Monthly!

Download the August PREVIEWS Order Form here!