Action manga dominates this season, from sword-and-sorcery fantasies to gritty crime dramas and mysteries.
Top 10
Before You Go Extinct
Takashi Ushiroyato, trans. by Yuki Tejima. Vertical Comics, Oct. 7 ($13.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64729-474-8)
As two souls are reincarnated as many different animals (including crows, otters, and penguins), they strive to do more with their lives than simply fight and die.
Cat Mask Boy
Linus Liu, trans. by Book Buddy Media. Nakama, Oct. 14 ($10.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5458-2173-2)
In 1970s Hong Kong, a boy in a cat mask ventures into the infamous Kowloon Walled City to find his lost report card before his mom calls him home.
Dur-An-Ki
Kentaro Miura and Studio Gaga, trans. by Duane Johnson. Dark Horse Manga, Sept. 16 ($14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5067-4638-8)
From the creator of Berserk comes a fantasy inspired by Greek and Mesopotamian myths about an androgynous demigod who descends from the holy mountain and has adventures among mortals.
Juji and Aichi
codomopaper, trans. by Kristjan Rohde. Glacier Bay, Nov. 17 ($30 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-953629-50-0)
In turn-of-the-20th-century Japan, a popular fantasy writer and an unpopular manga artist get entangled in a mystery.
King’s Maker
Haga and Kang Jiyoung. Inklore, Aug. 26 ($20 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-97257-1)
This hit boys’-love web manhwa, which has a sequel already running online, finds a prince and a scheming young minister falling in love while plotting against the throne.
Land
Kazumi Yamashita, trans. by Kevin Gifford. Yen, Aug. 26 ($40 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-8554-2108-8)
A girl seeks answers to the mysteries of her village, where people are sacrificed to the unseen world over the mountains at age 50.
The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate
Kodama Naoko, trans. by Sarah Burch. Seven Seas, Oct. 7 ($13.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-89561-222-4)
An out lesbian falls for an old crush all over again while helping her deal with her troubled marriage, in this girls-love series from the creator of Days of Love at Seagull Villa.
Maid to Skate
Suzushiro, trans. by David Evelyn. Viz, Dec. 16 ($14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-9747-5584-4)
In a world where maids dressed in black dresses and frilly aprons ride skateboards and are judged by their ability to shred, a young woman dreams of becoming a maid.
My Life in 24 Frames per Second
Rintarô, trans. by Montana Kane. Kana, Oct. 7 ($29.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4197-8404-0)
The legendary director of such anime as Astro Boy, Galaxy Express 999, and Kimba the White Lion recounts his life and work in this manga autobiography.
Stray
Ryu Kamio and Yu Nakahara, trans. by Molly Rabbitt. Titan Manga, Dec. 2 ($12.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-78774-801-9)
From the creators of Last Inning, this manga follows an ex-con just released from prison who’s targeted by the yakuza while trying to start a new life on a baseball team.
Manga Longlist
Airship
Breathless Time Traveler by Yuyuko Takemiya, trans. by Alexandra Owen-Burns (Sept. 9, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-89373-972-5). In this light novel, a college girl trapped in a time loop tries to prevent her own death and create a future for herself and her boyfriend.
Dark Horse Manga
Adabana by Non, trans. by Caleb Cook (Aug. 26, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5067-4929-7). A small town is shaken when a teenager confesses to a horrifying double murder—but a local reporter is convinced there’s more to the story.
Purgatory Funeral Cakes by Sanho, trans. by Danny Lim (Nov. 18, $19.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5067-5135-1). In this cozy fantasy manhwa, a baker and her ghostly assistant create special funeral cakes to comfort the loved ones of the departed.
Dogu
Usagi Yojimbo: Ten Thousand Plums by Stan Sakai (Nov. 25, $24.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5067-5070-5). The latest full-color installment of the beloved historical fantasy finds Usagi and his friends accused of bringing death to a village that grows prized medicinal plums.
Drawn & Quarterly
Yokai: Shigeru Mizuki’s Supernatural Parade by Shigeru Mizuki, trans. by Zack Davisson (Nov. 11, $44.95, ISBN 978-1-77046-798-9). The companion volume to Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki showcases Mizuki’s expert illustrations of traditional Japanese monsters and spirits.
Glacier Bay
Box Garden Beetle by Kondoh Akino, trans. by Ryan Holmberg (Oct. 10, $25 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-953629-45-6) is a darkly magical short manga collection from a fine artist and alternative manga creator.
Reincarnation by Yuri Eury, trans. by Kristjan Rohde (Nov. 26, $30 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-953629-44-9). Two women are drawn to each other through multiple lives over past, present, and future.
True Blue Never Fades by Tada Yumi, trans. by Matthias Hirsh (Oct. 6, $20 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-953629-49-4). A trucker and a roadside waitress fall in love in the launch of a new series showcasing Tada’s “Americana” manga.
Graphix
Shadow Warrior (Spider-Man: Original Manga) by Shogo Aoki, trans. by Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley (Sept. 16, $12.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5461-4847-0). Spider-Man takes on the Kingpin and Venom in an alternate Japan where the shogunate still rules. Ages 8–12.
Ink Pop
My Life as an Internet Novel by A. Hyeon and Yu Han-Ryeo (Oct. 14, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-90127-4). A girl finds herself in a romance novel, cast as the heroine’s best friend, in this web manhwa with more than four million subscribers online. Ages 12 and up.
Ize
I Love Amy by Unni (Nov. 18, $20 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-4009-0414-1). A teenage girl sets out to destroy her rival for the boy
she has a crush on, only to fall for the other girl instead.
Marriage of Convenience by Ken, hanheun, and Antstudio (Sept. 23, $20 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-4009-0390-8). A wicked noblewoman gets a chance to redo her life and mend her ways, starting with her previously loveless marriage.
Kodansha
Dragon Head Omnibus by Minetaro Mochizuki, trans. by Alexis Kirsch, Aaron Sparrow, and Dylan Thompson (Dec. 16, $24.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64729-494-6). In this long-unavailable cult horror classic, a mysterious accident traps high school
students in the Tokyo subway tunnels.
The Magnificent Bastard: The Legend of Keiji by Keiichiro Ryu, Mio Aso, and Tetsuo Hara, trans. by Andrew Love (Dec. 9, $29.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64729-500-4). The creator of Fist of the North Star illustrates a historical epic based on the life of rebellious samurai Keiji Maeda.
You Can’t Bluff the Sharp-Eyed Sister by Natsu Hyuuga, Chiho Shinishi, and Yo Asami, trans. by Kevin Steinbach (Oct. 21, $13.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-88877-584-4). A novice priestess who leads a less-than-holy double life as a card sharp investigates a murder in the latest manga from the writer of The Apothecary Diaries.
Kana
City Hunter Omnibus by Tsukasa Hojo, trans. by David Evelyn (Sept. 23, $26.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4197-8593-1). The 1980s action classic about a private eye on the mean streets of Tokyo is back in English for the first time in decades.
LoveLove
Monster and Ghost by Himemiko, trans. by Massiel Gutierrez (Oct. 7, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1427882790). A violent delinquent
is haunted by an attractive ghost who sees the goodness inside him in this offbeat supernatural boys’-love manga.
Nakama
The Architect’s Epiphany by Chi-Ho Kwong and Chi-Kit Kwong, trans. by Book Buddy Media (Aug. 19, $10.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-
1-5458-1902-9). A shaman and a “City Builder” set out to rebuild a fallen city in an epic fantasy from the creators of Indigo.
My Soul Mate by Wah Kee, trans. by Book Buddy Media (Jan. 20, $10.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5458-2318-7). A manhua assistant dies before completing a comic of his own and returns as a spirit to collaborate with a novice artist.
Noir Caesar
Ballad of the Broken Heart by Stefano Cardoselli (Dec. 2, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-4278-8480-0). In a dystopian future where life is cheap, a mute warrior vows revenge after his wife is executed in a death lottery.
Seven Seas
Hope You’re Happy, Lemon by Mizuki Kishikawa, trans. by Mei Amaki (Oct. 28, $13.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-89561-315-3). A college student magically swaps bodies with his cheating ex-girlfriend—who happens to be roommates with his new love interest.
Painter of the Night by Byeonduck, trans. by Lezhin U.S. Localization Team (Sept. 2, $26.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-89373-951-0). A nobleman tries to convince an artist to resume his career as a painter of elegant gay erotica in this dark romance boys’-love web manhwa.
Tales of the Hundred Monsters Next Door by Yoshiko Watanuki, trans. by Deniz Amasya (Nov. 25, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-89561-336-8). After a man stumbles on a nighttime yokai market, he teams up with a yokai enthusiast known as the “Ghost Sensei” to learn more about the supernatural world.
Smudge
The Girl Who Raised the Dead by Kawashima Norikazu, trans. by Ryan Holmberg (Nov. 4, $19.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-961581-13-5). Struck by lightning, a woman returns from the dead with paranormal powers in this cult 1980s horror manga.
My Gorilla Family by Iijima Ichiro, trans. by Ryan Holmberg (Sept. 9, $19.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-961581-11-1), gathers 14 tales of horror and the bizarre from one of the great gonzo manga artists of the 1970s.
Square Enix
Mechanical Buddy Universe by Takuji Kato, trans. by David Evelyn (Sept. 9, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64609-414-1). An android rescues a baby from the ruins of a war zone in this collection of short science fiction comics originally serialized on social media.
Steamship
Tease Me Harder: A Sweet and Kinky Romance by Fumika Minami, trans. by Jennifer Ward (Nov. 18, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-89561-524-9). Two seemingly innocent young adults in their first sexual relationship shyly pursue their interest in BDSM.
Winter Wolf by Rubyche, Cheong Yong, and Soonmu, trans. by Jiwon Seo (Sept. 30, $21.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-89561-131-9). A woman on the run from revolutionaries hires a man to help her escape, but the two have trouble remaining on strictly business terms while snowed in together in an eerie mansion.
Titan Manga
Isekai Metaller by Kasuga Dragon, trans. by Motoko Tamamuro and Jonathan Clements (Oct. 14, $12.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-78774-752-4). A metalhead is reborn in a fantasy world and decides to introduce it to hard rock.
Sanda by Paru Itagaki, trans. by Motoko Tamamuro and Jonathan Clements (Sept. 2, $12.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-78774-724-1). In a near-future Japan where the declining birthrate has made children a tightly controlled resource, a teenage boy discovers he has the power to turn into Santa Claus.
Tuttle
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: The Manga Edition by Sun Tzu, Yoshihiro Watanabe, and Takashi Momonari, trans. by Makiko Itoh (Sept. 2, $19.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-4-8053-1954-3), is a manga adaptation of the classic Chinese guide to military strategy.
Viz
Astro Royale by Ken Wakui, trans. by Andria McKnight (Aug. 5, $11.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-9747-5303-1). The son of a yakuza family is caught in a superpowered gang war in this series from the creator of Tokyo Revengers.
Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara, trans. by Nathan A. Collins (Nov. 11, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-9747-5921-7). A war orphan reluctantly joins forces with a king in an adventure set during China’s Warring States period.
Rai Rai Rai by Yoshiaki, trans. by Julie Goniwich (Aug. 12, $11.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-9747-5603-2). Years after a failed alien invasion, a struggling space pest exterminator is abducted by aliens and begins to undergo strange transformations.
Webtoon Unscrolled
Love 4 a Walk by Nuria Sanguino (Nov. 4, $19.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-998341-66-5). A woman with an unruly dog and the dog trainer next door experience animal magnetism in this romance webtoon with 1.9 million subscribers online. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Raven Saga by Chihiro Howe (Jan. 6, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-998341-75-7). A girl raised in a fairy tale land ventures to the outside world to rescue her grandmother from a mysterious kidnapper and his band of ravens.
Yale Univ.
Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics by Eike Exner (Aug. 5, $37.50, ISBN 978-0-300-28094-4) offers an expansive history of manga from the 1890s to the present day.
Yen
Common-Sense Monster by Warugi Wanai and Shinobu Shinotsuki, trans. by John Neal (Aug. 26, $13 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-8554-1124-9). A socially awkward teenage girl becomes obsessed with a classmate after discovering her secret: she’s a human-eating monster.
Love Bullet by inee, trans. by Masaaki Fukushima (Nov. 25, $13 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-8554-3030-1). In an alternate version of the present, Cupids carry guns instead of arrows and put their lives on the line to help humans fall in love.
Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty by Hiroshi Fukuda, trans. by Ajani Oloye (Sept. 23, $15 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-8554-0797-6). A new student at an all-girls school discovers that her prim and proper classmates are secretly forming a rock band.
