After the cut: The Christian fiction publisher WestBow will be publishing the Christian manga of Realbuzz studios. WestBow will relaunch Serenity and publish a new title, Goofyfoot Gurl.
So what, you say? I wasn’t too impressed with the first volume of Serenity, which was completely lacking in subtlety, but someone must have liked it; according to the PR, it outsold two-thirds of the books on the manga and graphic novels lists. (Of course, that probably means it sold 3,000 copies per volume.) And Goofyfoot Gurl got some praise from Manga Punk, a “secular” site. Anyway, WestBow plans to release volumes 1-6 of Serenity and volumes 1-4 of Goofyfoot Gurl this year, which is a pretty ambitious program.
WestBow Signs Realbuzz To Multi-Year Manga Deal
Thomas Nelson’s Christian Fiction Division Will Re-Launch
Best-Seller Serenity And Other Series
(NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE) Thomas Nelson Incorporated and Realbuzz Studios would like to announce an exclusive multi-year contract to release a minimum of 26 manga titles, immediately making Thomas Nelson the market leader of faith-based manga content. Ten manga novels will release in 2007 within the Serenity and Goofyfoot Gurl series.
Realbuzz Studios created the Christian/Inspirational manga category in 2005 with their best-selling teen series, Serenity, a break-out hit in the manga community outselling two-thirds of the titles on the mainstream manga and graphic novel best-seller lists. Previously published by Barbour, Thomas Nelson will simultaneously re-launch the first six Serenity graphic novels in April 2007 and will continue the series with four new Serenity volumes in 2008.
Serenity is “a clean, inspiring teen-aged Christian comic done in a hip, contemporary way,” says Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-man, X-Men, The Hulk, and The Fantastic Four. Acclaimed Young Adult author Melody Carlson praises Serenity’s “action-filled art” and “realistic text” for creating “a fast-paced read.”
Goofyfoot Gurl, praised as “insanely unique” by Manga Punk, a secular review site for graphic novels, will make its debut splash in September 2007 with the simultaneous publication of the first four volumes.
Manga, a form of graphic novels imported from Japan, is one of the fastest growing fiction categories among tween and teen girl readers in North America. Manga enjoyed over $300 million in sales in 2005 and has seen steady double digit growth for the last five years.
“Teen girls are notoriously underserved by the American comic book and graphic novel industry,” explains Allen Arnold, Publisher for WestBow Press, “Realbuzz Studios is on the cutting edge of changing that trend with their award-winning, original English language manga with content that is real, relevant, and from a Christian worldview.”
Faith-based entertainment company Good News Holdings in Sherman Oaks, California is working with both Thomas Nelson and Realbuzz Studios to promote across multiple platforms Serenity and Goofyfoot Gurl. “This is an important moment in the faith-based teen space,” says Thom Black, co-founder of Good News Holdings. “We see this as a wonderful opportunity to coordinate the strengths of Thomas Nelson and Realbuzz into creating popular manga entertainment that is both emotionally satisfying and spiritually uplifting and that translates into the mobile and internet worlds.”
Realbuzz Studios is based in Los Angeles, California and has been acclaimed as an innovative media content company, developing and creating original stories, art, and media under the guidance of co-founders Buzz Dixon and Marlon Schulman.
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Serenity 1-6
Available May 14, 2007
WestBow Press
96 Pages, 5 1/2×8, Juvenile Fiction/Comics & Graphic Novels/General
1. Bad Girl in Town, ISBN 978-1-59554-383-7
2. Stepping Out, ISBN 978-1-59554-384-4
3. Basket Case, ISBN 978-1-59554-385-1
4. Rave-n-Rant, ISBN 978-1-59554-386-8
5. Snow Biz, ISBN 978-1-59554-387-5
6. You Shall Love, ISBN 978-1-59554-388-2
Goofyfoot Gurl 1-4
Available September 11, 2007
WestBow Press
Trade Paper, $10.99
96 Pages, 5×7, Juvenile Fiction/Comics & Graphic Novels/General
1. Let There Be Lighten Up!, ISBN 978-1-59554-389-9
2. When Dolphins Fly, ISBN 978-1-59554-390-5
3. Come and Play!, ISBN 978-1-59554-391-2
4. Out of the Soup, ISBN 978-1-59554-392-9
Believing in the power of story, WestBow Press delivers entertaining, culturally-relevant stories told from a Christian worldview. From one of the world’s largest publishers comes the imprint that is changing the face of fiction.
Hmm, having sampled early volumes of Serenity around a year ago, Jarred and I decided against posting PR for this title at the time. Not very tolerant of us I will admit but the subject matter of the manga was not very tolerant either…
Ahhh I might have to look at Goofyfoot just to check it out. Either way I think I will be posting up the PR at my place soon (its been staring at me for a couple hours now).
Around when Serenity first hit stores (or maybe it was just before), I checked out the first few pages online. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the initial movements towards some sort of plot, or the general “in-your-face” approach that often does not settle well with many people who are under the presupposition that all Christians are like this. That mistaken truth, also, does not sit well with me. Why? Ironically enough, I’m a Christian – one who doesn’t believe that smacking non-believers over the head with radical speeches or scripture is the way to have them hear you out. From what I could tell, Serenity was headed strongly (heh…headstrong XD) in this direction, and based loosely off of Ed Chavez’s comment, I was fairly on target, if not right on.
I would like to actually read a whole volume of Serenity, and check out Goofyfoot just for the sake of doing so, even though the name does not appeal to me to the extent of piquing my curiosity. If you check them out before I do (which you probably wiil), Brigid, I’d be all ears to hear your take on it.
Thanks for the PR.
Well, as I said, I was not impressed with the first volume. The characters were too one-dimensional. Although the creator did try to give the Christian kids a bit of edge, and not make them too goody-goody, the only thing they can think of to do for Serenity is pray and nag. I didn’t see any acceptance or empathy. And when I read that Serenity was the child of a slatternly single mother, I rolled my eyes. It’s a very narrow world view. I would describe my religious persuasion as “wavering Catholic,” and having been subjected over the years to some of the same treatment Serenity got, I wholeheartedly agree with Alexiel: it doesn’t work. What does work is way more complicated than anything in this manga. (For a much better example, check out the Christian Archie comic titled “The Gospel Blimp” from this page.
Still, I pass on plenty of news about manga I don’t like, so why make an exception for Serenity? And from a business perspective I think it’s important. It’s selling well, which is not surprising, given the robustness of the Christian market, and that’s actually news in itself.
Besides Goofyfoot Gurl did get some good comments. Of course, Stan Lee blurbed Serenity, so maybe they just have a really good PR person.
Ed, the Realbuzz people will probably love it if you post their PR right after that H-day post. LOL!
Hey, that would be perfect!! Actually that’s the reason why I am reconsidering it. Its all moe… I just happened to come from a different fan base. ^_^
Have there been manga titles by Japanese Christians with a CPOV?
That’s a good question. Other than Ode to Kirihito, the only references to Christianity I see in manga are in horror manga, where they mash it all up really weirdly (like in Judas.)
Yeah, I guess that had a certain Christian or humanist feel to it, but I am thinking more of a work similar to Persepolis or something biographical maybe.
Hmm, I wonder. ComicsOne released Jesus and Joan both had religious elements to them. Obviously Jesus had to have been kinda religious but Joan was about Joan of Arc. Both were published in Japan by the NHK.
HK Comics is now releasing religious manhua. Their latest title is a futuristic armaggeddon story??!! (no I am not kidding and no I will not be posting that in a Manga a la Carte… Hmmm) I think its called King of Kings. You can download a preview at hkcomics.us
I think there was a discussion of this a while back. Japanese Christians are a very small minority in Japan, and they indeed use manga to woo converts (this is a county where Christmas is considered the second Valentine’s day). Japanese aren’t too much into the fire and brimstone stuff so almost everything out there focuses on the positive. I found a Japanese church a while back that even had a web-manga. If anyone wants to see it I can try to find it again. Manga is used to promote everything from cell phones to urological clinics so using it has a religious propaganda isn’t too surprising at all.
I’m just happy that the evangelicals are using manga as a tool instead of focusing on the “immoral” aspect of some genre manga.
Here some religious manga. It is a comic about Satan tempting Jesus in the desert, in the holy city, and on top of a mountain.
http://home.windstream.net/themessiah
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