North America’s Most Popular Manga Monthly Delivers Commemorative Special Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen
VIZ Media, LLC celebrates the 100th issue of Shonen Jump magazine, which hit newsstands nationwide on March 1st. The cover price is $4.99. The commemorative April 2011 issue features special content including a pictorial retrospective of all the manga heroes that have graced the magazine’s pages since the very first issue. This includes original Shonen Jump heroes such as Goku from Dragon Ball, Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh! and popular mainstays like Naruto, Ichigo from Bleach, as well as more recent additions to the Shonen Jump Super Team including Ageha from the new manga series Psyren, and Yusei from Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s. The issue also contains the Dragon Ball X One Piece Cross Epoch, a collaborative one-shot story by the creators of each series where characters from both popular manga meet, and includes a free YU-GI-OH! trading card, Dark Magician. Shonen Jump’s redesign for 2011, which launched in January, welcomed the new decade with a fresh, contemporary look and expanded print and web content. Shonen Jump continues to be the best-selling manga anthology in North America and now features 2 brand new series - the science fiction thriller Psyren, and fan favorite Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s – that join other current monthly favorites such as Bleach, Naruto and One Piece. The magazines team has also taken an aggressive approach to integrating the SHONEN JUMP web site with the print magazine with subscriber-only content available exclusively online, including the brand new manga series, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (rated ‘T’ for Teens) and new exclusive feature and news items every month. “The celebration of Shonen Jump in the U.S. that we started in January with the magazine’s redesign and revamped web site continues with our 100th issue spectacular,” says Shonen Jump Senior Editor Joel Enos. “We’re committed to giving fans what they’ve asked for and we will continue to do so with even more direct communication with our readers! This issue’s Heroes of Manga gives fans a fun trip down memory lane and also lets them meet some new heroes for the first time. Plus, we are showcasing the DRAGON BALL X ONE PIECE CROSS EPOCH, a unique manga mash-up never before seen in the U.S. that features Goku and Luffy, as well as many of their supporting cast, together for the first time in a story written and drawn by both creators Akira Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda. This is definitely an issue not to be missed!” For more information on Shonen Jump Magazine and other Shonen Jump titles, please visit ShonenJump.com.
About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga (graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa and is a global ex-Asia licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including magazines such as Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat, graphic novels, and DVDs, and develops, markets, licenses, and distributes animated entertainment for audiences and consumers of all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133; and web site at www.viz.com.