Startingthis May, Vertical, Inc, a New York City-based boutique publisher of all things Japanese from hard-boiled crime to DIYcrafts and cookbooks, will publish Kou Yaginuma's 16 volume manga series, Twin Spica. A science fiction story, Twin Spica is about 14 year old Asumi Kamogawa who applies for aspot at the exclusive Tokyo Space School.
"It'scharming," Vertical'smarketing director, Ed Chavez, said ofTwin Spica. "It's got a goodnarrative, interesting and engaging characters, and it's sci-fi but not heavyin that regard. You can get into it without getting intimidated by it." Each volume of TwinSpica will retail at $10.95 and will be releasedon a bimonthly schedule.
Twin Spica takes place in 2024, fourteen yearsafter Japan's first manned rocket launch, the Lion, fails and crashes into thesmall seaside town of Yuigahama. The crash killed many of the town's residents,including Asumi's mother. Spica was originally serialized back in 2001 in themanga anthology magazine Comic Flapper,from Japanese publisher Media Works, where mangaka Yaginuma was voted Best NewArtist for that year. Thestorytelling is understated and matter-of-fact with a natural tension builtinto the narrative, not fabricated by screentones or frames. " It's nothinglike what you would see in a Shonen Jumpmagazine," Chavezsays. The series ended andthe final volume waspublished in Japan in 2009.
WhileYaginuma knew little about space training, as the series progressed and gainedpopularity, he did extensive research. As a result, Twin Spica was endorsed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) who also co-produced an animated adaptation for television with Japan'sPBS equivalent, the NHK. The series was also adapted into a live-actiontelevision drama.
Chavezsays that he first learned of the manga three or four years ago, and while hedidn't find the narrative intimidating, the series's length was another matter."A long series is a bit of a risk." Chavez says. "Even with a major hit like Naruto, sales will drop with every newvolume released. If you're already selling a few hundred thousand units, youcan take such a risk. For us, the scale is much smaller. Once sales drop off 30% or sofrom volume one to volume two, that's a big drop. And they'll drop another10-15% with the next volume." Chavezsays that with their series, Buddha,sales dropped by 40% between the releases of the first and second volumes."It's a little scary when you see those numbers tail off."
Tobuild interest in Twin Spica,Vertical has been delivering galleys to a number of media outlets, includingthe aerospace and space tourism industries. The publisher is also preparing acurriculum and lesson plans for librarians and teachers given the book's detailof space training and its education positive traits.
Overall,Chavez is excited for the series which he sees as more gender neutral than the publisherspast manga releases. "It's one long continuous story. There's something for everyone inthere,"he says.
