Abrams ComicArts is launching a new imprint, Kana, focusing on manga series translated into the English language for the U.S. market, primarily for an adult audience. The imprint will primarily publish titles translated from the Japanese, in addition to select titles originally published in French.
Kana plans to publish 40-60 titles per year in paperback going forward, including individual issues in ongoing series. Its first six titles include Scars by Brandon Arias, Leviathan by Shiro Kuroi, Manhole by Tetsuya Tsutsui, Silence by Yoann Vorniere, Eden of Witches by Yumeji, and Space Punch by ZD.
The imprint is to be led by Rodolphe Lachat, v-p and publisher of Abrams ComicArts, and will comprise five employees, although “the full resources of Abrams and its other internal divisions” are at its disposal, a representative said. While Kana shares a name with the French-language manga publisher Kana, an imprint of Les Éditions Dargaud, the new imprint is not related to any of that imprint's editorial lines. (Both Abrams and Dargaud are owned by the Belgian media conglomerate Média-Participations.) Distribution will be through Hachette, which distributes for Abrams.
Kanaaims, Lachat said, to publish works that “focus on more emotionally mature subjects, characters whose ages are older, or genres that are not usually suitable for children,” including horror and thrillers. “Other publishers tend to focus on shōnen or shōjo”—categories in the Japanese market that cater to adolescent boys and girls, respectively—“but Kana will tap into the older market, as millennial readers, and Gen Z, will continue to age up and will want to find titles to fit their growing tastes.”
The imprint will take inspiration from how manga is originally published in Japan, Lachat said, including “a dust jacket, a first signature in color, and beautiful paper.” He noted that Kana is “not looking at the trends and trying to play into them,” but rather to “celebrate the art of manga,” including through republishing classic manga series from the 1960s and art books by popular mangaka. “We want to publish stories that resonate with us, classic works that deserve an English translation, and art that inspires us.”
