IDW International To Manage Tokyopop Foreign Rights

Tokyopop has announced that IDW International, the international rights arm of IDW Publishing, will manage Tokyopop’s foreign rights for non-English language markets.

Founded in 1997 by Stu Levy, Tokyopop was instrumental in introducing manga, Japanese comics in English translation, to the American market on a mass market scale.

In addition to popularizing “authentic” manga—publishing its manga in English translations in its original right to left reading format with the original Japanese sound effects—Tokyopop has distributed Asian film and anime, Asian pop merchandise, white label publishing and self-published content via the Pop Comics platform.

Although Tokyopop ceased publishing in North America in 2011, the publisher continued to have a vibrant publishing program in Europe. In recent years, Tokyopop has announced plans to reenter the North American market with a variety of publishing plans, in addition to its international program.

Jeff Webber, IDW International’s head of rights management, can be contacted at jeff@idwpublishing.com.

IDW president and publisher Greg Goldstein, said, “we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Tokyopop to our growing catalog of titles represented by IDW International.”

“We’re excited to be working with IDW,” Levy said. ““Manga has become an international phenomenon and as an ever-evolving pioneer in the space, we’re thrilled to reach fans across the globe.”