VIZ Media has announced a new distribution agreement with Madman Entertainment to offer a wide variety of Shueisha manga (graphic novel) series to the burgeoning market in Australia and New Zealand. Japanese publisher Shueisha is a parent company of VIZ.
The initial titles to be published will include Naruto (scheduled to debut in March), Bleach (April), and Death Note (May). Several popular shojo series are also included in the deal, such as The Gentlemen’s Alliance, Full Moon, Love*Com, and Nana, as well as action favorites including One Piece, D. Gray Man, Black Cat, and Claymore.
Madman is Australia’s number one distributor of manga, with a wide range of popular titles already available. Madman was one of the key sponsors of the “Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga” exhibition at the National Gallery of Victora and the Gallery of New South Wales in late 2006 and early 2007.
Madman’s Managing Director Tim Anderson said of the new deal “Madman is honored to be working with VIZ Media and their incredible range of manga brands, and thrilled at the prospect of introducing these to a wide range of readers in our territories. Australian and New Zealand readers have developed a real thirst for manga and based on similar agreements forged in other rising markets, Madman looks forward to combining efforts with VIZ Media to offer the most comprehensive catalogue to date in these countries.”