Abrams ComicArts’ newly launched manga imprint Kana revealed that it will release the first volumes of Shiro Kuroi’s Leviathan and Tetsuya Tsutsui’s Manhole horror series. Both first volumes of each manga will be available in bookstores on October 29, 2024, and in comic shops on October 30, 2024.
Kuroi first released the Leviathan manga in France in January 2022 and in Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ in Japan on August 2, 2022 to February 28, 2023. Three tankobon volumes have been released in total as of May 2023.
The company describes Leviathan as:
Perfect for fans of Moebius, Star Wars, and Katsuhiro Otomo, Shiro Kuroi’s Leviathan Volume One follows a group of students pitted against each other in a brutal battle for survival in the depths of space. The gripping sci-fi survival horror centers around the Leviathan, an enormous spaceship, abandoned in a galaxy far, far away. When looters break into the abandoned ship, they discover the diary of a middle-schooler, Kazuma, who documented the horrific fate of the ship’s passengers.
Along with the looters, the reader will piece together the decades-old tale of an innocent school trip to Earth with a tragic and brutal ending. Trapped in space without enough oxygen left to wait for rescue, Kazuma documents the mental collapse and treachery of his teacher and classmates as they realize that the only hope for survival is the cryopreservation unit at the heart of the ship, which can only fit one person. A bloody battle for survival ensues as friend turns against friend, teacher against student, and each survivor is forced to confront the value of their own life. As the looters read on, they reach a chilling realization — there is still one survivor somewhere inside!
Meanwhile, Tsutsui’s Manhole horror thriller manga series was serialized in Square Enix’s Young Gangan magazine from December 3, 2004 to May 2, 2006. Three tankobon volumes were released in total as of June 2006. Éditions Ki-oon also published three volumes of the series in French.
The company describes Manhole as:
The horror continues with manga star Tetsuya Tsutsui’s Manhole Volume 1, the first in a three-volume horror-thriller that follows two detectives trying to solve a string of mysterious deaths as they stumble upon a much larger conspiracy and a potential manmade global pandemic that’s as perplexing as it is deadly.
As Detectives Ken Mizoguchi and Nao Inoue investigate a series of bloody murders, they begin to uncover a deadly biological agent which could cause an epidemic. An unlikely lead sets them off on the hunt for a mysterious photographer, but as they chase down shadows, the infection keeps spreading. This thrilling detective story with a biological horror hook will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
Abrams ComicArts first launched the Kana manga imprint in April 2024, which focused on the translation and release of manga series for adult audiences in English for the U.S. market.
Abrams Books first established the Abrams ComicArts imprint in 2009. It later became a full division of Abrams Books in April 2023.
Source: press release
