Saturday, June 26, 2010

Press Release: Tokyopop & Zinio Announce the Launch of Digital Manga Editions

Los Angeles, CA (June 25, 2010) — Tokyopop, the leader of the global manga revolution, and Zinio, the world's top digital publishing distribution service, today announced a partnership that offers more than fifty volumes of manga, available immediately for digital download to your PC and Mac by visiting www.Zinio.com/tokyopop.

Dozens of volumes now available to download to your computer

The debut list of titles for sale includes the bestsellers Bizenghast, Dramacon, and Princess Ai; manga-adapted-to-film series such as The Dreaming and Van Von Hunter; the groundbreaking shonen-ai hit Gravitation, and Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth and Legends of the Dark Crystal. Release dates for future titles, including Min-Woo Hyung's Priest, inspiration for the Spring 2011 3-D film from Sony/Screen Gems, will be announced and made available for digital download soon.

Stu Levy, Tokyopop's founder, producer of the upcoming films Priest and The Dreaming and director of Van Von Hunter, each based on the company's manga series, says, "I have always been a strong advocate for digital-in fact, my DNA is made entirely from 0's and 1's. The manga lifestyle is rapidly moving online and we are committed to finding the best experience possible in that medium. Zinio offers the top online reading experience, and their team is committed to providing a 360º accessibility."

For consumers, Zinio enables the ability to shop for, search inside, read, share, and save digital content to your computer. Similar to thumbing through the print edition at a local bookstore, readers of Tokyopop digital versions can preview pages of each manga, free of charge.

"More than a decade ago, Tokyopop introduced manga to America, building a category that has been embraced by millions of teens," says Rich Maggiotto, President & CEO, Zinio. "We're thrilled to have a partnership that will offer loyal and new manga readers these digital editions."

Initially, most manga on the launch list will sell for a material discount, $5.99 per volume, while some larger volumes, such as the Gravitation collection--a two-volume omnibus edition--are priced at $7.99. For a complete list of titles, please visit www.Zinio.com/tokyopop.

About TOKYOPOP:
Founded by multi-cultural media visionary Stu Levy, Tokyopop is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand and an innovator of manga creation, with a revolutionary artistic vision that transcends countless platforms. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television and digital entertainment, Tokyopop has changed the way teens experience pop culture. The company's global reach has expanded to Europe and Asia, with offices in the UK and Germany, in addition to its Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With millions of fans logging onto the new social networking site www.Tokyopop.com, reading its books, which are licensed in 50 countries in more than 30 languages, and watching its DVDs and television programs, Tokyopop's award-winning catalogue of licensed and original properties has made the company a visionary in an ever-growing teen entertainment marketplace. Visit www.Tokyopop.com for additional information.

About Zinio:
Zinio is the world's newsstand and bookstore. With its many digital products and services, Zinio creates better ways for people to discover published content, get more of it and do more with it. Now, readers can purchase content once to be read on any screen. Zinio provides the ability to shop for, search inside, read, share and save digital content in 23 local newsstands in any country in the world. Through the ZINIO UNITY™ reading platform, readers can move seamlessly within each publication page between text, interactive graphics, animated illustrations, videos and much more. Offering hundreds of thousands of the best digital titles, Zinio's e-stores and applications are revolutionizing reading. Founded in 2001 and privately held, Zinio is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in New York, London, Paris, Barcelona and Taipei.

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Note: Available at this moment there are twenty-one volumes of the titles Afterlife, Earthlight, Gyakushu!, Riding Shotgun, Tarot Cafe, The Dreaming, Van Von Hunter for $5.99 US ($6.27 CA) each.

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