Archive for the ALC Publishing Category


New Yuri Manga Kid on the Block – will it mean turf wars?

October 26th, 2006

Hi all – I’ve been debating how to address this here on Okazu, hence the delay in my response. And the short answer to the question above is, obviously, “no.” No turf wars here. :-)

Y’all probably know that this week Seven Seas announced their new yuri imprint, “Strawberry.” They’ll be putting out titles like Strawberry Panic and Saigo no Seifuku under this line, although their previously announced license for Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl will not be.

As you can imagine, as a yuri fan, I’m thrilled. Seven Seas is going for the titles that are, in Japan, marketed primarily to guys, and several of which are attached to popular anime series, so have high recognition value. I’m all for it and I’ll be among the many purchasing their titles, and hoping for them to go after Hayate x Blade as well, since it’s another Mediaworks title.

However.

In their press release, Seven Seas claims to be launching the first-ever line of yuri in the US. This is patently not true. ALC Publishing has been releasing yuri titles in the US since 2003. That’s “first” by my book. :-)

I, and many other people, have emailed Seven Seas to politely point out the mistake. I was really, honestly, hoping that they’d retract the statement, or at least issue a vague correction…or something. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten any response at all. I’m not taking it personally, I know that businesses are often much more complex than the sum of their parts, but I want to make my position clear.

Here is the email I sent to the major anime news services, and to Seven Seas:

To Whom it May Concern –

My name is Erica Friedman, President of ALC Publishing, the world’s only all-Yuri publishing company. I would like to correct a mistake in the Seven Seas press release about their Yuri imprint “Strawberry”. Seven Seas mistakenly refers to their imprint as the “first-ever” line of Yuri manga to be released in America.

ALC Publishing has been putting out 100% Yuri publications since 2003, including translations from Japanese yuri manga artists such as Rica Takashima, Eriko Tadeno, Akiko Morishima and, looking forward into 2007, doujinshi circles Sakuraike and UKOZ. Our translations, light novel series and Yuri manga anthologies are available in comic book, G/L/B/T and chain bookstores.

All of us at ALC are *very* excited and pleased to see more Yuri entering the American manga market, but we would like it to be known, on behalf of the artists, writers, and all the folks that work on our books that Seven Seas is not the first. And hopefully, they will not be the last – there are many wonderful yuri titles which we at ALC would love to see on American shelves.

All of us at ALC, the oldest publisher of Yuri in America, wish Seven Seas the greatest success!

Now it is obvious to me that Seven Seas and ALC are NOT in direct competition. ALC focuses on stories by primarily, although not exclusively, women who identify as lesbian, for an audience of adult women (and men, of course.) Our primary focus is on the many folks whose work is not attached to an anime, and will not otherwise be seen by people in English-speaking countries – I’m speaking of course, of the lovely people who draw yuri doujinshi.

ALC is dedicated to bring high-quality yuri, what I like to call 100% yuri, by women, about and for women (and anyone else who wants to read it.) We’re not seeking to license yuri done for a broader audience. As a result, we are doomed to always be small potatoes, even in the genre we pioneered here in America. :-)

That’s okay. We love what we’re doing. We love the people doing it with us.

And we are, as I said, thrilled to see more yuri come on the market…but the operative word is “more.”

If you have a moment and want to add your voice to those who have pointed out the mistake in the Seven Seas release, feel free – but please be polite. Seven Seas may be the new kid on the block, but we want to be able to play nice. :-)

If you’ve ever bought a copy of Rica ‘tte Kanji!?, WORKS, Shoujoai ni Bouken or any of our Yuri Monogatari anthologies, on behalf of everyone at ALC, thank you for your support!





Yuri Manga: Yuri Monogatari 4 Available for Pre-Order (and some sneek peaks!)

October 14th, 2006

At last! The newest 100% Yuri manga anthology from ALC Publishing, Yuri Monogatari 4, is available for pre-order on the Yuricon Shop!

I cannot begin to tell you how great this book is, really. And I am *not* just saying that because of the time and effort I put into it.

To begin, we have three artists returning for the fourth time, so you can expect great art and stories from Althea Keaton and Kristina Kolhi, and a really hysterical look at lesbian pulp novel tropes by Beth Malone in “Tales of Destruction.”.

 

 

 

Althea’s story “Cog” takes a look at a possible future, while Kristina’s “Happiness” (a page of which is is on the left) is another fantastic slice-of-life piece with a twist.

We’ve got a bunch of exciting stories by newcomers to our anthology as well. Lilyshield may be a first-time contributor, but after enjoying the art in “Model” I think you’ll agree that we’d like to see more of her work. And new for us, but a veteran in the Polish yuri community, Agatha Laguniak’s “Bittersweet Melody” is our very first gothic horror story in the collection.

 

We have three Japanese artists who have contributed to the collection – each one more fablous than the last. Tomomi Nakazora’s “Kissing the Petals” is a sharp look at modern life in Tokyo, while Akiko Morishima’s “Ichigo-Hime” (left) is a legend of old Edo – the contrast between the story and the art of these two talented women couldn’t be better, and we’re thrilled to have them both.

I’m thrilled to be able to have contributed a story myself, one that is near and dear to my heart – a story I wrote specifically to dedicate to Rica Takashima. “Playing House” is delightfully drawn by Kelli Nicely, who has also supplied cover art and some lovely incidental pieces throughout.

 

But most of all, beyond all of these great stories – and really, I’m not lying, they are great – I am pleased to announce the return of Rica Takashima’s Rica and Miho in “More Rica ‘tte Kanji!?” These four-panel comic strips were created by Rica for the Bilingual edition of Rica ‘tte Kanji!? (which is *still* one of our best selling books at ALC!) and we are absolutely thrilled to be able to include them in YM4. Get to spend some more time in the company of Rica and Miho after they move in together – and also et a glimpse of their life before they met. As always with Rica Takashima’s work, its fun and sweet and heartwarmingly realistic all at once.

 

I sincerely hope Yuri fans all over the world will get to read YM4. Get 176 pages of 100% Yuri by artists and writers from Japan, Europe and the US, support Yuri manga, (and Yuri manga artists!). It’s always a great time to give the Yuri fans in your life a copy of one of our 100% Yuri publications from ALC Publishing!





Events: ALC Publishing at MangaNEXT

October 4th, 2006

ALC Publishing, the only all-Yuri publisher in North America, is proud to be a participant in this weekend’s first ever celebration of American “manga culture”, MangaNEXT, in Secaucus, NJ.

ALC will have a booth in the Dealer’s Room, where you can get your copy of our 100% yuri anthology Yuri Monogatari signed by artists Althea Keaton and Sergio Aviles, or a copy of Shoujoai ni Bouken: The Adventures of Yuriko autographed by yours truly!

Here is the panel/ workshop schedule where ALC staff and guests can be found:

Friday

4PM – Sailor Moon (Erica) We’ll gab about whatever strikes our fancy, like, oh, who our favorite Senshi is… ;-)

10PM – Yuri (Erica, Bruce, Sean and whoever else joins us) We’re going down memeory lane as we talk about our first yuri loves – manga series, that is.

Saturday

4PM – ALC Publishing (Erica, Sergio, Althea) Win prizes with our ALC trivia contest and be there for our special announcement! :-)

10PM – Drawing Yuri Workshop (Althea) Get great tips on “drawing lesbians” from a four-time contributor to Yuri Monogatari.

Sunday

10 AM – Light Novels (Erica, Sean) At last! A place to talk about the Marimite Novels, as well as the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, and many more popular light novel series.

2 PM – Dengeki Daioh (Erica) I’ll lead a discussion about the magazine that launched a zillion yuri series…and a whole lot of non-yuri ones too. :-)

Also of interest:

Sin Comix – a circle of women who draw hentai, because they feel like it. Includes a gal who does yuri. (Friday)

Sean Gaffney will be facilitating the general Hentai discussion (Saturday)

and loads and loads of how-to workshops and in depth discussions on everything about manga from specific genres to the difference between American and Japanese narrative.

Industry: Marvel, ALC, Dark Horse, Media Blasters, Drama Queen, Vertical and more!

Don’t miss a chance to take part in this exciting next generation of event!





Yuri Monogatari artist Althea Keaton to appear at MangaNEXT

September 16th, 2006

ALC Publishing, publisher of 100% Yuri,is pleased to announce the appearance of four-time “Yuri Monogatari” contributor Althea Keaton at MangaNEXT 2006, the first celebration of American “manga culture.”

Althea Keaton will be available for book signing, panels and will be conducting a workshop on drawing yuri for artists 18 and over.

MangaNEXT will be held October 6-8, 2006 in Secaucus, NJ. For more information on MangaNEXT, please visit their website.

ALC Publishing was founded in 2003 as the publishing arm of Yuricon, with a mission to bring high quality Yuri publications to the worldwide English speaking audience.





ALC Publishing is Recruiting for 5th Annual Yuri Manga Project

September 1st, 2006

ALC Publishing, the only all-Yuri publisher in North America, is recruiting writers and artists for their 2007 Yuri English-language anthology, Yuri Monogatari 5.

Writers and artists who wish to be considered for the new anthology should read the submission rules carefully before sending any materials. Recruitment will be held through October 1, 2006. Due to the time constraints of the project no applications can be accepted after this time however, completed comics can be accepted at any time. Acceptance into the project is not a gurantee of publication. See the above page for details.

Yuri Monogatari 5 is the fifth annual English-language original Yuri anthology by ALC Publishing, building on the success of ALC’s previous four Yuri Monogatari anthologies, which are now distributed world-wide. The previous anthologies feature the works of popular yuri artists Rica Takashima, Akiko Morishima, Althea Keaton, Kristina Kolhi, Beth Malone and many more!

ALC Publishing, North America’s only all-Yuri publisher was founded in 2003 as the publishing arm of Yuricon, with a mission to bring high quality Yuri publications to the worldwide English speaking audience.