Fairy Tail Manga Artist to Appear at Comic-Con 2008

From Publishers Weekly: Fairy Tail manga creator Hiro Mashima will be Del Rey Manga's special guest at San Diego Comic-Con International 2008.

Many top manga artists, especially those who work on series for weekly magazines, work within very tight production schedules that make taking time off, much less taking a few days to visit a U.S. comics or anime convention a difficult feat to pull off. So getting Mashima, who's one of Kodansha's top-selling shonen manga artists to make a U.S. appearance is a real coup for Del Rey Manga. To quote from the PW article:

Mashima will have a signing and a panel during the San Diego Comic-Con. “He’s excited to come,” said Del Rey Manga Associate Publisher Dallas Middaugh. “He’s excited to meet his American fans. We put in the request six to eight months ago,” said Middaugh, who explained that in order to consider making a overseas appearance, most Japanese manga-ka (who generally keep a demanding and rigorous working schedule) require as much advance notice as possible.

Comic-Con 2008 is clearly shaping up to be a can't-miss event for manga fans. VIZ Media announced last week that Bleach manga creator Tite Kubo would be their special guest at Comic-Con, which was already a rare treat. Having two superstar Japanese manga creators scheduled to appear in San Diego, which is a mostly an American superhero comics and sci-fi show is almost unheard of. Perhaps this is an indication of the growing awareness and appreciation of manga's sales power in the American market.

Stay tuned for more news about these major manga events at San Diego Comic Con, because there's sure to be more to come.

Image credit: © Hiro Mashima