Digital Manga Adds New Harlequin Graphic Novels to eManga

With the Yaoi-Con crowd pumped up for new announcements of boys love manga, one tidbit of news that got a bit lost in the shuffle was Digital Manga Publishing's announcement that they'd be adding over 20 new Harlequin Manga titles at their eManga.com online manga rental website beginning in November / December 2009.

These josei manga titles are graphic novel adaptations of previously published Harlequin novels done by Japanese manga artists for the Japanese edition of Harlequin magazine, published by Ohzora Publications, the parent company of Aurora Publishing. While Harlequin manga have been previously published by both Harlequin and Dark Horse between 2006 - 2007, the titles announced at Yaoi-Con look like new offerings that are part of eManga's deal with Softbank Creative.

The four titles announced at Yaoi-Con include:

• Millionaire Husband by Leanne Banks, art by Kanako Uesugi
  Amy is a preschool teacher who's raising three young children by herself. She meets Justin, a self-made millionaire who's looking for good causes to fund, including Amy's afterschool program. When Justin falls ill and is saved by Amy's care, he makes a deal to ensure that Amy and her young family stay together.

• Married Under the Italian Sun by Lucy Gordon, art by Mayu Takayama
  Smarting after her divorce from her rich, philandering husband, Angie moves to Italy to enjoy a quiet life in the villa left to her as part of her alimony settlement. Life's pretty peaceful, except for one thing: Angie must deal with Vittorio, the former owner of the estate who has made it no secret that he thinks she's a dumb 'glamour girl.' But what Vittorio doesn't know is that Angie is smarter than he thinks.

• Keeping Luke's Secret by Carole Mortimer, art by Hinoto Mori
  Leonie is invited to the mansion of Rachel Richmond, a famous actress. Her mission? To help Ms. Richmond write her memoirs. This would be fun, if not for Luke Richmond, Rachel's son, who treats Leonie with cold disdain, and constantly asks her to leave. But Leonie finds that there's more to this story than meets the eye, as she finds that Luke has a secret he's trying desperately to keep secret.

• The Sheik's Reluctant Bride by Teresa Southwick, art by Ayumu Aso
  Jessica Sterling has just discovered a family she never knew she had, in the desert kingdom of Bha'Kar -- she also finds that she also gained a fianceé. Sheikh Kardahl Hourani is the man Jessica has been bethrothed to since birth. Sure, he's a rich and handsome playboy, but he's also arrogant and not easy to love. Will Jessica go through with the marriage, for better, or for worse?

A few of these titles are already available as Kindle editions -- but have not yet arrived at eManga, but should be added soon.

While josei manga, or manga for women has typically been in short supply in the U.S., these new Harlequin titles are aimed squarely at this demographic as well as fans of the Harlequin prose novels who might be tempted to enjoy their romances with pictures and panels as well.

I'm personally enjoying comparing the cover art of the U.S. and Japanese manga editions of these stories, because they illustrate some of the differences between romance fans across the miles. The "millionaire husband" in the Japanese edition is a suave, slim bishonen with shoulder-length hair. Meanwhile the same character in the U.S. edition is a clean-cut preppy guy who might have done a stint as a high school football player. And the Sheikh and his reluctant bride might as well come from different eras, or even different planets!

Visit eManga.com to find out more about their online rental program, and discover some of the new titles added to their roster, including the Yaoi Hentai anthology series from Yaoi Press, and Games With Me by Tina Anderson & Linsley Brito.

Next, the rest of the new shojo and boys love titles that DMP announced at Yaoi-Con for 2009 - 2010. Stick around!