On the first floor of Books Kinokuniya's new Bryant Park store, manga and art books by Takehiko Inoue are prominently displayed. Volumes of Vagabond are displayed in both English and Japanese editions, as well as Inoue's two illustration art books, Sumi and Water. Sumi features Inoue's stunning brush and ink artwork for Vagabond, and Water showcases his lush watercolor illustrations.
VIZ Media recently announced a huge push to bring more of Inoue's works to the English language market in 2008, including a U.S. release of Sumi and Water in mid-late 2008.
"We were looking at acquisitions, and we all greatly admire Inoue's artwork," said VIZ Media Editorial Director Elizabeth Kawasaki. "We all know and love it, but there's a depth of his material out there, so we decided to do a campaign in 2008 to promote more of it."