Q: So can you share a little about what the story is about? I know you mentioned that The Reformed is about a reformed vampire, but what's Yokaiden about? I think you mentioned something like it's about yokai, or Japanese ghosts...?
DM: Oh yes. It's a lot of fun. Yokaiden is about a young boy named Hamachi and he lives in feudal Japan in a world where yokai are a part of everyday life. But while everyone who interacts with them think that they are evil spirits, Hamachi is the one person who believes that they're not inherently evil, that they're just mischievous. So he's very fond of them and he wants people to treat them better.
What happens is that he comes home one day to find that his Grandmother was killed, and he has reasons to believe that a yokai is responsible for the murder. So he gathers up what he can take with him and goes on a quest to go to the spirit world, the world of the yokai, to find his grandmother's killer.
But the funny thing about describing the story that way is that it almost leads you to think that it's this grim and gritty revenge saga, and it's not. It's very light-hearted.
Hamachi is this fantastic character – he reminds me of Son Goku as he was portrayed in the original Dragon Ball series, not necessarily as he was in the later series (Dragon Ball Z) when it was all about the fighting. (laughs) He's very innocent, very upbeat, and he approaches everything with a sense of wonder. I think that Nina just does a wonderful job of conveying that to the reader. It's such a magical series.
Q: And when is Yokaiden coming out, by the way?
DM: That is scheduled for Summer 2008, about a year from now.
Q: Is that a one-shot book or is it an ongoing series?
DM: It's an ongoing series. It doesn't end with a cliff-hanger, but it definitely is an continuing series.
Q: And The Reformed is coming out…?
DM: In March 2008, as a continuing series, although this is a different case. The first volume is self-contained, but we haven't scheduled the second volume yet.
Q: I also had a question about Anzu, the artist for The Reformed. Where is she from?
DM: Anzu is from Indonesia.
Q: Really? And how did you find this artist?
DM: We didn't. Chris Hart did, who, as I understand, was working with her on some of his manga art books. He brought her onboard as part of his pitch to do the story.
Q: Has she done other stories besides The Reformed?
DM: No, nothing else that has been published in the U.S. – only in Indonesia. She's incredibly talented. We'll definitely get you some samples of her artwork.
Q: Yes, I'd love to see that. Understandably, when you're talking about these new series in a (convention) panel, things go at a pretty fast clip, so it's hard to focus each story's special qualities…
DM: Yeah, and it's difficult at a panel to show sample pages and to say "Wow, doesn't that art look amazing?" But you know, we do learn a lot from how people react to things at the panels, and we saw a visible reaction when we showed the cover (for The Reformed), which people had not seen before San Diego Comic Con. That was very gratifying, because we're very excited about this book.
Get a sneak peek at some of the upcoming releases for Winter 2007 – Spring/Summer 2008 from Del Rey Manga, including Fairy Tail, Yokaiden and The Reformed.
