EP. 243: WE'RE PUBLISHING MANGA!

“From Podcast, to Press, and now… Print!” - @kiirobon 

You heard right - MANGA MAVERICKS IS PUBLISHING MANGA!!

Manga Mavericks started as a podcast dedicated to exploring manga as both a medium and as an industry, and now, Manga Mavericks is becoming a publisher dedicated to spotlighting some of the best indie artists working in the medium and industry!

We are officially announcing our new publishing division, Manga Mavericks Books! We plan to license and publish the work of indie mangaka in Japan, and are partnering with Red String Translations to help print and distribute their books overseas. We have our first set of books, three of our titles and three from Red String, set to come out in July 2025! You can already pre-order them now on our newly launched Manga Mavericks Books Store! 

We are so excited for you all to see all the great manga we’ve been working on, and even more big surprises on the way. But you may be wondering, how did we get into publishing, and why are we expanding from being a press outlet into a publisher? Well, who better to answer these questions than our own CEO, publisher, and licensing director - VLordGTZ, as well as the owner of Red String and our licensing director, Victoria Esnard! VLord explains the road to Manga Mavericks getting into publishing and what his plans and vision for the company are. In addition, Victoria shares how she got into manga localization and started up Red String translations, and how she and VLord decided to partner up for Manga Mavericks Books. Listen in to learn more about Manga Mavericks Books, our launch titles, and some of the exciting projects and plans we’ve got coming down the pipe! 

Thank you guys so much for joining us on this journey. Manga Mavericks would not be here without the support of listeners of our podcast and readers of our website have given us over the years. We are excited for you to join us as we turn the page and enter our next chapter - Manga Mavericks Books! 

PODCAST BREAKDOWN:

00:26 - Announcing Manga Mavericks Books! 

04:38 - Introducing Victoria and Red String Translations! 

20:55 - The Manga Mavericks and Red String Translations partnership

24:52 - The Japanese Indie Comic Market Scene vs. North American Comic Conventions 

32:23 - What to Know About Manga Mavericks Books

39:47 - How We Got Here, How Far We’ve Come

47:27 - Manga Mavericks Books’ First 3 Licenses! 

• BONDS by ZENZO

• ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE] by Chiaki Yagura

• Zigoku’s Foreman by 9banta

54:03 - Red String Translations Acquisitions!

- Now No One Lurks Beneath the Snow by Aneido

- The Murderer and Her Runaway Desire by Aneido

- Senpai no Kohai by Hanakage Alt

1:05:27 - Our Release Calendar for Summer 2025

1:07:23 - Pre-Orders are open now on the new Manga Mavericks Books Store!

1:08:27 - Conta