With IM, text messaging and online social networks constantly at their fingertips, do girls still read books? Harlequin hopes so. In a bid to capture the elusive and media-savvy 12+ market, the Toronto-based publisher will launch Harlequin Ginger Blossom in September, a manga-format imprint that blends Japanese-style manga comics with its romance novels.
The goal of Ginger Blossom, which is being created with expert advice from Dark Horse Comics, is to enable the target to experience the Harlequin brand in a format ‘they find relevant,’ according to the company. Four manga titles – consisting of adapted novels with creative by Japanese artists – will debut in North America under the Harlequin Pink umbrella to start.
It’s not the first time the publisher has dabbled in the manga format: since 1998, over 250 Harlequin titles have been adapted, thanks to a licensing agreement with Ohzora Publishing Company, a Japan-based firm that specializes in manga titles for women.
