VIZ Media Celebrates 2013 Free Comic Book Day With 2 Fun Giveaways

Support Your Local Retailers this Saturday to Receive Special Comics Featuring Uglydoll, Hello Kitty, Dragon Ball And Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Site: freecomicbookday.com Special Thanks to Jane Lui and Erik Jansen VIZ Media delights comic book and manga fans as it announces its participation in this year’s Free Comic Book Day. Scheduled for May 4th, Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional campaign in the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores nationwide. Free Comic Book Day began in 2002 and is coordinated by the industrys single largest distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors. Readers should visit freecomicbookday.com to find a local participating retailer. VIZ Media will participate this year as a Gold Level Sponsor and will offer two FREE releases (available while supplies last) -- a VIZ Kids comic sampler and a VIZ Media manga sampler. The VIZ Kids Free Comic Book Day Sampler (rated ‘A’ for All Ages) includes an excerpt from Goin’ Places!, the first volume of the forthcoming Uglydoll graphic novel series. Featuring the work of Uglydoll creators Sun-Min Kim and David Horvath, artists Ian McGinty and Phillip Jacobson, and writer Travis Nichols, among others. Uglydoll Vol. 1 will debut on July 2nd under the VIZ Kids imprint, with an MSRP of $7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN. VIZ Media’s all-ages Free Comic Book Day Sampler will also include a Hello Kitty short written and illustrated by Jacob Chabot from Hello Kitty: Here We Go!, an excerpt from Mameshiba: Enchanted, written by James Turner and illustrated by Jorge Monlongo, and an excerpt from the forthcoming Pokémon Pocket Comics. Hello Kitty: Here We Go! is scheduled for release in October 2013, MAMESHIBA: ENCHANTED will be available SEPTEMBER 2013 and Pokémon Pocket Comics will be released in October 2013. To promote the all-ages Free Comic, VIZ Media created a fun video featuring Horvath, McGinty, Jacobson, Nichols, Chabot and Monlongo, discussing their love for comics. The video can be viewed on youtube. The VIZ Media Free Comic Book Day Manga Sampler is a flip book aimed at teen and older readers and will offer excerpts from Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration and Dragon Ball. The sampler also includes an exclusive Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration poster. Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration (rated ‘T’ for Teens) is the new samurai action adventure from creator Nobuhiro Watsuki that debuts on June 4th. During the violent upheaval of Japan’s Bakumatsu era, Hitokiri Battosai was a feared and ruthless assassin. But now that the Meiji Restoration has begun to heal the wounds of civil war, Battosai has taken up a new name... and a new calling! He is now Himura Kenshin, a wandering samurai who has vowed to only draw his sword to protect those in need. But not everyone is pleased with Kenshins new direction, and enemies from his dark past have vowed to bring him down! Dragon Ball is the classic fantasy adventure series created by Akira Toriyama. To celebrate the launch of a new Dragon Ball 3-in-1 omnibus (rated ‘T’ for Teens) on June 4th, an excerpt in the VIZ Media FREE Comic Book Day manga sampler will showcase the seminal series. Dragon Ball is a wry update on the Chinese "Monkey King" myth, and introduces readers to Son Goku, a young monkey-tailed boy whose quiet life is turned upside-down when he meets Bulma, a girl determined to collect the seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will appear and grant her one wish. But the precious orbs are scattered all over the world, and to get them she needs the help of a certain super-strong boy. For information on other titles available from the VIZ Kids imprint, please visit vizkids.com. For more information on other manga titles available from VIZ Media, please visit viz.com. If youre located in Savannah, Georgia; Greensboro, North Carolina, or Los Angeles, please also catch some of VIZ Kids artists at local events! Los Angeles, CA: David Horvath, Uglydoll Co-Creator 10AM, Golden Apple Comics, 7018 Melrose Ave, (323) 658-6047 Savannah, GA: Ian McGinty, Uglydoll Artist 11AM-4PM, Savannah Comics, 4 E. Liberty, (912) 236-5192 Greensboro, NC: Jacob Chabot, Hello Kitty and Voltron Force Artist 10AM-7PM, Acme Comics, 2150 Lawndale Dr., (336) 574-2263

---

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japans largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump magazine and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at viz.com.