Posted in: Comics, Fantagraphics, Manga | Tagged: Conrad Groth, gary groth, Takumigraphics

Fantagraphics Launches Takumigraphics, A New East Asian Comics Imprint

Fantagraphics launches Takumigraphics, a new East Asian comics imprint for manga, manwha and beyond, in 2026

Published Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:14:04 -0500

Article Summary

Fantagraphics unveils Takumigraphics, a new East Asian comics imprint debuting in 2026.
Sixteen titles planned annually, featuring manga, manhwa, and graphic novels from across Asia.
Initial releases include works by Akane Torikai, Yudori, Shimura Takako, and Shintaro Kago.
Takumigraphics expands Fantagraphics’ legacy beyond manga to Korea, China, and Southeast Asia.

For its fiftieth year of publication, Fantagraphics is launching a new imprint, Takumigraphics, the comic book publisher's dedicated new home for manga, manhwa, and graphic novels from across East Asia. It will be run by Fantagraphics editor Conrad Groth, associate publisher and founder Gary Groth, and president Eric Reynolds, who will lead acquisitions.

Takumigraphics plans to publish sixteen titles per year, beginning in the spring of 2026. Early titles will include Wandering Cat's Cage by Akane Torikai, translated by Jocelyne Allen (May), Lovers of the Empire Volume 1 by Yudori (June), Wandering Son Volume One & Two by Shimura Takako, translated by Rachel Thorn (July), and On Their Frontlines: The Lives of Japanese War Brides Volume 1 by Marina Lisa Komiya, translated by Diana Taylor (August) and morefrom Brain Damage author Shintaro Kago.

Takumigraphics reps state that "ever since Fantagraphics was founded in 1976, we've sought out graphic works that are imaginative, daring, and aesthetically compelling" and that Takumigraphics's launch is aligned with the publisher's "vital editorial mission." Fantagraphics published its first manga in 1995 with an anthology of underground manga titled Sake Jockand, and in 2002, they published Anywhere But Here, a collection of comic strips by Tori Miki. But it was only in 2010 that they launched a manga line from editor Matt Thorn, starting with Drunken Dream. Takumigraphics is a step forward from that in terms of scale and identity. Fantagraphics will also continue its partnership with Mangasplaining, putting digital manga into print, and intends to go beyond manga with comics from Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, and other Asian countries. Takumigraphics comes from the Japanese word "takumi" which refers to excellence or ingeniousness.

Fantagraphics was founded in 1976 by Gary Groth and Michael Catron in Maryland, taking over adzine The Nostalgia Journal, and renaming it The Comics Journal. Kim Thompson joined the company in 1977, using his inheritance to keep the company afloat and became a co-owner. After moving location a number of times, it has stayed in Seattle since 1989. Beginning in 1979, Fantagraphics began publishing comics, best known for comcis including Love and Rockets, Acme Novelty Library, Eightball, and Hate.

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