Posted in: Comics, Manga | Tagged: horror comics, ignito, king of eden, manga, manhwa, sangcheol lee, takashi nagasaki, Yen Press, zombie
King of Eden: Yen Press Announces Horror Manga by Urusawa's Co-Writer
Yen Press announced the release of a new horror manga King of Eden, written by Naoki Urusawa's frequent co-author Takashi Nagasaki. Nagasaki was the co-writer of Urusawa's most recent hit series, including Monster, 20th Century Boys, Master Keaton, Billy Bat and his reimagining of Osamu Tezuka's Astroboy storyline Pluto.
The visceral artwork by Korean artist SangCheol Lee under the pseudonym Ignito. King of Eden is an example of the collaboration between Korean and Japanese creative forces. In truth, there are more Korea artists now drawing manga for Japan than many people realise.
King of Eden Summary reads:
"Entire villages are going up in flames across the globe, with the same man left standing at the scene every time. Meanwhile, rumors abound of a highly contagious virus where those infected fly into a blind rage, killing anything and everything that crosses their path. As the death toll rises, agencies from nations around the world get together, looking for answers-How are these incidents connected? Who is that man? And most importantly…can the massacres be stopped before humanity is doomed?"
The series is actually another take on the zombie genre. It offers a mythical origin for the zombie virus that goes all the way back to Cain and Abel, then follows its mysterious Korean hero as he tracks the contagion across the globe to try to wipe it out. Amongst the factors at play are terrorist groups out to use the virus as a bioweapon, and the WHO team trying to track the contagion, including the woman who was at school with the main character. The series has the flavour of a cross between Dan Brown and Tom Clancy thrillers, reflecting writer Nagasaki's taste for epic, globe-trotting conspiracy thrillers with sociopolitical dimensions. Yen Press is collecting two tankubon volumes into thick, 400-page ominibus volumes.
King of Eden is available now in print and digitally.