Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Ink Pop, Random House

Think Of The Children? Ink Pop To Publish Safe-For-Kiddies Manga

Ink Pop is a new comic book line from Random House Graphic for 5-year-olds through teens, with manga, manhwa and webtoon for younger readers.

Published Sun, 24 Nov 2024 07:58:08 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Ink Pop is a new comic line for 5-year-olds to teens from Random House Graphic.
Combines manga, manhwa, and webtoon to offer global stories for young readers.
Addresses parental concerns over age-appropriate content for kids.
Exciting launch titles explore themes of identity and fictional realities.

Ink Pop is a new comic book line from Random House Graphic for five-year-olds through teens, using Japanese manga and Korean manhwa and webtoon comics aimed at younger readers. Big-name graphic novel publisher Whitney Leopard, a manga reader since young, underlined the appeal of "global stories. When we were launching Random House Graphic, with the premise of a graphic novel on every bookshelf, it was a space I felt we should be looking into." In the US, adapted manga and manhwa are usually aimed at teens, young adults, and adults despite appealing to much younger audiences, which has caused one or two issues over the years and can make it difficult for bookstores, schools and libraries to curate selections for kids.

Clare Doornbos, store manager and buyer for Mr. Mopps' Children's Books and Toys in Berkeley, California, told Publisher's Weekly that "children come into the store looking for teen-rated manga series like My Hero Academia and Attack on Titan", and is "wary about stocking titles that might not be appropriate for the store's young customers"…. "I try to stay away from anything that's marked T for teen because it's usually off the deep end," she said. "It's too complicated for me to figure out if a manga series is actually kid-friendly or if it's just been marked kid-friendly."

Leopard said, "We're applying our expertise in the children's book world to find what books are appropriate for the picture book reader, the middle-grade reader, the chapter book reader, and the YA space." And that Ink Pop's launch titles next year include I Wanna Be Your Girl by Umi Takase, which follows a girl whose best friend, with whom she's secretly in love, comes out as transgender, with Volume 1 scheduled for summer 2025. So we can expect headlines. While In My Life as an Internet Novel by Han Ryeo Yu and A Hyeon, tells the story about a girl who wakes up in a fictional love story where she's the main character's best friend, with the first volume planned for the autumn of 2025. Leopard said she hopes to find "stories that are universal and are something readers can connect to."