Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Manga, Vault | Tagged: light novel, Solicits

Vault Switches From Comics To Japanese Light Novels From April 2025

Vault Comics switches from publishing comics to publishing Japanese light novels from April 2025... or so it appears at least.

Vault Comics is an American publisher of comic books based in Missoula, Montana, and founded in 2016 by brothers Damian and Adrian Wassel, and their cousin Nathan Gooden. They have published many creator-owned series from the likes of Tim Seeley, Ashley A. Woods, Magdalene Visaggio, Cavan Scott, Donny Cates, Brandon Sanderson, Tini Howard, Ram V, Alek Paknadel, Natasha Alterici, Ashley A. Woods and Jen Bartel. Most recently that included Patton Oswalt writing Money Shot. Other titles include Vampire: The Masquerade, Dark One, Reactor, Heathen, Vagrant Queen, Shadow Service, Wasted Space, Door to Door Night by Night, Submerged, These Savage Shores and more. But it all seems to be changing. Last month's solicits for March 2025 included the Def Leppard graphic novel and the second issue of the new Money Shot, as well as a couple of Japanese light novel translations, which is not Vault Comics' normal fare, and I wondered at the time if I'd made a mistake. Apparently nor. Because in Vault's April 2024 solicitations, it is entirely translated Japanese light novels. Vault Comics has made the switch… and this is not an April fool.

A light novel is a Japanese form of young adult fiction, generally targeting teens to twenties. It usually comes with a manga-esque cover and is serialised, with around 50,000 words a volume. Here is Vault Comics' solicitation for April 2025.

HELL DIFFICULTY TUTORIAL (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL 01

VAULT COMICS
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(W) Cerim (A / CA) Karassawa
Never underestimate the guy who has so much Mana it should kill him…
Nathaniel's bus ride was supposed to be just another boring commute. Wrong. Now, he, twenty-three fellow passengers, and a corgi named Biscuit, are stuck in a "Hell Difficulty" Tutorial, battling monsters and leveling up to survive.
Easy difficulty, anyone can handle. Normal difficulty, you've got to put up a fight to get by. Hard difficulty is where only the tough ones last. And Hell? That's where you have to be a bit out of your mind!
With his terrifying talent for mana manipulation, Nathaniel decides to invest every stat point into mana, attribute imbalance be damned. It will either kill him before the monsters and his enemies can, or turn him into one of the most powerful beings this system has ever seen!
In Shops: May 28, 2025

REBORN AS A DEMONIC TREE (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL 01

VAULT COMICS
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(W) Xkarnation (A / CA) Goldcrab
Maybe being a tree isn't so bad after all.
Ashlock wakes in the courtyard of a demonic sect… as a tree. A tree that eats people.
Despite being in a different body than the demonic young masters cultivating on the mountain peaks around him, he has the same goal-to be the strongest in all the realms and survive the coming beast tides.
But his man-eating ways can only go unnoticed for so long, and those around him will soon grow suspicious. Now, Ashlock's only chance of survival is to grow faster and stronger than any tree has ever done in the history of the nine realms!
In Shops: May 21, 2025

ROAD TO MASTERY (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL 01

VAULT COMICS
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(W) Valerios (A / CA) Heitor Amatsu
Alone. Surrounded by monsters. Armed only with his fists… Time to fight.
Jack Rust was a disillusioned biologist with a PhD-almost. When an extraterrestrial AI calling itself the System invaded Earth and thrust it into a world of aliens, magic, and violence, Jack hoped to at least get some magic himself.
Nope.
Even worse, the System spawned a forest dungeon around him and a goblin in his face…
Armed with nothing but his fists, Jack must grow strong enough to survive hordes of monsters. He needs to return to civilization and find out what the heck is going on. He might even get magic-or not. Surprising himself, Jack discovers that violence is fun.
In this battle-ridden new world, Jack finds the life he always dreamed about. He won't just survive. He will thrive.
In Shops: May 07, 2025

MY BEST FRIEND IS AN ELDRITCH HORROR SC (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL 02

VAULT COMICS
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(W) Actus (A / CA) Kisaragipana
Magic and madness continue in MY BEST FRIEND IS AN ELDRITCH HORROR (Light Novel) VOL. 2!
Damien's eldritch companion is frightening enough… but now, an even greater threat to the Mortal Plane is hunting THEM.
Damien is feeling the pressure. His first year at Blackmist mage college is coming to a close, culminating in a no-holds-barred tournament that will push his nascent magic skills to the limit. His overachieving friend and roommate is keeping a secret that could kill her, and his unhinged professor's lessons might end up putting them both in worse danger.
In the meantime, Damien continues to hide the existence of Henry, his eldritch Void companion. Things were frightening enough with Henry's plan to destroy the Mortal Plane, but now the mismatched pair realizes there's an even greater threat to contend with…and both of them are the target!
In Shops: May 07, 2025

MY BEST FRIEND IS AN ELDRITCH HORROR SC (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL 03

VAULT COMICS
FEB252034
(W) Actus (A / CA) Kisaragipana
Magic and madness continue in MY BEST FRIEND IS AN ELDRITCH HORROR (Light Novel) VOL. 3!
The world is safe – from Henry.
Damien has managed to survive all the challenges thrown at him, and – with Henry and Sylph by his side – he might even make it through his time at Blackmist mage college without getting killed.
But the entity known as Herald has other plans. Forces that have lurked at the edge of the Void for countless Cycles have started to move, and their power is growing with every passing day. Damien needs to gain mastery over his magic, but Herald isn't content to let him sit around for much longer. As more of the truth behind the Void and its purpose on the Mortal Plane is unveiled, Damien is forced to face the truth that the Cycle may really need to be reset.
He won't let it go without a fight, though. With Henry and Sylph's help, Damien plans to bring the battle straight to the greatest threat the Mortal Plane has seen.
In Shops: May 07, 2025

PRIMAL HUNTER SC (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL 02

VAULT COMICS
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(W) Zogarth (A / CA) Senchiro
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES IN THE PRIMAL HUNTER (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL. 2!
The eye of the Malefic Viper opens.
Jake, a once-average office worker, has thrived in the dangerous world of the tutorial. But an alchemical Dungeon Challenge might end his climb…possibly for good.
It's a physical and mental race against the clock to evolve his skills before the poison coursing through his veins takes hold, but it seems as if the gods may be on his side. Will Jake evolve to a new and unprecedented level of power, or will the cure rip him apart? And even if he survives, what terrible new threats await him outside of the dungeon?
In Shops: May 07, 2025

PRIMAL HUNTER SC (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL 03

VAULT COMICS
FEB252036
(W) Zogarth (A / CA) Senchiro
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES IN THE PRIMAL HUNTER (LIGHT NOVEL) VOL. 3!
This tutorial isn't done with Jake yet.
He's found his way through every challenge – and has even made friends with a powerful snakelike god known as the Malefic Viper – but Jake might not survive the very people he used to call "friends".
While he's been away developing his alchemy, many of Jake's former coworkers have formed their own alliances with godlike entities who come bearing gifts and unknown motivations. And lurking at the periphery, a psychopathic young man named William embraces his dark goal to become the last living human in this world!
In Shops: May 07, 2025

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