Vermonia Taking Off Around the Globe
North American Marketing Campaign Launched
November 23, 2010. New York, New York, USA. Japanese-American company Ray-Raitetsu's first manga title, Vermonia, is growing into an international phenomenon, with the first volume now in its second printing in the U.S. and a major North American marketing campaign kicking off. Vermonia is a 10-volume manga epic that takes four young skateboarding friends in America on a cosmic quest that will determine the fate of three worlds.

Reviewer and fan reaction to the first volumes has been outstanding across a broad spectrum:

"Certainly this is manga for the 21st Century." - Bookdragon

"The artwork... is stunning. The story is gripping...." - Teen Librarian

"An enjoyable, action-packed ride."- Comics Bulletin

"The combination of action, manga, and fantasy, along with the younger age of the characters, will make this a hit with a wide audience."- Booklist

Fans have also responded to Vermonia, requiring a second printing of the first English language edition of Vermonia Volume 1: Quest for the Silver Tiger.

The new marketing campaign, timed to coincide with the release of Vermonia Volume 4: The Rukan Prophecy and the holiday season, will create millions of impressions with manga fans and readers.

In association with the marketing campaign, Ray-Raitetsu has re-launched the Vermonia Website, Vermonia.com, and created a trailer for the manga, viewable at Vermonia.com, on YouTube, and on fan sites. A preview of a full chapter of Volume 1 of Vermonia is also available on the Website.

In Japan, where Vermonia is created by the artist/writer collective YoYo, Say-zan-sha, the Japanese publisher of Harry Potter, has been added to the title's impressive roster of publishers around the world. Say-zan-sha joins Candlewick in the U.S. and Canada (publisher of Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn-Dixie), sister company Walker in the UK and Australia, and Mondadori, the largest publisher of books and magazines in Italy. "Vermonia was created to have global appeal, and we wanted to make sure we had the right publisher in each market to give this great story the right home," Ray-Raitetsu co-founder Roger Rosen (CEO of Rosen Publishing) said.