VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES EXCITING PERSONAL APPEARANCES, BOOTH ACTIVITIES AND SHOW EXCLUSIVES FOR 2012 COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL

Company Welcomes Studio 4ºC Founder For Discussion On BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC Anime Film Trilogy And Offers A Variety Of Collectable Giveaways, Fun Booth Activities, Panel Discussions And Much More!

San Francisco, CA, July 9, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, returns to Comic-Con International, the nation’s biggest comic book, science fiction and pop culture event, with an exciting and expansive roster of special personal appearances, exciting panels, anime feature film premieres, and fun giveaways and convention exclusives. The show takes place July 11-15 at the San Diego Convention Center, CA, and VIZ Media will be located in Booth 2813.

Fans won’t want to miss a special opportunity on Friday July 13th to catch a rare personal appearance by Eiko Tanaka, Founder and CEO of Studio 4ºC, which produced the new dark fantasy epic BERSERK: THE Golden Age Arc film trilogy. VIZ Media will release the first movie on Neon Alley this fall. Ms. Tanaka will make an in-person appearance at the VIZ Media booth for a signing session at 3PM. She will also be a special guest at the BERSERK Panel, 5:30PM in Room 32AB, where fans can find out what it really takes to transform the stark manga into an animated feature. Finally, Ms. Tanaka will make introductory remarks at the exclusive Comic-Con screening of BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC I – THE EGG OF THE KING, 8:30PM in Room 32AB.

The recently announced Neon Alley will be featured at Comic-Con. A brand new 24-hour digital anime channel launching on a major game platform this fall, Neon Alley will feature the world's best anime titles, including blockbusters BLUE EXORCIST, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, TIGER & BUNNY and more. Get the scoop straight from Brian Ige, VIZ Media's VP of Animation, at the Neon Alley Panel on Friday July 13^th, 1PM, Room 32AB. At the VIZ Media booth, fans can sign up for the mailing list and get the first-ever Neon Alley collectible tote bag. Fans will have a chance to be featured on Neon Alley, as VIZ Media will be filming clips at the company’s booth throughout the show. Check the daily schedule for filming times.

Digital manga will also be a highlight of the VIZ Media booth this year. The fun starts on Comic-Con Preview Night – Wednesday, July 11^th – with commemorative tote bags given to the first 500 attendees that stop by the booth featuring WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA, North America’s only near-simultaneous digital manga magazine. The totes will be available at other times throughout the weekend to visitors that complete a round of “passport” activities stationed around the VIZ Media booth.

Sample the VIZ Manga digital platform on a variety of devices – on laptops, the iPad^®, iPod^® touch, and the upcoming VIZ Manga for Android phones! Fans will also get an opportunity to experience the digital manga experience on the NOOK^© Tablet. More than 60 series and over 600 volumes are available now for both the VIZ Manga platform and the NOOK, including blockbusters BLEACH, NARUTO, BLACK BIRD, and more!

During Comic-Con, fans that purchase an annual membership to WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA (available on the VIZ Manga platform) will receive a limited edition YU-GI-OH! Slifer The Sky Dragon trading card (limited quantities available – please visit the booth at show opening for a ticket). Fans can sample the latest issues of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA. Each new digital edition of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA treats manga fans in North America to the latest chapters of some of the world’s most popular manga series only two weeks after they debut in Japan’s massively popular WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP magazine.

Also be on the lookout for a special photo activity with a life-size 3D Luffy from the hit pirate manga adventure, ONE PIECE. Collectable digital photos will be emailed to participants after the event. Fans can take part in this activity at the VIZ Media booth, or at the SHONEN JUMP ALPHA JUMP TRUCK fan meet-up on Saturday, July 14^th at 3PM at the 5^th Avenue Landing, behind Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center. Meet up visitors will also receive free ice-cream (while supplies last) and have the opportunity to take part in cosplay & fan art contests to win other cool SJ ALPHA prizes!

Attend the WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA Panel on Saturday July 14^th, 12PM in Room 7AB, and get the latest news, expert opinions and a behind-the-scenes look into the manga world from special guests from Japan Yoshihisa Heishi (Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Shonen Jump, founding editor of YU-GI-OH!), Kouji Yoshida (editor of DEATH NOTE), and Kengo Monji (editor of BAKUMAN｡). The guests will also have a heated Q&A showdown with the SJ Alpha editors!

The VIZ Media booth will buzz with a variety of fun activities and giveaways. Don’t miss other fun free VIZ Media product giveaways including VIZ Kids manga and graphic novel samplers, the Haikasoru science fiction imprint samplers, special show lanyards, and an array of assorted anime and manga patches, posters and more (while supplies last)!

Gamers will want to be sure to check out playable demos for Namco Bandai’s latest NARUTO SHIPPUDEN video game. Stop by and play the demo and also get free NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM GENERATIONS tchotchkes.

Streaming content provider Hulu also joins in the fun at the VIZ Media booth. Get your show badge scanned to enter to win one of 4 Xbox 360 systems and a 3-month gift card for Hulu Plus. The first 1,000 attendees scanned will receive a limited edition promotional card, featuring NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, with a free 30-day trial to check out the Hulu Plus subscription service.

Don’t miss the annual VIZ Media Panel, Thursday July 12^th, 3PM in Room 7AB, for all the latest updates and exciting news from VIZ Media staff on your favorite manga and anime! Also get the scoop on new acquisitions, upcoming releases, and upcoming projects. Be in line early and get a raffle ticket for a chance to win prizes!

Finally, VIZ Media is proud to have two manga titles nominated for the 2012 Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards, which are considered the Oscars of the comic book industry. NAOKI URASAWA’s 20^th CENTURY BOYS (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens), by Naoki Urasawa, is nominated for Best Continuing Series, while SATURN APARTMENTS (rated ‘T’ for Teens), by Hisae Iwaoka, is nominated for Best U.S. Edition of International Material. The Eisner Awards Ceremony will be held on the evening of Friday, July 13^th at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.

For more information on Neon Alley, please visit www.NeonAlley.com.

For more information on WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA, please visit SJAlpha.com. 

For more information on the VIZ Manga digital platform, please visit VIZManga.com or www.VIZ.com/apps. 

For more information on VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.