VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU IMPRINT DELIVERS AN APOCALYPTIC GLIMPSE OF EARTH’S FUTURE WITH THE RELEASE OF THE NEW SCI-FI THRILLER VIRUS
Acclaimed Novel By Japanese Author Sakyo Komatsu Published In English For The First Time Ever
San Francisco, CA, November 20, 2012 – VIZ
Media’s Haikasoru literary imprint presents a new literary release
offering a stark vision of the future of mankind in author Sakyo
Komatsu’s post-apocalyptic thriller, VIRUS. The new hardcover novel is
available today, and carries an MSRP of $25.99 U.S. / $29.99 CAN. The eBook edition is also available for $9.99 on the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Books Store, and the Sony Reader™ Store.
Haikasoru
publishes some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science
fiction and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences, and is the
first imprint based in the U.S. dedicated to Japanese science fiction
and fantasy in translation.
In
this classic Japanese sci-fi thriller originally published in 1964,
American astronauts on a space mission discover a strange virus and
bring it to Earth, where rogue scientists transform it into a fatal
version of the flu. After the virulent virus is released, nearly all
human life on Earth is wiped out save for fewer than ten thousand men
and a handful of women living in research stations in Antarctica. Then
one of the researchers realizes that a major earthquake in the
now-depopulated United States may lead to nuclear Armageddon…
“Sakyo
Komatsu is one of the world’s most celebrated science fiction authors
and his books were often inspired by real world geopolitical,
scientific, or environmental events,” says Nick Mamatas, Editor,
Haikasoru. “VIRUS was adapted into a film in 1980, which starred Sonny
Chiba and George Kennedy. The new Haikasoru release marks the first
English publication of the novel, and we know our readers will enjoy
this visionary thriller from this acclaimed Japanese author.”
Author
Sakyo Komatsu was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1931 and began writing in
college and turned to science fiction in 1959 after winning the
Twenty-Seventh Annual Japan Mystery Writers Association Award with the
publication of Japan Sinks. He also won the Japan SF Award for his Tokyo Vanished
in 1985 and is a six-time winner of the prestigious Seiun Award. As a
screenwriter, director, and producer, Komatsu brought the movie version
of his novel Bye-Bye Jupiter to the screen in 1984. Sakyo Komatsu
has also participated in the production of a number of large public
events, including the Japan World Exposition in Osaka (1970),and the
International Garden and Greenery Exposition in Osaka (1990), which
earned him the Osaka Cultural Award. In 2007, he was the author Guest of
Honor at the World Science Fiction Convention, the first to be held in
Asia. Komatsu passed away in July 2011.
For more information and to read an excerpt of VIRUS, please visit the dedicated website at www.haikasoru.com/virus.
For more information on Haikasoru and other titles available from the imprint, please visit the website at Haikasoru.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 digital 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.
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