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.