Viz Media has picked up a new title to launch this year under their VIZ Signature line with the acquisition of Master Keaton from Naoki Urasawa and Hokusei Katsuhika. The series originally ran for eighteen volumes during its run from 1988 to 1994 and Viz Media will be giving it a twelve volume release here when it begins in December. Each paperback volume will receive a deluxe treatment, including 18 pages of full-color artwork. In addition to publishing it in North America, VIZ Media will also release it in print in the United Kingdom and Australia.
This marks the first time the series has been available through legal means in these territories. The series will be rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and carry an MSRP of $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN.
“We’re thrilled to debut a deluxe edition of the Eisner Award-winning Naoki Urasawa’s MASTER KEATON series this December,” says Amy Yu, Editor. “Tales of intrigue and espionage are presented with the highly detailed artwork and masterful attention to plot development for which Urasawa is internationally renowned. Fans current and new won’t want to miss the tense action and the heady chase for truth in MASTER KEATON!”
The anime adaptation was picked up and released previously by Geneon Entertainment and is out of print. A new manga series was also started in 2012 by Urasaw with Takashi Nagasaki writing it. That series is not included in this deal.
Plot concept: The riveting detective drama introduces Taichi Hiraga-Keaton, an archeology professor and part-time insurance investigator known for his successful and unorthodox methods of investigation. The son of a Japanese zoologist and an English noblewoman, educated in archaeology at Oxford and a former member of the SAS, Master Keaton uses his knowledge and combat training to uncover buried secrets, thwart would-be villains, and pursue the truth. The manga series was originally published in Japan between 1988 and 1994 in Big Comic Original magazine and also inspired a popular 39-episode anime adaptation.
