Viz Media is setting things up for the second half of February when it comes to the digital side of their manga release slate as they have new titles and eighteen series getting updates for the month. The new side of the digital manga equation brings an exclusive for readers that is pretty impressive as they get the debut of One-Punch Man this week. The series comes from creator ONE who runs this as an ongoing webcomic in Japan that also got an adaptation in Young Jump Web Comics as a remake with artwork by Yusuke Murata. That version has five volumes in print so far in Japan.
While that’s going to get a lot of the attention, there’s also a lot of other books out with Viz Media highlighting series such as Bokurano: Ours, Baby & Me as well as a longtime favorite here with Firefighter! Daigo of company M. There’s also the finale of Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation and some new Osamu Tezuka up this week with the second installment of Phoenix.
ONE-PUNCH MAN, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens · MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN) · Debut Volume Available Across All Platforms!
In this stirring action series from illustrious illustrator Yusuke Murata of EYESHIELD 21 fame and the maniacal mind of up-and-coming mangaka ONE, everything about a young man named Saitama screams “AVERAGE,” from his lifeless expression, to his bald head, to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking fellow doesn’t have your average problem… He’s actually a superhero that’s always looking for tough opponents! The problem is, every time he finds a promising candidate he beats the snot out of them in one punch. Can Saitama finally find an evil villain strong enough to challenge him? Follow Saitama through his hilarious romps as he searches for new bad guys to challenge! Individual chapters of ONE-PUNCH MAN are also currently serialized in VIZ Media’s WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP digital manga magazine.
Manga creator ONE began ONE-PUNCH MAN as a web comic, which quickly went viral and garnered over 10 million hits. Japanese manga publisher (and VIZ Media parent company) Shueisha eventually secured the publishing rights to the series. In addition to ONE-PUNCH MAN, ONE writes and draws the series Mob Psycho 100 and Makai no Ossan.
Yusuke Murata is a highly acclaimed and skilled manga artist best-known for his work on the football series, EYESHIELD 21 (also published in North America by VIZ Media). In 1995, Murata won the prestigious 122nd Hop Step Award for his series, Partner, and placed second in 1998 in the semi-annual Akatsuka Awards for Samui Hanashi.
