Manga Monthly: Cool Manga For The Summer

by Carrie Wood

The dog days of summer are here, and there’s no better way to cool off than sitting inside with a good book! This month we take a look at some great new upcoming manga as well as some returning classics.

Be sure to preorder all your favorites from the July PREVIEWS at your local comic shop!

Kodansha gets us going this month with the first book of Frau Faust (JUL171983)! This is the latest from Kore Yamazaki, who is otherwise known for his work on The Ancient Magus’ Bride. With electrifying art and a gripping story, Frau Faust re-imagines the protagonist of the classic tale who makes a deal with the devil as a tenacious female scholar. A century after a scholar made a deal with a devil in exchange for eternal life, the story of Faust has passed into legend. But the real Faust is not a stuffy professorial man, but a woman, still on the run with her homunculus servant. When the magnetic, bespectacled woman passes through a provincial town, she adds a young orphan named Marion, looking for an escape, to her group. The next stop: A church basement, where a disembodied demon's arm lies sealed away, and an officer of the Inquisition named Lorenzo waits to spring a trap for the blasphemer!

Seven Seas Entertainment also has a great new book heading our way with Devilman Grimoire (JUL172090), which is a modern retelling of the horror manga epic spanning generations of fans! When demons begin taking over the bodies of humans, only the strongest survive. When a practicing young witch named Miki Makimura asks her friend Akira Fudo for help with a ritual, the spell is interrupted and Akira is left on the brink of death. His body is overtaken by a powerful being named Amon. Now torn between his humanity and the demon within him, Akira uses his abilities to fight in the war between demons and humans for the future of the world itself!

Hatsune Miku continues to be the world’s best digital idol, and Seven Seas has a new book starring the vocaloid – Hatsune Miku Presents Everyday Vocaloid (JUL172095)! The first fan creation to receive official recognition within the Vocaloid world, Hachune Miku is the small and spirited spin-off character of the famous Hatsune Miku. Equally recognizable by her long pigtails and affiliation with leeks, Hachune Miku goes on her own colorful adventures in this full-color collection of comedic shorts.

Death Note has become one of the most popular and influential drama shonen series ever, and Viz Media is providing the ultimate edition of the legendary manga with Death Note: All-in-One Edition (JUL172297). This hefty omnibus combines all 2,400 pages of the megahit thriller into a single massive tome, presented in a beautiful silver slipcase. A perfect collectible conversation piece and a must-have for Death Note fans. Also contains an epilogue chapter never before seen in English! With the Netflix film on the way, there’s no better time to catch up on this incredible story.

Naruto is another series that has carved out a legacy when it comes to shonen manga, and fans of the franchise can get a lighter look at some of the characters with Chibi Sasuke’s Sharingan Legend (JUL172302)! Sasuke travels the land with his teammates, searching for his brother Itachi. Pillow fights, video games, and Christmas parties! There's nothing this ninja won't do to avenge his clan!

The delightful slice-of-life series Barakamon continues with the 14th volume (JUL172335) out later this year from Yen Press! Reality is tough, but surely, the future must be bright. Handa-sensei has returned from Tokyo with a new declaration: he's going to start his own calligraphy school! But will he find any students? When an unusually cold winter brings rare snow to the island, the question is whether Handa is prepared to hibernate the time away.

That wraps it up for this month, but if you want more cool manga be sure to pick up your copy of the July PREVIEWS catalog to get a full look at the manga lineup! As always, stay tuned for more manga from us!