VIZ Signature Site Sneaks A Peek At IKKI Manga Titles

Since its founding, IKKI magazine has established itself as the home of some of the most innovative, bold, and compelling series in the world of contemporary manga.

Originally begun in 2000 as Spirits Zoukan IKKI — a special, bi-monthly tie-in publication to Big Comic Spirits magazine — the current form of the magazine took shape when it was re-launched in 2003 as Gekkan (“Monthly”) IKKI. Under the leadership of editor-in-chief, Hideki Egami, IKKI has since built a diverse catalog of titles. From action to comedy to drama, from slice-of-life stories to surrealist fantasies, the one thing these works share is an uncommon emphasis on creative quality that pushes the boundaries of manga storytelling.

Now, in partnership with VIZ Media and its “VIZ Signature” line of graphic novels, IKKI is bringing the works of some of its top creators to the English-speaking audience for the first time. And in addition to the serialized manga chapters, each month new content — such as creator interviews, feature articles, news, and giveaways — will be posted on Sigikki.com, the VIZ Signature IKKI site.

The goal of Sigikki.com is to offer up to nine serialized IKKI titles on a monthly basis. These titles will show the range and variety of manga and break the common preconceptions that it is a medium limited to a few specific genres. Sigikki.com will feature works of literary/fantasy (Children of the Sea by Daisuke Igarashi), action/horror (Dorohedoro by Q Hayashida), slice-of-life comedy (I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow by Shunju Aono), science fiction/suspense (Bokurano: Ours by Mohiro Kitoh), period pieces (House of Five Leaves by Natsume Ono), and so on.

Additional titles will include Saturn Apartments (Dosei Mansion) by Hisae Iwaoka, Afterschool Charisma (Houkago no Charisma) by Kumiko Suekane, and Kingyo Used Books (Kingoya Koshoten) by Seimu. 

The first chapter of each manga will be posted to the site with a new chapter being added each month. After the completion of the online serialization of a manga volume, that volume will then become available as a VIZ Signature graphic novel.