YenPlus magazine adds Avi Arad's and Jun'ichi Fujisaku's 'The Innocent' series

So, aside from Stan Lee, this improves the list of foreign authors having success with manga not only in Japan, but around the world too!

The American publisher Yen Press announced on Monday that it would add The Innocent manga series to its Yen Plus digital anthology. The series was created by Avi Arad, former Marvel Entertainment Chief Creative Officer (CCO)/Marvel Studios CEO and current chair of Production I.G. USA, along with Blood+ television anime director Jun'ichi Fujisaku and Korean manhwa/manga artist YaSung Ko (Stigmata). The first chapter of The Innocent runs in the April issue of Yen Plus, which also launched on Monday.

The series revolves around a detective who, after being executed for a crime he did not commit, is sent back to earth with special powers to prevent similar executions of the innocent.

Yenpress also had this this to say on their homepage:

Springtime is here! Trees are budding, flowers are blooming, and new series are popping up in the pages of YEN PLUS! Please join us in welcoming The Innocent to Side B of this month’s mag, with story by entertainment giant Avi Arad and Junichi Fujisaku and art by YaSung Ko!

After he is wrongly executed for crimes he did not commit, a former detective is given a second chance at life by the Committee. Infused with the power to manipulate the ashes which are all that remain of his mortal form, Johnny (now Ash) is sent to prevent the wrongful deaths of others unjustly accused in life. His “mentor” in this venture, Angel, is less than thrilled to be working with a human, especially one as impure as Ash…and Ash doesn’t seem too keen on following the Committee’s directives either… If you like action and mystery, be sure to check out The Innocent this month in YEN PLUS!

So much new stuff going on here at Yen Press! But don’t worry, there are still great new chapters of all your old favorites in this month’s issue! Witch & Wizard, Yotsuba&!, K-ON!, and let’s not forget those colorful zombies in Highschool of the Dead!

For those of you who entered the New Talent Search, please check out editor JuYoun’s letter for her comments about the Search!

As always, please leave your feedback here! Let us know what you think of the new additions to YEN PLUS!

More details and guidelines on the YenPress manga talent search

I've been doing too much errands lately and I can't believe that I haven't started yet, despite already having a 'neemu' (draft).

Yenpress stated that this is not a 'contest' per se, there's no winner, and that they can offer as many contracts as they wish but they can also decide to not offer anything to anyone if they don't deem that the quality of the stories and art is not good enough.

They had quite a conflict in making the sizes of the sheet clear, but now they attached a sheet in their site. You can click on it to download or go at theit site here.

Also, Yenpress indicated more guidelines to clear the doubts and questions:

In response to the questions asked so far:


-Dimensions : As mentioned above, as long as the proportions are maintained, the size of the paper you use does not really matter. The proportions don’t have to be exact, as long as it’s close.
-32 pages : We really prefer you make your story exactly 32 pages, but we won’t make a fuss if you are +/- 2 pages.

 -Self-published or web comic experiences are allowed.
 -Teamwork also allowed.

-It has to read left to right. American Style, not Japanese style, remember this.

-On the title page, include your title/name. The logo doesn’t have to be fancy, and the title page doesn’t necessarily have to be a full page of art. If you can find a way to make it part of your story, that’s also fine.
-You don’t have to be in the States to enter.
-There’s no age limit, but if you are under 18 and we like your work, a parent or a guardian will need to sign any contracts or other paperwork.
-We do not seek copyrights for creator-submitted work. Anything submitted will remain the sole copyright of the creator. If we are interested in your submission, we will provide you with a contract outlining our terms.
-Nothing has to be digitally done. You can work with a pen and paper and scan/photocopy them to send to us. We do not want to receive anything via email, that’s it.
-At the end of the day, the instructions are more like a guideline for those you have no idea where to start. If you already know how to do the pages, use your best judgment to show your ability. To stress it again, this is not a CONTEST, so there are no “winners” per se. If we find many submissions that strike our fancy, we might offer multiple contracts, but at the same time, there’s no guarantee that any contracts will be offered. -It all depends on the quality of the submissions we receive. Please note that we are looking for PROFESSIONAL-level work.
Thank you!

Allright folks, let's do our best!

UPDATE: Thanks to user Loominate from Deviantart, who provided a sheet that can be of help for those who still are having trouble in adjusting the pages, it's in Photoshop format. You can use it as a separate or template layer, so you can adjust the page that matches exactly its dimensions.

Here's the link:

http://loominate.deviantart.com/art/Yen-Press-Talent-Search-600dpi-187949806

XD

YenPress is looking for fresh talent manga artists!

Do you love to draw? Are you an aspiring manga artist? Then this is your chance as YenPress is having a talent search contest, that consists of submitting a 32 page short story before January 3rd, 2011.

YenPress is a New York based publisher that is soon going to launch Yen Plus Magazine, and your work could be published there if they like it enough!

This is their info on their guidelines, that can be accessed here:

THE YEN PRESS NEW TALENT SEARCH!


Who is eligible: Any artist who has NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED may enter.


What to send: Create a 32-page short story using the page parameters below:




Size of each page of printed digital art should be 7 inches wide by 10-3/8 inches tall. The live area of each page is 4-3/4 inches by 8-1/8 inches (that is, 1-1/8 inches from the edge of the page). Please keep panels and “important art” (speech bubbles, text, and art that is critical to telling your story) within this live area. As long as these proportions are maintained, you may size your pages as you wish.


You do not need to create color pages or a cover, but please include a full page title page of art with space for a title logo and your credit.


Deadline: January 3, 2011


If your submission catches our eye, you may receive a contract for publication in YEN PLUS!


Send a photocopy or printout of your completed short story and your contact info to:


Attn: New Talent Search
Yen Plus
237 Park Ave. 13-114
New York, NY 10017


The fine print: Please do not send original art as no art will be returned. We will not be able to respond or provide feedback on all inquiries. If we are interested in your submission, we will contact you. Please do not attempt to contact the editors directly.

If you're starting out, this could be a great opportunity. Remember, artists that have never been published before.