VIZ Media has announced the countdown tothe launch of WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA (WEEKLY SJ ALPHA), a weekly serial anthologyof some of the most popular manga series in the world: BAKUMAN｡, BLEACH, NARUTO, NURA:RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, and TORIKO. The first issue of WEEKLY SJALPHA goes on sale January 30, 2012, and will be available through VIZManga.comand the VIZ Manga apps for iPhone™, iPod™ touch and iPad™. Read on:
Each new digital issue ofWEEKLY SJ ALPHA brings manga fans in North America the latest chapters of theirfavorite series only two weeks after it debuts in Japan’smassively popular WEEKLY SHONEN JUMPMagazine. Currently, Japanese releases are often several months to years aheadof North American print titles; WEEKLY SJ ALPHA eliminates the delay inunprecedented fashion.
“Simultaneously publishingan official translation of the most popular comics magazine in the world hasbeen a dream since manga publishing began in North America in the 1980s,” said AlvinLu, Senior Vice President & General Manager. “This is how manga is meant tobe read in English – weekly, current, authorized and on the go. Now with WEEKLYSHONEN JUMP ALPHA, it’s about to happen for real.”
WEEKLY SJ ALPHA will be madeavailable through an annual membership that provides access to 48 weekly issuesfor 52 weeks for just $25.99. Single issues of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA can be read fora four-week rental from the time the reader purchases it for only $0.99. Eachissue, once received on one device, can be read on all other enabled devicesthrough the easy-to-use integrated VIZ Manga app and website.
To prepare fans for thedebut of WEEKLY SJ ALPHA, VIZ Media is also offering the SHONEN JUMP DIGITAL WARP,a limited collection of digital graphic novel speed-ups that will bring NorthAmerican readers up-to-date with Japanese releases. In some cases, the digitalspeed-ups will jump ahead of the print releases in North America. The SHONENJUMP DIGITAL WARP will begin with NARUTO Volume 53 (available now) and BLEACHVolume 49 (coming soon).
As more fans migrate tothe digital WEEKLY SJ ALPHA edition, VIZMedia plans to phase out the print edition of SHONEN JUMP Magazine. Thepopular, one-of-a-kind monthly magazine led the rapid growth of the mangamarket for much of the last decade and was VIZ Media’s flagship publicationsince it launched in 2003. The farewell April 2012 issue hits newsstands March2012.
For more information onWEEKLY SJ ALPHA and exclusive subscriber offers, please visit ShonenJump.viz.com or VIZManga.com.
