“We’re very excited to release the very first digital manga on the PSP and to kick off our partnership with Digital Manga,” said Jeff Webber, Director of ePublishing at IDW. “Vampire Hunter D is an excellent story to launch the PSP manga catalogue, offering this popular series for manga fans worldwide through this new platform. We’ll be rolling out the first volume of the series as a new chapter each week for the next six weeks.”

Read the full Press Release!

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The Kindle is just one more way DMP is trying to introduce people to VHD. If you have a Kindle, or if you’re thinking about buying one, then now’s your chance to read Vampire Hunter D without paper or ink - anywhere at all!

Now there’s another great way to get your fix of Vampire Hunter D – Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 is ready for wireless download to your Kindle now at Amazon.com! 

Thanks again to everyone who pre-ordered VHD volume 3, and keep watching as we near the release of Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist and Yashakiden: The Demon Princess!

Kansas City, MO (April 14, 2009) – Digital Manga Publishing’s adaptation of the classic sci-fi horror series Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D is the latest manga title to arrive in the App Store courtesy of Uclick, the #1 distributor of comics and manga on mobile.  The new Vampire Hunter D manga apps present volume one of the DMP series in six downloads, available now for $.99 (US) cents each.

“DMP is very excited to be working with Uclick in bringing Vampire Hunter D to mobile phones,” said DMP Production Director Daryl Kuxhouse. “I know fans will enjoy having a completely new way to experience the adventures of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s half-vampire hero.”

Vampire Hunter D began in 1983 as a very popular series of prose novels written by Hideyuki Kikuchi with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano. Kikuchi mixed elements of gothic horror, science fiction and romance with the classic Western to produce a wholly original, post-apocalyptic vision of the distant future, where humanity is ruled by vampires and tormented by a host of creatures including demons, werewolves and mutants, as well as half-human, half-vampire ‘dhampirs’ like the series’ namesake, D.

Vampire Hunter D novels have an international fan base, having sold more than 17 million copies around the world. The novels have been adapted into two anime movies, an audio drama, a video game and printed manga adaptations.

“The Vampire Hunter D series is similar to our series of Bone apps, in that it’s another superb example of a story with tremendous scope and scale, presented on the Multi-Touch display,” said Uclick CEO Douglas Edwards. “Uclick is not limited to telling small-scale stories on the Apple devices. This is a blockbuster-sized epic filled with action, horror, romance and intrigue, and we’ve taken great care to ensure that this series of apps truly captures the power of the story and imagery.

“Our presentation of Vampire Hunter D takes full advantage of the large, backlit iPhone and iPod touch screens to give readers a captivating and unprecedented manga experience.”

Uclick has released over 100 manga, comic book, graphic novel and webcomic applications in the Apple App Store. Vampire Hunter D joins a vast and growing group of popular manga titles from Uclick that includes Svetlana Chmakova’s three-volume smash-hit Dramacon, the virtual reality-themed comic fantasy Reality Check!, and the sci-fi horror favorite Guilstein. Uclick has also released comic book apps featuring Jeff Smith’s Bone, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series Tales of the TMNT and IDW’s recent Ghostbusters series.

Most of the iPhone Uclick apps are currently available at $.99 (US) cents each and feature tap-and-swipe, panel-by-panel controls. The Apple devices’ large Multi-Touch displays enable a clear, high-resolution presentation. The zoom feature allows an even closer look at any panel.

To get Vampire Hunter D and other favorite manga, comic books and graphic novels for the iPhone and iPod touch go to the Uclick Web App by typing Uclick.com into the Safari browser or visit the App Store on the iPhone or on iTunes.

About UCLICK:
UCLICK® is the leading digital entertainment provider of humor, comic strips, manga, graphic novels, editorial cartoons, and other content for desktop, web and mobile phones. Uclick is also the leading creator and distributor of crosswords, and other word and number puzzles. Partners featuring Uclick content include the leading consumer portals Yahoo!, MSNBC.com, New York Times, Slate.com, washingtonpost.com, CNN, USA Today, and AOL. Uclick features include the top brand franchises Garfield, Doonesbury, Calvin and Hobbes, Paul Frank, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TOKYOPOP, USA Today, Pat Sajak, Wyland, and many more. Uclick creative content and services are available through the GoComics.com website, U.S. mobile phone operators, the iTunes App Store, and other distributors worldwide. UCLICK, LLC is a division of Andrews McMeel Universal, the leading newspaper syndicate and publisher of humor books and calendars in North America.

For more information on Uclick, visit www.uclick.com.

About Digital Manga Publishing, Inc.
Located in Gardena, CA, Digital Manga Publishing is one of the industry’s most unconventional and innovative companies, specializing in building corporate and cultural bridges from Japan to the Western Hemisphere - specifically through the licensing, importation and preparation of anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books) and related merchandise for the North American mainstream and subculture markets. In this capacity, DMI serves as a catalyst for the expansion of Japanese pop culture institutions into global arenas. The company’s imprint line includes DMP: its mainstream imprint, DMP PLATINUM: its classic manga imprint, JUNE´: its boys love imprint, 801 MEDIA: its adult boys love imprint, and DokiDoki: its exclusive co-publishing imprint with Shinshokan Publishing.

For more information about Digital Manga Publishing, visit www.digitalmanga.com.

According to our editor-in-chief:

“Some advance copies of the Vampire Hunter D Vol. 3 manga have arrived, and they look great! Pre-orders are now available! The limited advance copies will be available for direct purchase from our Akadot Retail website after we hold the pre-order raffle on April 17th. Place your orders now!”

The raffle, of course, refers to the many fantastic prizes we’re giving away, as we announced last week. Keep in mind that if you want to be entered into the drawing, you have to pre-order your book by April 16. Don’t miss your chance at these items! We’ll be sending out the goods as soon as our raffle winners are chosen.

Saiko Takaki and Hideyuki Kikuchi autographed Vampire Hunter D 4″ x 11″ illustration card-(10) prizes

Hideyuki Kikuchi autographed softcover Vampire Hunter D Vol. 1 novel-(5) prizes
Hideyuki Kikuchi autographed limited hardcover Vampire Hunter D vol. 1 novel-(5) prizes

Saiko Takaki autographed Vampire Hunter D vol. 1 manga-(5) prizes

Vampire Hunter D vol. 1 manga Japanese edition-(5) prizes
Vampire Hunter D vol. 2 manga Japanese edition-(5) prizes

Hideyuki Kikuchi and Saiko Takaki autographed Vampire Hunter D vol. 1 poster-(3) prizes

Hideyuki Kikuchi and Saiko Takaki autographed Vampire Hunter D vol. 2 poster-(3) prizes

GRAND PRIZE - Hideyuki Kikuchi and Saiko Takaki autographed shikishi with a sketch of D by Takaki

Each preorder also comes with an unsigned Vampire Hunter D 4″ x 11″ illustration card.

These are great items for any for anyone who is a fan of Vampire Hunter D! This special contest is limited to those who place a pre-order between now and April 16th, so hurry and place your order now through Akadot Retail! Winners will be chosen at random, notified by the end of April, and their names will be posted on the new DMP site (with their permission).  So hurry to get a chance to win some great stuff! And if you want to get an idea of some of the new great Kikuchi titles that are coming out in 2009, have a look at these previews of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D Vol. 3, Yashakiden: The Demon Princess Vol. 1, and Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist Vol. 1!

Good luck!

Vampire Hunter D: Pale Fallen Angel Parts Three and Four completes the longest VHD story to date, and pits D against the vampire Lord Vlad in order to protect the Noble’s own son.

Find a copy at your local or online retailer today!