Spider-Man fans are doing a lot of waiting around as hype builds for the web-slingers appearance in Marvel's Avengers, the third installment of his MCU series gets closer to release, and video game fans continue to speculate about the next follow up in Insomniac's series. Yet another item can be added to the list for fans of manga now that Viz Media has announced a new partnership with Marvel.
The partnership will help bring some Marvel characters, including Spidey, to the world of manga in Marvel Meow and Deadpool Samurai. Marvel Meow focuses on Captain Marvel's cat, Chewie, and all of the problems that the animal companion causes throughout the Marvel Universe for heroes and villains alike including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thanos and even Galactus.
Marvel Meow is scheduled for release October 12 of this year, but Merc with a Mouth fans are going to have to wait until February 2022 to get their hands on Deadpool Samurai. The partnership is a unique team up and it should be interesting to see how many traditional Marvel fans dip into the world of manga to follow the characters they know and love and, vice versa, how many manga fans use the books as a bridge over to the world of Marvel superhero comics.
"Marvel has had a long history of telling stories in new and compelling ways, and Viz is the perfect partner to help us continue that path. Viz is best-in-class for its unforgettable stories, and after the massive success of last year’s Deadpool manga, we’re thrilled to now be working with them to bring our iconic characters to even more manga fans everywhere.” Sven Larsen, Vice President of Licensed Publishing, Marvel. Marvel Meow by Nao Fuji will publish October 12, 2021, followed by Deadpool: Samurai by writer Sanshirou Kasama and artist Hikaru Uesugi, out February, 2022, and Secret Reverse by the world’s most successful manga and card game creator of all time, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Kazuki Takahashi coming in summer, 2022, with more exciting titles to follow."
Last year's Deadpool manga definitely connected with a portion of the comics fanbase, so it is pretty exciting to see the trend continue later this year and into 2022. If these next three books continue to see that same level of success the Marvel/manga crossover trend could become a more permanent fixture in comic shops around the world. Deadpool and Spider-Man are two of Marvel's most recognizable and popular IP so it definitely makes sense to try to put those characters front and center in this venture.
Viz isn't exactly new to adapting properties owned by other companies and recently released an Assassin's Creed manga based on one of the franchise's lesser known protagonists, as well. Once the release date arrives be sure to check back for updates and impressions on whether or not Marvel Meow delivers for fans.
Marvel Meow releases October 12, 2021. Deadpool: Samurai releases February 2022.