Broken Frontier

A little over five months from now, DC Comics will go where only manga has gone before with the launch of "Minx", an all-new line of graphic novels aimed specifically at the adolescent female reading public, in May 2007.

Perhaps ‘gone before’ isn’t an entirely accurate description, but the fact of the matter is that DC will be trying to break the neigh-monopoly manga titles have come to enjoy in this segment of the market in recent years. While superheroes still managed to generate an influx of young male readers, female counterparts not too fond of the brains-and-browns combo these titles present felt by the wayside and Tokyopop, Viz Media and other publishers met them with open arms.

Through Minx, DC creates a new niche imprint to stand aside its established ones—Vertigo, Wildstorm, CMX, and Johnny DC—and in doing so becomes the first among traditional US comic book companies to make a strong commitment to win the hearts of young females. The line will see a first wave of six publications throughout next year, each retailing for less than $10, and will be overseen by Karen Berger and Shelly Bond. All titles will be slightly larger than the standard manga digests in format and will be supported by a strong, innovative marketing campaign for which the company has joined forces with Alloy Marketing + Media.

The first Minx title is The P.L.A.I.N. Janes, written by novelist Cecil Castellucci with Jim Rugg (Street Angel) on art. The titles of three other graphic novels and their respective creative teams were also unveiled: Clubbing, by Andi Watson and Josh Howard; Re-Gifters, by Mike Carey, Marc Hempel, and Sonny Liew; and Good as Lily, by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm.

For more on Minx, read the original report released by The New York Times this past weekend.

- Frederik Hautain