BookWalker Global Opens Door to Comics Beyond Japanese Manga
The shift positions BookWalker Global to fill the gap left by Amazon's ComiXology closure, competing with Webtoon Entertainment and GlobalComix for the digital comics market.
Reporting from 1 source: Animenomics.
Kadokawa's English-language e-book store BookWalker Global is expanding beyond Japanese manga and light novels, according to M12 Media CEO Samuel Pinansky. The platform, which moved to a new system run by M12 Media earlier this year, already sells original English light novels from J-Novel Club and Korean comics from Ize Press. Pinansky said the store may add traditional comics from other publishers if deals can be reached.
BookWalker Global, Kadokawa's English-language e-book store, is moving beyond Japanese manga and light novels. The platform now runs on a system built by M12 Media, a San Antonio, Texas subsidiary, and CEO Samuel Pinansky says the company is open to adding traditional comics from other publishers.
The store already carries original English light novels from J-Novel Club, which Kadokawa acquired in 2021, and Korean comics and novels from Ize Press, a joint venture with Redice. Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno has said the publisher could source a large share of new works from outside Japan, and Pinansky echoed that approach, saying the original language matters less than whether a work appeals to readers.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Animenomics BookWalker opens door to manga-adjacent e-books