News: Initial Del Rey Manga Results Read Same Left to Right posted May 7, 2004
May 7 -- Read right to left or left to right, the top two slots on the Nielsen Bookscan graphic novel chart for the week ending May 2 reads "Del Rey Books." Tsubasa from the CLAMP collective hit the top spot, while Ken Akamatsu's Negima slid in at #2. The Del Rey manga line debuted on April 27, and also managed to snag the #6 and #12 position as well. The CLAMP and Akamatsu book placed #20 and #28 on the overall trade paperback bestseller list as well. Del Rey is an imprint of Random House, and their early success with manga may be an indication of life in a rapidly swelling market, particularly with major companies backing books from popular talent. The books were the first fruits of a strategic partnership with Japanese super-publisher Kodansha announced last summer during convention season. Del Rey, best known for its fantasy and science fiction efforts, is the first major company to aggressively pursue the manga market.