Korean manhwa is a relatively new comic art form that has recently gained popularity in the United States. It is heavily influenced by Japanese manga and American comics, usually presented in black and white and reads left to right similar to American style comics.

CPM Manhwa's first release is Hard Boiled Angel Book 1, a dark action packed adventure written and illustrated by Hyun Se Lee. An artist renowned for his mature themes and dramatic tales, Hyun Se Lee is Korea's most famous manhwa creator and has been accredited with being the first manhwa creator to write for an adult audience. Previous to this manhwa was regarded as a child's medium with no adult readers. However Lee's epic sagas and dramatic themes drew adult readers in, making him a best-selling manhwa artist. CPM Manhwa has acquired four different series from this prolific creator representing various genres: action/adventure (Hard Boiled Angel) war (Nambul: War Stories), fantasy (Armageddon) and mythology (Mythology of the Heavens).

CPM Manhwa's second release this June is the charming romantic comedy Couple Volume 1, created by new and upcoming talents, Jae Sung Park and Sung Jae Park. Rounding out June's releases under the CPM Manga imprint are the perennial fan favorites Slayers: City of Lost Souls and Kia Asamiya's Nadesico Book 3 (which has been newly reformatted and re-priced). Both manga graphic novels will be available on June 2, 2004 and will be priced at $9.99 SRP each.

Hard Boiled Angel Book 1

Story and Art by Hyun Se Lee. Four dark stories set in a city where the only thing tougher than a gun to the head is the woman pulling the trigger. The Autumn of Men: Jiran is stalked by a high-level executive with "friends in high places". School Ties That Bind: A high school friend asks Jiran to investigate her husband who she suspects of cheating. Master of Hell: A series of seemingly unrelated murders terrorize the city. At every murder scene the police find messages of "Ah Voh Puc", the master of Hell. Kids of Fear: Jiran is asked by an old acquaintance, to find her missing son. Little does she know that Jiran already knows where he can be found.

Size: 5" x 7.375"
Pages: 256 pages, b&w
Rating: 16UP
Genre: Action/Adventure/Detective/Mystery
Catalog #: CMX 65501G
ISBN #: 1-58664-916-7
Pre-order date: May 10, 2004
Street date: June 9, 2004
SRP: $9.99

Couple Volume 1

Story by Jae Sung Park and art by Sung Jae Park. After being evicted, YuMi must find a place to stay or she will be forced to return to her home in the sticks. Can she convince YoungHo to defy conventional boundaries and allow her to stay at his place, at least until she finishes college?

Size: 5" x 7.375"
Pages: 192 pages, b&w
Rating: 13UP
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Catalog #: CMX 65901G
ISBN #: 1-58664-951-5
Pre-order date: May 10, 2004
Street date: June 9, 2004
SRP: $9.99

Slayers: City of Lost Souls

Story by Hajime Kanzaka and art by Shoko Kanzaka. Trouble seems to follow Lina Inverse and her team wherever they go. After being hired to find and capture a troublesome thief, Lina runs into a mysterious figure from her past. And if that wasn't bad enough, Gourry loses Lina's favorite sword and must fight in a series of highly unusual duels to get it back!

Size: 5" x 7.375"
Pages: 184 pages, b&w
Rating: 13UP
Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy
Catalog #: CMX 64605G
ISBN #: 1-58664-915-9
Pre-order date: May 10, 2004
Street date: June 2, 2004
SRP: $9.99

Nadesico Book 3

Story and art by Kia Asamiya. Captain Yurika has been captured by the Jupiterians, and the crew of the Space Battleship Nadesico must escape from captivity to rescue her. This time the mission is personal! Newly reformatted and re-priced!

Size: 5" x 7.375"
Pages: 168 pages, b&w
Rating: 13UP
Genre: Science Fiction
Catalog #: CMX 62403MM
ISBN #: 1-58664-940-X
Pre-order date: May 10, 2004
Street date: June 2, 2004
SRP: $9.99

Central Park Media has been a leading supplier of anime in the United States since 1990. The company currently manufactures and distributes three home entertainment lines, each offering anime product for a distinct and discriminating audience: U. S. Manga Corps, Central Park Media and Software Sculptors. With exclusive rights to hundreds of book, video and music products, the company has become a leader in integrated media, as well as a leading publisher of graphic novels under its CPM Press label. In addition, the company also distributes a broad array of live action Japanese feature films under its Asia Pulp Cinema label.