Los Angeles, CA (March 31, 2005) - After much passionate debate, TOKYOPOP is eager to share with the world the winners of our fifth Rising Stars of Manga competition. In addition to monetary prizes and publication in TOKYOPOP's upcoming Rising Stars of Manga Vol. 5 graphic novel anthology, all winners will have the opportunity to pitch and score their own future book deals with TOKYOPOP.
Grand Prize winner, Mail Order Ninja, a hilarious tale about a boy and his pet ninja, was created by the dynamic team of writer Joshua Elder (age 24) from Chicago and artist Erich Owen (age 26), an illustrator from Knoxville, TN. Elder and Owen will split $2,500 and fight over the Grand Prize trophy in mortal combat. When alerted to the news, Joshua was heard to remark: "This is about the coolest thing that has ever happened to me... Especially considering that I totaled my car this morning!"
The ultra-cerebral story of people and their personal demons, Baggage, created by student Roald Mu�oz (age 20) of Naperville, IL, took the Second Place nod: $1,500 in booty and a commemorative trophy.
Third Place, Can I Sit Here? takes readers inside the head of an angst-riddled teen grappling with indecision. Created by George Alexopoulos (age 19) a video store clerk from Tenafly, N.J., this entry earned a $1,000 prize and a trophy to boot.
What distinguishes the fifth Rising Stars of Manga competition from the previous ones is the People's Choice Award. Twenty finalists were posted online at www.TOKYOPOP.com, and over a one-week period the public was invited to vote for its favorite. With a total of more than 4,000 individual votes cast, the decisive winner of the People's Choice Award is Blue Phoenix: No Quarter by Michael Shelfer (age 24), an IT specialist from Sneads, FL. In addition to publication in Rising Stars of Manga Vol. 5, Michael also receives $500 in prize money!
The following Runner-Up entries have each earned $500 and an honorary plaque:
- Pop Star - Writer T Campbell from Leesburg, VA and artist Amy Mebberson from Decatur, IL
- Chibi Zombies - Creator Ashley Cope from St. Petersburg, FL
- Seed - Creator Morgan Luthi of Sacramento, CA
- Modus Vivendi - Writer Andrew Yi from Chino Hills, CA and artist Jeong Mo Yang of Los Angeles, CA
TOKYOPOP congratulates all of the winners of its fifth Rising Stars of Manga competition. With fourteen book contracts signed by new stars rising from the past competitions, what promise of publication does the future hold for this year's winners and runners-up? Now that they have their foot in our door, the future is theirs! Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com to learn more about these talented artists.
About TOKYOPOP®
As the largest English-language publisher of manga in the world, TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand. TOKYOPOP's innovative product extensions include its pioneering Cine-Manga® book format, which features colorful flavors of pop culture's hottest films, television shows and music videos. The company has expanded its property reach beyond publishing-TOKYOPOP's television series have been broadcast in the United States on Cartoon Network, Showtime and G4Media, and are released on DVD, with consumer products available at all major retail outlets. The company's global reach has recently expanded to Europe, with new offices in the UK and Germany, in addition to its Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With nearly 28 million books in print, TOKYOPOP's award-winning catalogue of licensed and original properties features more than 200,000 pages of manga compiled over nearly 1,000 manga volumes. Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information.
