About this project
Publish Osamu Tezuka's Alabaster Vol.1-2
$32,304
604
PLEASE SEE OUR UPDATES FOR NEW TIERS AND ADD ONS, especially:
Update #10: Adding on individual Tezuka books
Update #7: ADD ONs are coming to a Kickstarter near you!
Update #6: Three BRAND NEW tiers just for you!
Thanks for continuing to support us! Our successful Ludwig B campaign has reinvigorated our drive to get Osamu Tezuka's work out into the world! With that in mind...
It's a whole new year and, to start off 2015, we at Digital Manga, Inc., are excited to announce our next campaign with the much-anticipated and in-demand title, Alabaster. The series is darker than Tezuka's usual fare, and with a total of 2 volumes, it is set to release in July 2015.
Written in a dark period of Tezuka's life, Alabaster is a thriller suspense revenge story that touches on the dark side of humanity and the extent one would go to get even. It shows that not only does it affect the victims, but how destructive it is to be surrounded by such animosity. Recommended for older teens and up.
In this masterpiece, Osamu Tezuka digs up a very sinful & contorted human psyche that everyone has deep inside of themselves and presents it in such a way that you would want to look at yourself in the mirror and ask, “Do I have this evil side in me?” - Hikaru Sasahara, President of DMI
Alabaster Synopsis
Once a famous athlete, now an infamous villain, James Block seeks revenge against all things "beautiful." After he's arrested and convicted for assaulting his girlfriend who insulted his appearance, he meets a mad scientist in prison who tells him of the 'F Laser' he invented that can turn any carbon based organism invisible. When James finishes his prison term, he finds the 'F Laser' and points it on himself, however the imperfect laser beam leaves him disfigured with only his skin invisible. On a vicious revenge spree, he takes the nom de guerre of Alabaster and is joined by Ami, the granddaughter of the scientist who experimented on his pregnant daughter and left Ami fully invisible. Together they pull off several heists, but Ami's innocence may cause Alabaster's downfall…
“I'm Alabaster...I'm sure you've heard what kind of man I am.”
“It is possible for you to understand my pain.”
Here are the specs:
- Paperback
- High-quality paper that is denser, smoother, and off-set white (by popular demand!)
- Size: A5 (5.875"x8.25"), same as our other Tezuka releases
- Right to Left Manga Reading format
- Pages: v1:280pgs; v2:232pgs
- Release date: v1-2: 7/2015
- MSRP: $15.95 volume 1; $13.95 volume 2
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WHY KICKSTARTER?
We believe that all of Tezuka's work carry a spirit of global community, and there is no better way to reflect that than on a crowd funding platform such as Kickstarter. The Tezuka fan community has grown over the years on this platform and we want to continue to see it develop to where all generations, old and new, can convene into a place of common interest. Let's once again get together to achieve this goal!
Check out our press release posted on Crunchyroll about our partnership with Tezuka Productions...
"Digital Manga, Inc. to Bring the Remaining Tezuka Library to the Rest of the Manga Reading World!"
(Rewards Tier Chart; click for larger.)
Rewards
As mentioned, we have taken into consideration all of your feedback from the last campaigns and have gone back to the grassroots of making the tier packages as plain and simple (and affordable!) as possible. Review the rewards below and the reward tier descriptions in the right column for additional details. PLUS: ALL REWARDS COME WITH FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING. (International shipping is extra. Please see the tiers for cost.)
Please note: POSTERS WILL SHIP SEPARATELY FROM YOUR OTHER ITEMS and arrive in a poster tube. This will NOT affect your shipping costs (which are NOTHING if we ship your items domestically).
The Grab Bag
For this campaign, we have a special tier called "F Laser"--and it's a grab bag! Live life on the edge with some random goodies. You'll receive ONE randomly selected item from part 1 (below) and ONE randomly selected item from part 2 (also below). Limited to 30 sets. Remember, we'll choose the items for you, so you'll receive a pleasant surprise in the mail. ^_^
Hot on the path of revenge stories is our planned reprint of Swallowing the Earth when we reach our $39,000 stretch goal. By popular demand, this reprint will have higher-quality paper that is denser, smoother, and off-set white, similar to our print run of Barbara. NOTE: This manga is 514 pages, roughly twice as long as the average manga.
About Swallowing the Earth
Amidst the chaos of World War II, two Japanese sailors hear of Zephyrus, an utterly captivating woman in the South Pacific. Many years have since passed, and now Zephyrus has resurfaced in Japan, wielding her mysterious power over all men to exact revenge for their crimes against women since the beginning of time! Gohonmatsu Seki is the only man with the ability to resist her allure, but he seems ill-equipped to save his own gender; he's more interested in liquor than women. Can he discern where her true intentions lie?
IF WE REACH THIS STRETCH GOAL...
HUZZAH! All backers will receive a high-resolution colored desktop wallpaper featuring a scene from Swallowing the Earth--AND MORE. (Updates once the stretch goal is reached!)
Risks and challenges
We weigh heavily on the comments, praises and criticisms by you, the fans. As many of Tezuka's work heavily explores the human condition, we at Digital Manga, Inc., also try to follow suit from his message—recognize and analyze where we went astray, get back on our feet and make good to get back on the correct path, and then strive to improve even more so in future endeavors.
As you may know, we at DMI have another Kickstarter campaign running along with Alabaster. We're aware that it may seem like a lot of work to fulfill everyone's expectations and publish the series out in time. There are separate teams in the office working on different campaigns but we are in close communication with each other to monitor each other's progress. Since this is a publishing house, the production team is used to working on various projects at once while maintaining quality control, checking and rechecking each other's work.
We also provide backer support with clear explanations about our goals and giveaway tiers, fast responses to questions, and frequent updates on the progress of the books and the giveaways. With that said, if you have any questions or concerns please message us and we will reply as swiftly as possible.
"What if the merchandise is late?"
This would be because we were not satisfied with the makers of our merchandise and had to find an alternative company to produce them or demand a complete redo. Backers will be informed the minute it happens, and when we receive the completed goods.
"What if the books are late?"
It's not uncommon for books to be late. There are multiple parties involved with publishing a book. Of course, you will be informed right away about the problem and how long of a delay you can expect.
DISCLAIMER: Please keep in mind that the tiers are set and we cannot switch items out in exchange for other items. If an item becomes unavailable or damaged before shipping out the rewards package to the backer, an item of equivalent or greater value will be replaced.
To stay updated on the latest happenings with our campaign, the progress of the production of the books, rewards, questions, comments, please follow us on the following SNS networks:
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Funding period
- (30 days)