On April 22, 2021, VIZ Media shared the news that they would be collaborating with Marvel Comics for the first time. This will be the first time both companies have worked together. The collaboration will include a range “of manga and books” that will launch in Fall 2021.
Sarah Fairhall, editorial director for VIZ Media, had this to say on the collaboration:
Much like VIZ’s iconic characters, Marvel heroes are universally beloved and VIZ is excited to bring their adventures to readers in a new way. Our collaboration will include English editions of several Shonen Jump manga titles, as well as some all-new publishing and ShoPro’s Marvel Meow.
VIZ and Marvel’s First Collaboration
The first title in the VIZ Media and Marvel collaboration will be Marvel Meow. Written and drawn by Nao Fuji (Black Cat, Gwenpool Strikes Back), the title will follow Captain Marvel’s cat Chewie.
The press release from VIZ gives us an idea of what Chewie will be getting up to in the comic. Chewie will wreak “havoc in the lives of Marvel’s most popular characters: Spider-Man and Iron Man, formidable villains Thanos and Galactus, and the whimsical antihero, Deadpool –all becoming the playthings of this capricious cat!”
Marvel Meow will be published on October 12, 2021.
Nao Fuji shared a few of the Marvel Meow comics in 2019
Deadpool and Secret Reverse
Set to release in February 2022, Deadpool: Samurai will be translated into English for the first time. VIZ Media had this to say on the publication of the well-received manga:
“When the Merc with a Mouth found himself in feudal Japan partaking in samurai battles in the manga one-shot Deadpool: Samurai last year, fans agreed that the mash-up demanded more, leading Shonen Jump+ to announce an ongoing Deadpool series.”
Deadpool: Samurai was written by Sanshirou Kasama and drawn by Hikaru Uesugi.
Secret Reverse, by well-known manga creator Kazuki Takahashi (Yu-Gi-Oh!) will release in the summer of 2022.
More titles will follow in the collaboration between Marvel and VIZ Media.
What are you most looking forward to in this first-time collab? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or on Twitter.
