We’re a little late to front page with this one, but it’s an important story, so it deserves to be covered nevertheless. Tokyopop are rolling out their digital distribution initiative on the PC, and the publisher’s partner of choice is Zinio — “the world’s top digital publishing distribution service,” as they state in the press announcement.
To begin with, TP are offering over 50 volumes of manga, including series like Bizenghast, Dramacon, Tarot Cafe, Princess Ai, Gravitation and others. “I have always been a strong advocate for digital-in fact, my DNA is made entirely from 0’s and 1’s,” said Tokyopop CEO, Stuart Levy. “The manga lifestyle is rapidly moving online and we are committed to finding the best experience possible in that medium. Zinio offers the top online reading experience, and their team is committed to providing a 360º accessibility.”
Zinio’s service will allow you to preview pages of a manga for free, so you can decide whether or not you’d like to purchase it. If you like what you see, a single regular volume of manga will set you back $5.99. Larger volumes, such as the Gravitation collection — a two-volume omnibus edition — are priced at $7.99. These can then be viewed on the PC, Mac or iPad.
You can find a complete list of the digitally available titles here.
