Comic-Con News:  Tokyopop CEO Stu Levy, who announced that he was going to get back into publishing at Anime Expo (see "Tokyopop to Return"), announced the company's first product and teased its first major licenses at San Diego Comic-Con.

The company’s first product will be an 8-volume box set of M. Alice LeGrow’s Bizenghast, for Spring 2016 release.  Tokyopop published seven volumes of the series, and the eighth volume was released by Right Stuf as a Print-on-Demand title in 2012 (see "OEL Manga Creator Will Get Her Share").  The box for the set will feature new art by LeGrow.

This first Tokyopop product will be offered at a non-profit price, according to Levy.  "We want to do everything we can to pass on a thank-you to our fans," he said.  "We’re paying our artists and the cost of the goods and the shipping, but not taking a profit on this first product."  MSRP for the 8-book set in the box will be in the $60-$70 range, Levy revealed.  The box will also be sold separately, for those fans that have already purchased all eight volumes.

The Bizenghast set will be available to comic stores through Diamond Comic Distributors, and also to book channel retailers via a method to be announced later.

Levy also teased news of the company’s first licenses at the panel by showing silhouettes of Star Wars and Frozen, and indicating that they are likely to be the brands featured in the company’s first licensed titles.  Tokyopop had licenses with both Disney and Lucasfilm in its earlier incarnation for Cine-Manga, its graphic novels in which images were taken from films and coupled with word balloons and text, and was also known for producing manga-style graphic novels based on licensed properties.