Marvel has announced that in the wake of its January Mangaverse editorial event, it will be expanding its manga efforts in the coming months.  C.B. Cebulski will be joining the company as an associate editor, following his work as a consultant on the Mangaverse project.  Cebulski had previously been part of Fanboy (see 'Fanboy Entertainment Restructures'), and prior to that had worked at CPM.  In the release announcing the hire, EIC Joe Quesada talked about the growing importance of manga and anime for the U.S. market. 'It's become extremely evident to all of us at Marvel that manga and anime are more than just a passing phase,' he said.  'Ask any comic retailer and they'll tell you that the best way to reach younger readers -- and the ever elusive female reader -- and they'll tell you that manga and anime are the way to go.' 

Cebulski will be bringing some manga creators to Marvel, including Kia Asamiya (who's previously done some work for DC), Takahiko Ito (Outlaw Star), and Katsuya Terada (Blood:  The Last Vampire). 

Marvel has also announced that Ben Dunn's Marvel Mangaverse:  New Dawn #1 has sold well enough at retail to justify its own monthly title, and Marvel Mangaverse #1 will reach stores on April 3.  Given that Marvel had art up on its site for this title on January 18th, it appears that Marvel had this book teed up and ready to go as soon as sales at retail looked good. 

These announcements reflect a trend toward a growing manga influence on American comics that we noted last summer (see 'Is Manga's Influence on American Comics Growing?'), and the long term expansion of Japanese pop culture on American that we wrote about in 2000 (see 'Home to Roost').