American publisher Vertical has been acquired by Japanese publisher Kodansha and printer Dai Nippon Printing, according to animeanime via Anime News Network.  Kodansha acquired 46.7%; Dai Nippon Printing acquired 46%, according to the report. Vertical was capitalized at $930,000. 

 

Among other things, Vertical publishes a limited annual list of manga collections in high quality trade paperback and hardback formats.  It is perhaps best known for its Tezuka collections, which included Buddha, Ode to Kirihoto, MW, Apollo’s Song, Doror, Black Jack, and Ayako. The company announced Book of Human Insects, a single volume collection, for July (see “Vertical Nabs Tezuka’s ‘Book of Human Insects’”). 

 

Kodansha is now publishing most of its own manga titles in the U.S., distributed by Random House (see “Kodansha to Shift U.S. Titles”).  It has a fairly aggressive publishing schedule, with over 30 volumes planned for the summer months alone (see “Kodansha Announces Debut Titles”).