Tokyopop has announced seven new manga titles debuting in April and May of 2004.  ICv2 has already covered Battle Vixens (aka Ikki Tosen, see 'Tokyopop to Publish Battle Vixens'), one of the most eagerly awaited of these new releases, which Keith Giffen will adapt for an April release.  The buzz is equally strong on Kei Toume's Lament of the Lamb, the story of a teenager from a family of vampires, who remains unaware of his condition until his raging hormones spur an onset of uncontrollable bloodlust.  Even bleaker in outlook is Arm of Kannon by Masakazu Yamaguchi, the chilling story of a man who discovers an ancient religious relic, disappears, and then suddenly appears three years later with a subtly different personality. Equally gothic in spirit is the manwha title Model, by Lee So-Young, an ingenious horror story about a starving artist who allows a vampire to suck her blood in return for the right to paint the ultimate portrait of the undead.  Shoujo fans who enjoyed Demon Diary or Vampire Game will definitely not want to miss Crescent Moon, a retelling of a classic Japanese legend of sorcery and myth.  Add in The Demon Ororon (see 'Tokyopop to Publish the Demon Ororon'), Mizuki Hakase's gothic tale of love between the orphaned daughter of the Archangel Michael and an unholy devil, and it is clear that Tokyopop is set on expanding its very successful niche of gothic horror and dark fantasy titles. 

The one exception to the overwhelming gothic flavor of this most recent batch of announcements is Suikoden, a story of the quest for peace between two warring countries, which Shimizu Aki-a has adapted from the hit video game from Konami.