Wizard Entertainment is preparing its first totally anime publication, Anime Invasion, which is being solicited in the current (April) edition of Diamond Previews.  Retailers will be able to select from two different covers, one featuring an Akira design by Pat Lee (Warlands), and one with a DBZ and Sailor Moon 'Toonami' cover.  The magazine will carry a $4.99 cover price.  Wizard has planned Anime Invasion as a one-shot, but they are clearly testing the waters to see if interest is strong enough to warrant a monthly magazine.  Remember that Wizard's ToyFare began as a one-shot trial.

 

Anime Invasion will have a major emphasis on DVD thanks to an Anime DVD Buyers Guide featuring the top 50 anime titles available on DVD.  Plus Wizard will inform readers which DVDs have hidden surprises and, more importantly, how to access all the 'Easter eggs' that make the DVD format so enticing for collectors.  A special feature on the remastered DVD collector's edition of Akira (see 'Remastered Akira Video Debut Set') is sure to have fans salivating.

 

Other key features include interviews with top anime creators including Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell), who talk about their new projects that will be appearing over the next year.  In addition there will be plenty of coverage on the hottest current anime titles here in the U.S. including DBZ, Sailor Moon, Transformers, Gundam, Pokemon, Trigun, Street Fighter, Ranma ?, and Escaflowne.

 

Wizard's Anime Invasion should be a good test of the strength of the anime marketplace in the U.S.  It should also prove enlightening to see how Wizard's typically glossy production values will be received by the American anime community. Protoculture Addicts and Animerica are excellent publications that have served the North American market very well for many years, but with the growing popularity of the Toonami block on the Cartoon Network (see 'Toonami Ratings Soar'), it would appear that there is room for a publication like Anime Invasion.