VIZ Media, Drawn and Quarterly, and Vertical announced new manga licenses at Comic-Con International in San Diego last weekend, but there were no manga guests at the show; the manga publishers seem to have focused their efforts on Anime Expo this year (see "Anime Expo Roundup: 'Silver Spoon,' More 'Battle Angel Alita,' Deluxe 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and 'Sailor Moon' Editions").

Four From VIZ:  VIZ Media came to San Diego with four new titles up their sleeves.  Three are in their Shonen Jump line.  Kaguya Sama: Love Is War is a shonen romantic comedy about two students, both at the top of their class, who are in love but won't admit it—they are too competitive, even about that.  Instead, each one tries to trick the other into confessing their love first. If there's anyone who can turn love into war, it's high school students in manga!  The series will debut in Summer 2018.  Black Torch is about a shinobi who talks to animals but runs into trouble when he unites with a stray cat, gaining new powers but also getting dragged into a war against dangerous spirits.  This series will also launch in Summer 2018. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is another action story, this one about a young man who fights demons—and must also bring back his sister, who has been transformed into a demon herself.  This series will begin in late spring 2018.

VIZ's fourth new title, which will be print only, is Inio Asano's Dead Dead Demon's Dedede Destruction, which will debut in spring 2018.  Asano is the creator of the Eisner-nominated Solanin and Goodnight Punpun, and his work appeals to older readers with more literary tastes. Dead Dead Demon's Dedede Destruction is set in Tokyo three years after an alien invasion; while the Japanese Self Defense Forces try to figure out how to expel them, two high school girls track them on social media while going through the motions of studying for their college entrance tests.

More Cute Cats from Vertical:  The all-ages manga Chi's Sweet Home was a big hit for Vertical Comics, and now they are following it up with the sequel, Chi's Sweet Adventure, which will debut in May 2018.  Chi's Sweet Adventure is based on the animated series of the same name on Amazon Anime Strike, and like Chi's Sweet Home, it will be in full color.

More Kitaro from D+Q:  Drawn and Quarterly announced their spring and summer 2018 lineup, and there's one manga on the list: Shigeru Mizuki's Kitaro's Yokai Battles, a collection of seven stories featuring Mizuki's beloved one-eyed yokai boy.  After releasing several larger-format volumes of Mizuki's work, Drawn and Quarterly switched to a smaller trim size and a design with more kid appeal for these all-ages collections.