Geneon Entertainment has announced an agreement with the Hot Topic retail chain under which Geneon will provide licensed merchandise for four of its hottest anime properties in an exclusive 90-day window starting September 1st.  Headline Entertainment will produce t-shirts, stickers, and buttons based on Geneon anime series, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, Fafner, Jubei Chan 2 and R.O.D The TV and Hot Topic will place the products on special anime islands or boutiques within the chain's 670 (primarily mall) stores.

The first Geneon DVD of Gankutsuou, a vivid retelling of Alexandre Dumas' saga of betrayal and revenge, won't be out until October, but the first DVD for Fafner, a highly regarded 'mecha vs. extraterrestrial invaders' series came out in July, and the initial DVD for Jubei Chan 2, the story of a teenage girl who inherits the name and skills of a legendary samurai warrior debuted in June.  The entire 7-DVD R.O.D The TV series, which chronicles the adventures of three sisters who have the extraordinary ability to manipulate paper enabling them to fight off a series of extremely nasty villains, has been available for some time and the series has received considerable TV exposure on the G4 Network's Anime Unleashed block.