"Detroit Metal City" manga series to debut June 9

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will delight rock and roll and manga fans nationwide with the debut of DETROIT METAL CITY on June 9th. The new manga series is rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences and carries an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $15.00 CAN. The first print run of volume one also contains limited edition tattoos.

Prepare to have your mortal soul devoured by the demonic Johannes Krauser II, front man for Detroit Metal City, the most outrageous death metal band on the Japanese indie rock scene! Soichi Negishi dreamed of moving to Tokyo and starting a bubblegum pop band, but now he’s fronting the most scandalous and demented death metal band in Japanese rock!

Deep down, Soichi still dreams of acoustic guitars and trips to Paris, but when the makeup comes on and he transforms into his alter ego, Krauser II, not even the denizens of hell are safe from his soul-devouring death metal sound. Can Soichi reconcile his sensitive inner yearnings with his wild on-stage persona – the vilest hard rocker in Japanese (and possibly world) history?

DETROIT METAL CITY takes the zany rock antics inspired by films like Spinal Tap to hilarious new extremes in this witty series created by Kiminori Wakasugi. First appearing in the pages of Japan’s Young Animal manga magazine, the manga quickly became a national sensation. The series has already sold more than 2 million copies in Japan. The DETROIT METAL CITY animated counterpart has also gained a major following across North America. A live action version of the film was recently released in Japan featuring cameos by Gene Simmons (KISS) and Marty Friedman (Megadeth).

"The hilarious on- and off-stage antics of Soichi Negishi and his swaggering alter ego Johannes Krauser II promises to make DETROIT METAL CITY the most over-the-top, profane, and funniest hard rock manga satire to ever hit North American shores." says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Marketing for VIZ Media. "We look forward to it resonating not only with manga readers but also with music fans who will relish this eccentric heavy metal adventure."