DEL REY MANGA ACQUIRES ITS FIRST AMERICAN MANGA IN COLLABORATION WITH POP SUPERSTAR AVRIL LAVIGNE
NEW YORK, NY — January 30, 2007 — Del Rey Manga, an imprint of Random House Inc. and one of the premiere publishers of manga in the U.S., announced today the acquisition of MAKE 5 WISHES, created in collaboration with platinum-selling and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist Avril Lavigne.
Make 5 Wishes by Camilla D'Errico, Joshua Dysart
Del Rey Manga will publish the first volume of MAKE 5 WISHES on April 10, 2007. Avril Lavigne's new album The Best Damn Thing will release shortly after on April 17, 2007 from RCA Records. In volume one of MAKE 5 WISHES, introverted teenager Hana stumbles upon a website that will change her life forever. After a demon grants her a series of wishes that go bad, Hana meets her hero Avril Lavigne, who helps her find the courage to conquer her own personal demons once and for all. The concluding volume of MAKE 5 WISHES will release in July 2007. Both volumes will appear in full-color.
More than simply lending her talents to the creative process, multiple award-winning singer, songwriter, model, and actress Avril Lavigne also appears as a character in the manga. When asked what inspired her to be a part of this project, Avril Lavigne had this to say, "I know that many of my fans read manga, and I'm really excited to be involved in creating stories that I know they will enjoy."
Acquiring editor Betsy Mitchell, Editor-in-Chief of Del Rey Books, said this about the enthusiasm surrounding MAKE 5 WISHES, "In the past few years, manga [the Japanese art form] has grown exponentially in the United States. For our very first original English-language manga, we're very excited to be working with a person as versatile in her talent as Avril Lavigne."
Del Rey Manga purchased world rights for the books in a deal brokered by Terry McBride, CEO of Nettwerk Management.
ABOUT AVRIL LAVIGNE
AVRIL LAVIGNE was born in the small town of Napanee, Ontario, Canada, and stood out from the crowd at an early age. Her musical talents were noticeable by the age of two, and by the time she was in her early teens she was already writing songs and playing guitar. Singing in the church choir and local festivals allowed Lavigne to get her voice heard.
On a trip to New York at age 16, Lavigne was signed to Arista Records when she caught the attention of Antonio "LA" Reid. With her major label deal signed, Lavigne moved to New York City, but not long after moved on to Los Angeles to work on her record. By early 2002, her debut CD Let Go was released. With 15 million albums sold, 8 Grammy nominations and three #1 singles—"Sk8ter Boi," "Complicated," and "I'm With You"—Lavigne gave young women a defiant voice.
In 2004, Lavigne returned with Under My Skin. This time the Canadian chanteuse took charge of her creative direction and reflected a more introspective Avril. The album debuted at #1 on charts worldwide and delivered her fourth #1 single, "My Happy Ending."
Twenty-six million albums later, and following numerous awards, multiple world tours, and myriad magazine covers and TV appearances, Lavigne is now finding time to concentrate on her other loves, acting and fashion.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
CAMILLA D'ERRICO: ARTIST
Camilla d'Errico is an artist whose first love is the manga form. Her work will be featured by the underwear and lingerie company Ginch Gonch in their AIDS Awareness promotion scheduled for Fall 2007. In addition to the Make 5 Wishes series, she will have three comics published in 2007: Burn, a traditional manga series published by Arcana Studios in Canada; Zevon-7, a four-part mini-series published by AngelGate Press; and Nightmares and Fairytales, by Slave Labour Graphics.
JOSHUA DYSART: WRITER
Joshua Dysart has written for Image, DC Comics, Vertigo, and Dark Horse, and wrote the comic book adaptation of the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for Art Asylum. He has captured the notice of Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, and has been asked to help create the back-stories for Mignola's rich and imaginative world. Joshua's first Hellboy stories will be premiering next year from Dark Horse. In 2005 he came to the attention of legendary musician Neil Young, and the two began crafting a large work based on Mr. Young's concept album Greendale. Greendale will be Joshua Dysart's sixth graphic novel and/or collected work.
