This is the press release that was released:

Kodansha and Random House Transform and Expand Their U.S. Manga Publishing Relationship

New York, NY – October 4, 2010 – Kodansha Ltd. and Random House Inc. have announced their plans to change and expand their manga publishing relationship in North America. The companies are shifting from a licensing relationship to a sales and distribution arrangement as of December 1, 2010.

The current relationship between Kodansha and Random House began in 2003, with the first titles debuting in 2004 under the latter’s Del Rey Manga imprint. Since then, more 500 volumes have been published, including many bestselling manga series.

Under the new arrangement, Kodansha’s subsidiary, Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC, established in 2008 and led by Yoshio Irie, will be publishing Kodansha-originated manga themselves directly in the U.S. English-language market with strong support from Random House Publisher Services (RHPS), Random House’s third-party distribution division. Del Rey Manga associate publisher Dallas Middaugh will remain with the program, transferring to RHPS.

“We are very excited to extend our relationship with Random House,” said Yoshio Irie, president and CEO of Kodansha USA Publishing. “Both companies see opportunity in the American manga market, and we look forward to working together to further the distribution and exposure of manga in the United States.”

“We are thrilled to have a publisher as distinctive as Kodansha USA Publishing join the Random House Publisher Services portfolio,” said Jeff Abraham, the division’s president. “Kodansha is one of the great worldwide publishing brands for the manga category, and we will do everything to support their efforts with our many booksellers and distributors who love selling manga titles.”

Del Rey’s ongoing manga titles which were licensed by Kodansha will be gradually taken over by Kodansha USA Publishing on a per-title basis.

Tokyo-based Kodansha established Kodansha USA Inc. on the occasion of their company’s 100th anniversary. Kodansha USA Publishing began by publishing Akira and The Ghost in the Shell in 2009 under the Kodansha Comics imprint. They plan to expand their strong line-up of manga under this exciting new collaboration with Random House Publisher Services.

Prodigal Son Volume 1

Review By Budd

Wolverine is a fan favorite character in Marvel comic books. He was first featured in the Incredible Hulk comics and soon found himself as a member of the New X-Men. His past has always been shrouded in mystery. Wolverine: Prodigal Son is a re-imagining of the Logan character in a more youthful, modern setting with manga style artwork.

The story follows young Logan as he trains in a secluded, Canadian dojo. He was left there several years earlier with no memory of who he was or where he came from. At the school, Logan must master his martial arts skills without falling back on his incredible healing factor. Like most schools, Logan doesn’t get along with everyone but has a few very close friends.

When Logan first came to the school, he humiliated the schools best student, Morgan, in a fight. Morgan soon left the school only to let the humiliation simmer into hate. Now Morgan is back and he has brought a secret military organization with him.

This was a fun read and it completely resets the Wolverine story line. They shied away from using other established characters in this manga and stayed pretty true to what is considered cannon on Wolverine’s healing abilities. They come up with a clever reason as to why he has the nickname Wolverine as well. The story was okay, but it did emphasize that Logan’s biggest weakness is his reliance on his mutant abilities. It really hammers this home and it seems as if they are setting something bigger up.

I would recommend this to Wolverine fans that can handle this new interpretation of the character. If you aren’t familiar with Wolverine or you have just seen the X-Men movies, you should enjoy this as well. The book is rated 13+ due to some language and violence.