MARCH 2024 CATALOG

It was inevitable that Honjouji Rika would end up meeting Takuya's family if they were to continue with their fake engagement plan, but nothing could have prepared her for the excitable Oohara lot! The two arrive in Kumamoto, intent on coming clean, but is that really so easy? And why is it that meeting Takuya's beautiful and peppy childhood friend has Rika feeling so glum? Can the fake couple convince the Ooharas that they're really not betrothed? Can they even convince themselves?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 7, 2024

In her youth, Jeanne was a powerful witch who vanquished the evil Demon King and saved the world-but over time, the people she rescued have forgotten about her and her noble deeds. Now she is a short-spoken old woman, living by herself in a secluded forest...un til she summons a cat from Earth to her home. The former city kitty is now the size of a giant, and must acclimate to this new world at Jeanne's side. Through eating the food Jeanne prepares, and offering a head for pats, can this furry feline soothe the loneliness of the forgotten witch?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 14, 2024

Hotaru is a 16-year-old high school first year who has always been ambivalent about love, preferring instead to have a lively life with her family and friends. So when she sees her schoolmate, Hananoi-kun, sitting in the snow after a messy, public breakup, she thinks nothing of offering to share her umbrella. But when he asks her out in the middle of her classroom the next day, she can't help but feel that her life is about to change in a big way!

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 28, 2024

Following a wave of immigration, Japan has became a volatile mix of people and cultures, rocked by the protests of xenophobic extremists unhappy with the new status quo. A brash, job-hopping young woman named Riko is driving her scooter through one such protest when she sees a boy about to get run over by a truck. Riko just manages to shove him out of the way, and, in the hours that follow, she finds herself looking after the boy, named Eito. Riko takes Eito out for a bowl of ramen, but just as they're about to dig in, Eito is fired upon by a distant army sniper. As the bullet pierces the restaurant window and comes whizzing toward Eito, plant-like tendrils snake out from his arm and stop it in mid-flight. Who in the world is this boy?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 7, 2024

The fate of all life on Earth depends on a girl who doesn't know if she wants to live! Cleo, a 16-year-old adopted Japanese-American whose anxiety and depression drive her to suicidal thoughts, is fresh out of the hospital and trying unsuccessfully to reintegrate back into her old life. What she doesn't know is that her real struggles are just beginning, as she finds herself encountering an increasingly terrifying succession of ghosts. Is she losing her grip on reality... or is the explanation much, much worse?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 21, 2024

Yuki, who's always been deaf, is used to communicating with sign language and her phone. But she's not used to English, so when a tourist from overseas asks for directions, she nearly panics... until a handsome stranger steps in to help. His name is Itsuomi, and it turns out he's a friend of a friend. A charismatic globetrotter, Itsuomi speaks three languages, but he's never had a deaf friend. The two feel drawn to each other and plan a date on a romantic winter's night, but Yuki's friend is afraid that she might be setting herself up to get hurt. Could this be something real?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: APRIL 30, 2024

On the eve of the 1980s and the Reagan Administration, Detroit is burdened with an oppressive darkness-both political and supernatural. Dejected and tough tabloid reporter Elena Abbott, who previously defeated the occult forces responsible for her husband's death, must dig herself out from rock bottom if she's going to save Detroit from the Umbra, one last time.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 9, 2024

As part of their ARTIST SPOTLIGHT series, ABLAZE is proud to present a collected set of two graphic novels by author, dreamer, and wild child extraordinaire JP Roth. Roth is an American Novelist and owner of Rothic Comics, founded in 2012, through which she has produced and published five of her original series.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 14, 2024

A bicycle is a machine that you power yourself. You decide where you want to go, writes cartoonist Powerpaola, as the guiding principle of this graphic memoir. All My Bicycles is a story that never really begins, existing all at once in Paolas memory. The book illustrates Powerpaolas relationships through her many bicycles: in fragments, it takes her back to her great loves and losses, friendships, and disappointments.In remembering a bicycle, a manhole, an alligator, or a necklace, Powerpaola reflects upon these items in her consciousness without finding a concrete solution. Paolas memories arrive abruptly and leave just as fast, creating a pathway through herself she can only find in moving forward. All My Bicycles is a glimpse into how exploring these fleeting tangible moments of physical objects, of traveling and seeing a new city, of even the end of a relationship is an exploration of self.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 21, 2024

The school year is almost over, which means summer is right around the corner. Michelle wants to get a job at a day camp so she can hang out with some guy she has a crush on, Matthew is spending more and more time with Mary, and Emily just wants Anthony to leave her alone. But before they can lounge around the pool and eat watermelon all day, our heroes still have to deal with the pressing matter of those pesky final exams standing in the way of absolute freedom. Volume 2 of the ALMOST SUMMER saga brings back all the characters from the previous book for another slice of authentic teenage everyday life in all its pain and glory! "Compulsively readable... ALMOST SUMMER just aches with inchoate desire, frustrated dreams, and the endless possibilities of youth." Robert Clough, High-Low

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 14, 2024

An irresistible shojo manga offering an all-you-can-eat-buffet of high school drama, adolescent crushes, and childhood nostalgia. Just as Mizuho truly considers what Kizuki means to her, her long-admired Saito-sempai professes his feelings! With her system overloaded by new and confusing emotions, Mizuho comes down with a fever. Her childhood friends are eager to help, but soon realize they have their own tumultuous feelings to face.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 7, 2024

Get ready for a FRENZY of humor, heart, and hilarity in this GIANT-sized collection of stories starring Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and all your favorites from Riverdale!

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 21, 2024

A salaryman suffers a heart attack and is reborn in another world as Ars Louvent, the child of an aristocratic house. Though lacking in physical strength, Ars has a unique 'appraisal' skill that lets him see other people's stats and latent abilities. He puts this skill to the test by discovering a downtrodden young man with fearsome blade skills and a street urchin with a knack for magic. Has Ars found the diamonds in the rough that will help him secure his family's fortunes?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 30, 2024

The hit manga prequel to Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy continues! A surprise visit from a family member ends with a tale of robots past After the World Robot Battling Championship, Tenma and the team return home to repair Six and U-Ran. A surprise visit from Ochanomizu's grandfather results in a tale of a robot boy he knew in his youth.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 2, 2024

"There's a video game from when I was a kid that no one else seems to remember. Attaboy is an action-adventure comic disguised as an illustrated instructional booklet for a video game. The "byte"-sized hero is forced to avenge the destruction of his father and creator, Dr. Atta, by the sinister rebellious mechazoid Motherboard. However, the turn of each page unravels a much deeper story of pixelated thoughts, real world references, and heartbreaking truths.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 28, 2024

MICHELLE FUS' webcomic phenomenon returns!After unleashing a devastating attack against TITANs forces, Ava's newfound power sows division amongst the group. While Ava comes to terms with what shes done, the groups darkest secrets are revealed.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 28, 2024

The Jasmine Dragon has become a fixture of social life in Ba Sing Se. When his tea supply suddenly and mysteriously dries up, Iroh goes in search of answers and finds himself captured by a familiar face-bounty hunter June! Iroh must confront a part of his past while June considers her future, but however things gosomeone's got to free the tea! Faith Erin Hicks, Peter Wartman and Adele Matera are back with another new adventure in the word of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 2, 2024

What has happened to the Avengers? They are Earth's Mightiest Heroes - but they're beginning not to recognize Earth as their own. Trapped in a world they never made, the team must struggle to break free - while one of their number fights their own hopeless battle against Myrddin and his Twilight Court! But Avengers never fight alone, and their most dangerous member is about to join the conflict. At stake: the fate of Kang the Conqueror!

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 2, 2024

In a collection of stories from across the spectrum of real-life experience, nine members of the trans community share their inspirational childhood stories. These are tales of questioning, affirming, transitioning, and growing up; courageous, gripping accounts from musicians, actors, teachers, scientists, forest rangers, and activists of how they overcame their unique challenges to become who they truly are.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 21, 2024

Comic book readers are familiar with the world of Bronze and Modern Era comics stories of gleaming steel metropolises populated by daring superheroes battling for truth and justice facing down power-mad masterminds and would-be world conquerors. But unknown to the league of heroes who protect the innocent, this world has a cancer growing at its heart. A pantheon of elder gods is starting to awaken. These timeless forces of super-nature once claimed dominion over a primordial Earth and they have returned to reclaim what is theirs.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 23, 2024

Romance can spark anywhere: on the soccer field, in the office, or in the classroom in these manga short stories by various creators. A Boys' Love manga collection about falling in love for the first time! Whether between best friends, co-workers, classmates, or otherwise, this is a montage of the moments where sparks begin to fly. This manga collection features twenty-nine short Boys' Love stories from a variety of hit manga artists, including the creators of BL Metamorphosis, Manly Appetites, I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend Into a Girl, and more!

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 14, 2024

The Eisner Award-winning superhero saga returns in this story picking up immediately after the events of the hit Reborn series. In this multi-timeline, world-hopping adventure, we find new stakes, new heroes, and the long-awaited return to Black Hammer farm with the Weber family reuniting and facing many new challenges and villains in Jeff Lemire's biggest event in the Black Hammer series thus far!

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 16, 2024

Former convenience store employee Hino Miharu is getting used to living at the North Pole and working at his new job as a bad Santa. Excited about the prospect of potentially becoming a Reindeer, a position that is compensated beyond his wildest dreams, Miharu is blindsided by learning that his deceased father may have been the last red Santa Claus. To add to the confusion, Miharu ends up witnessing his hot mess of an ex-coworker, Kaiser-kun, pull off the utterly impossible!

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 14, 2024

THE FINAL CHAPTER IN THE ASH SAGA, SPANNING 30 YEARS! In 2019, Aahna 'Ash' Ashina was the LAPD's most efficient and feared Blade Runner. Two decades later and Ash lives 'off-grid' as a fugitive outlaw helping Replicants escape their enslaved servitude and survive undetected on Earth. Now, Ash faces her greatest challenge yet: saving the city she loves from the insane machinations of Niander Wallace and his deadly assistant, Luv. It's up to Ash to protect the secret of the Replicant miracle - as seen in the critically acclaimed blockbuster BLADE RUNNER 2049 - and fulfill the pact she made years ago to those she loves most. Collecting Blade Runner: 2039 #9-12.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 23, 2024

Count Dracula is reborn as a katana-wielding young vampiress in a new, never-seen-before action manga set in a gritty, alternate-history Europe! Having narrowly escaped being blown to pieces, Count Vlad squares off against the mercenaries known as Grace and Gramps. However, what began as a battle to the death takes an unexpected turn when the pair end up joining the band of travelers. Count Vlad soon stumbles across none other than the Justiciar, the man who had him executed in the distant past. The Justiciar then recounts the tragic story of his imprisonment and his son's death. Yet he may not have been entirely forthcoming, as Count Vlad and friends soon learn when they cross paths with a young assassin...

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 21, 2024

Living an isolated life in a shadowed valley surrounded by mountains and a thick forest, a father and son are terrorized by a dangerous supernatural presence. Only the father's dark secrets can save them or damn their souls for all eternity!Being a single father can be tough, but for Ezra Connolly, it's a duty he doesn't take lightly. Living off-grid, away from prying eyes, in the heart of forest country, he spends his days teaching his teenage son Wil survival skills. But Wil has questions, questions Ezra fears to answer about his past, and about why they never leave the valley before sundown.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 21, 2024

BLOODSTRIKE Is back! A new recruit to the Bloodstrike program is compromised and struggles on a covert mission that puts him on a collision course with his former squadron! Unload the guns and ammo in this action-packed spectacle by ROB LIEFELD (Deadpool, X-Force)! Guest starring Brigade and Bloodwulf!

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 21, 2024

The year is 1863. It is a turbulent time in Japan, as rising anxieties about the modernizing world coincide with the decline of the shogunate, and the possibility of civil war looms. As disgruntled samurai flood into the city of Kyoto, a group of ronin warriors are recruited to maintain peace and protect the shogunate's interests: the Mibu Roshigumi, later known as the Shinsengumi! Despite his youth and small stature, Nio begins to turn heads among the Roshigumi with his work ethic and forthright personality. But all is not well within the group-some plot against the Roshigumi for their own interests, and their resources are scant. Fortunately, a plea to the mighty daimyo of Aizu might just gain them an audience. Will the scrappy group of misfits find themselves a powerful backer, or will they be relegated to the dustbin of history?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 28, 2024

From film and TV screenwriter Mark Verheiden (The Mask, Battlestar Galactica, Swamp Thing, ), writer/actor Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica, Hemlock Grove), and artist Cliff Richards (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Justice League) comes Borealis, a tale of hard-edged crime and supernatural terror! Under the blazing night skies of Alaska, something mysterious is emerging in the remote village of Qinu-something ancient . . . and powerful.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: JULY 9, 2024

Souichiro's wife wanted to retire to the countryside, but soon after they achieve this dream, she dies. So he won't be left alone, their pet cat Nii turns into a talking nekomata, a two-tailed yokai cat. Together they share a heartwarming slow life, cooking and eating delicious food surrounded by nature. Enjoy freshly baked bread, handmade jam, fluffy omelets, and seasonal vegetables with the members of this unusual household.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 28, 2024

Miharu and Raizou set off for the Middle East to find and take down Zack and Kiera Falcone, weapons dealers extraordinaire. Their search leads them deep into the heart of a war-torn region known as the Frontier, where armed militias roam free. Once again, Miharu runs into the young mercenary Bersa. But why is Miharu so determined to save her enemy's skin?

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: MAY 7, 2024