Scholastic’s children’s graphic novel imprint Graphix dominates its category with blockbusters like Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man, Raina Telgemeier’s middle school dramas, and Alice Osman’s Heartstopper, so it was big news when they announced last year that they would begin publishing manga (see “Scholastic Announces First Graphix Manga”). Their first title, Unico: Awakening by writer Sam Sattin and art team Gurihiru, was released on August 6, 2024, and the second volume in the series is scheduled for June 2025. ICv2 spoke with Graphix co-founder and publisher David Saylor about what manga adds to the Graphix lineup, what Graphix brings to the manga category, and why they decided to start with a hybrid product based on a classic by manga legend Osamu Tezuka.
Why do you think it was important to add manga to the Graphix series?
That’s mainly because manga is so popular. It’s a category of comics that Scholastic didn’t do, and I thought, “Why don’t we do this?”
I’ve also talked to librarians and parents whose children are reading manga they shouldn’t be reading because they’re so excited by the content and the illustrations. It’s difficult for librarians because they have to guide the appropriate age group to the appropriate books and they can’t recommend older manga. There’s a real need for manga for middle-aged children, and I thought Scholastic could make a difference in that world because we only publish children’s books. We’re very careful about what we publish for different age groups. We’re very strong in middle-aged comics, so I thought, “Why don’t we do manga?”
What does Graphix offer that other manga publishers don’t?
It’s about finding qualities that feel right for middle grade readers. With Graphix, we take a certain approach with all of our comics: they’re very kid-friendly, engaging books, age-appropriate, and really meant for the kids who are reading them. I see kids really passionately embracing them, and I wanted to do that for manga too, by creating a safe space for kids who can read Raina Telgemeier and Dav Pilkey and read manga that feels meant for them. And I think that’s the difference we can make, because once Scholastic says we’re doing something, once we make our point, we create a space for these kinds of graphic novels.
Why did you start with Unico?
Unico was kind of the perfect hybrid. It was originally created in color and in western comic format, so it felt like an entry point for a lot of readers who want to get into manga. And the story and the illustrations were so exceptional. It just seemed like this was the next step for Graphix, and we need to get into this space.
How would you sell such a hybrid to manga fans?
The artwork sells itself. It’s just so appealing. When I saw the examples and read the first chapter, I thought, “I have to publish this book.” It was like a sledgehammer. The story, the characters, the world are what will sell it.
The interesting thing about Graphix getting into the manga space is that we’re not necessarily trying to reach adult fans or even teenagers who already love manga. There’s all this debate about what is real manga and what isn’t, but we kind of avoid that by just saying we produce manga for kids. That’s what we do, and that’s what we do best. Unico will be the first in a series of objects suitable for children and will bring sensitivity to this space.
And vice versa: What is appealing to children who read graphic novels but are not yet interested in manga?
Again, the illustrations and the way the story is told. He’s such a compelling character and the world is so rich. It presents a view of life that children will find very fascinating, I think, because it doesn’t condescend to them in any way. It presents very difficult problems. There are evil characters doing bad things and Unico has to solve a problem and things don’t always go according to plan. Mistakes are made. Sometimes bad decisions are made.
Unico is lost and trying to find himself. Watching him find himself and gain his power is, in my opinion, a very appealing story for children. Harry Potter, Harry is kind of lost at the beginning of the story, but by the seventh book in the series he understands his power, he understands who he is, he’s made some hard choices and done difficult things and faced his fears, so he’s matured over the course of the series. Sam develops Unico in the same way: he’ll be a fully fleshed out character by the end of the series, not a character who just gets lost in every book. I think it has tremendous appeal for kids, both because it’s a world they’ve never seen before and because it’s a super-sweet character who’s also really fierce. He’s got both of those things.
I believe that children discover their inner strength when they read about such characters.
Do you do special direct marketing work?
We sent Sam Sattin to ComicsPRO so he could talk to retailers face-to-face. That was unusual in itself. Matt Poulter, our marketing manager, does a lot of direct marketing, and our sales team does that too. And every time ComicsPRO happens, they sign up dozens of stores that can order directly from us, so they don’t have to work with Diamond if they don’t want to. We have an account manager who works specifically with comic retailers, we have marketing materials and a newsletter that goes out to retailers.
Part of it is just showing them the sales of these books in bookstores. That’s what you could do in your store. Because I know kids go to your store.
What is your schedule? Unico?
Volume 2 will be released in June 2025, and after that we have a tight schedule, so hopefully one per year.
What happens next?
We’re about to announce some traditional manga that are read right to left that we’re going to publish specifically for middle school students ages 10 and up. It’s going to be a safe place for kids, so parents will feel comfortable, librarians will be very happy to give it to kids, and it will have the Graphix seal of approval. Partly it’s the flavor, the type of projects that we choose, that I think just gives the projects something special.
We always put children first and only publish them, so I don’t look at adult stuff. This makes my job easier and harder because I know what I’m not looking for.
