During the Yen Press industry panel at Anime NYC, Ize Press revealed a diverse expansion to its catalog, led by the acquisition of the acclaimed webtoon Whale Star: The Gyeongseong Mermaid. Written by Yoonhee Na, the historical romance explores 1926 Korea under Japanese colonial rule, centering on a maid who aids a wounded independence fighter. The series, which has already garnered over 13 million readers and a Korea Content Grand Prize, will be brought to physical print for the first time.
The publisher is also doubling down on its flagship property, Solo Leveling. The expansion includes the acquisition of the sequel novel series Solo Leveling: Ragnarok by Daul, which shifts the focus to Jinwoo Sung’s son, Sooho. Alongside the literary expansion, Ize Press is targeting the tabletop market with Solo Leveling: The Board Game, a cooperative experience for up to four players that will launch in both Standard and Ultimate editions, the latter of which includes a plush figure of the fan-favorite shadow monarch, Beru.
In addition to these new series, Ize Press confirmed a push into multilingual publishing, with plans to release Spanish-language editions of the original Solo Leveling comic and novel series in the United States and Canada. A worldwide audiobook release is also scheduled to accompany these editions. Specific release windows and pricing structures for these titles remain forthcoming.
