INK POP to publish manga and manhwa translations, as well as popular webtoons series for kids and teens
The line will debut with the popular Webtoon turned Manga series I Wanna Be Your Girl, on sale July 2025
Random House Graphic, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, will be launching Ink Pop, a new line of manga, manhwa, and webtoons comics for kids and teens. It was announced today by Michelle H. Nagler, SVP & Publisher, Random House Brands & Graphic. The books will feature English translations of popular manga and manhwa, as well as bring into print popular global webtoons series for chapter book, middle grade, and YA audiences. Ink Pop will be led by Whitney Leopard, Executive Editor, Random House Graphic.
The inaugural Ink Pop program will debut in 2025 with the hit YA webtoon turned successful manga series I WANNA BE YOUR GIRL by Umi Takase. Printed in English for the very first time, this story of love and identity will appeal to fans of Heartstopper and Blue Flag. The first installment of the series, I WANNA BE YOUR GIRL: VOLUME 1, will release on July 1, 2025, and introduces readers to Hime, who has secretly been in love with her childhood best friend, Akira, for as long as she can remember. Hime discovers that love can be complicated, especially when, right before high school, Akira transitions to living as a girl. This manga series thoughtfully explores the complications of first loves, friendship, and what it truly means to be an ally.
From Michelle Nagler: “It’s an exciting time to bring manga to our market. We’ve seen the popularity of the genre rising in the US, and we hear from parents, teachers, and librarians all the time about wanting more manga for young readers. The Random House Graphic team is thrilled for the opportunity to thoughtfully bring global comics to the children’s market we know and love, with our Ink Pop line.”
The second series in the program, MY LIFE AS AN INTERNET NOVEL: Volume 1 by Han Ryeo Yu and A Hyeon, will launch on September 2, 2025. MY LIFE AS AN INTERNET NOVEL is a YA romance and popular manhwa about a character who is transported into a different world with a new school, new friends . . . and new love interests?
Along with these two YA series, Ink Pop will publish a wide range of kid-friendly titles across age ranges and genres featuring humor, romance, and fantasy. Follow the conversation on social via #InkPop.
UMI TAKASE was born and still lives in the Toyama Prefecture. In 2016, she won an honorable mention at the 78th Shogakukan Newcomer Comic Awards, where she debuted her stand-alone short story “Ethnic Mirror” in the special issue of Flowers.
RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S BOOKS is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House is the longtime home of the beloved and bestselling Dr. Seuss books, which continue to make learning to read fun for millions of children everywhere. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Random House Graphic publishes graphic novels for kids and teens. Across all interests, from fiction to nonfiction, our graphic novels combine great writing and powerful artwork to help each book find its way into readers’ hearts. We believe in the importance of comic storytelling and the central place of visual literature in our culture. At Random House Graphic, we champion creativity, and we champion the authors whose work goes into the books we publish. With our editorial, design, and marketing teams, we put care into every title, making each graphic novel from Random House Graphic a work with a great story, great art, and high-quality production. We believe in making graphic novels for all kids—a graphic novel for every bookshelf. Featured publishing includes Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen; Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Stephanie Yue; Pizza and Taco by Stephen Shaskan; and beloved brands that have now expanded into graphic novels with RH Graphic such as Dr. Seuss, Sweet Valley Twins, and Magic Tree House.
