Continuing to expand its platform beyond digital comics, Wattpad Webtoon Studios announced plans to launch Webtoon Unscrolled, a new graphic novel imprint that will publish print editions of hit Webtoon mobile webcomics beginning in fall 2022.
Bobbie Chase has been named executive editor of Webtoon Unscrolled. Chase, who has worked with Marvel and Disney, was previously v-p of global publishing initiatives and digital strategy at DC Entertainment. Wedtoon Unscrolled will publish graphic novels for the adult and children’s markets across a wide variety of genres. The imprint plans to release 12 titles a year with distribution to the book trade by Macmillan in the U.S. and Canada.
Wattpad Webtoon is a new publishing division formed after the acquisition of Wattpad, a mobile reading and writing community, by Naver, the parent company of the mobile comics platform Webtoon, earlier this year. Webtoon claims its mobile comics attract an audience of more than 70 million visitors each month,
Ashleigh Gardner, senior v-p, publishing at Wattpad Webtoon Studios, said the new imprint will focus on, “diverse new voices and genres that have established fandoms all over the world.” Gardner added, “with Webtoon Unscrolled we’re going to bring more Webtoon artists to bookshelves faster than ever.”
The initial list will include print adaptations of such hit Webtoon webcomics as Tower of God by SIU (2.9 million subscribers on Webtoon), a fantasy about a mysterious tower that encloses a range of environments offering wealth and power, or perhaps death; True Beauty by Yaongyi (6.5 million subscribers), the story of a high school girl who becomes a media star after showing off her talent for makeup on YouTube; and Doom Breaker by Blue-Deep (441,000 subscribers), the story of the last human left to fight in a apocalyptic battle with the gods.
The launch of Webtoon Unscrolled is the latest effort by the mobile comics platform to expand its publishing into new categories, including licensing DC comics characters for Webtoon-style comics stories on its app and website.
Webtoon Entertainment CEO Ken Kim said, “Webtoon has transformed the comics landscape, helping creators find new fans all over the world.” He emphasized that “Webtoon’s storytelling technology and creators are fueling a Literary Creator Economy, ushering in a new era of publishing and entertainment.”
