A Hayao Miyazaki graphic novel is being published for the first time in the U.S.
Exciting news for Hayao Miyazaki fans: Shuna’s Journey, a 1983 graphic novel by Miyazaki, will receive an English-language release in the U.S. late this year. First Second, a Macmillan imprint, will publish the work on November 1st. Alex Dudok de Wit will translate, and will write a new introduction for the work; Miyazaki’s original afterword will also be included.
Shuna’s Journey, a story illustrated in entirely watercolors, contains elements fans of Miyazaki’s films might find familiar. Its setting is similar to that of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and Princess Mononoke borrows visual and narrative images from the book. “Fans of Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind—there are millions of us—will delight in finding early hints of these masterworks in gorgeous watercolor pages by Miyazaki’s own hand,” Mark Siegel, editorial and creative director of First Second, told the Associated Press.
“It’s just a really beautiful story, strange even by Miyazaki’s standards, somber and luminous by turns,” Dudok de Wit wrote on Twitter. “I can’t wait for this to be out!”
