Webtoon has revealed the Webtoon Book Group is expanding its publishing line to include print graphic novels with Webtoon Unscrolled. The company will take their existing digital comics from Webtoon and send them to print. This is the first major joint publishing venture from Wattpad Webtoon Studios since they merged in June 2021.
Details are still coming together on this venture, but Webtoon has revealed they will be printed across all age ranges and genres with their debut book releasing in book stores in the Fall of 2022. The plan is to have six titles released in the Fall, with three already announced for publication which includes:
- Cursed Princess Club (2M subscribers on WEBTOON) by LambCat is a comedy that follows Gwendolyn, a princess that doesn’t quite fit the mold and so, embarks on a journey to discover the magic within herself.
- Everything is Fine (793K subscribers on WEBTOON) by Mike Birchall takes place in a dystopian world filled with dark secrets and…cute cat costumes???
- Boyfriends (1.5M subscribers on WEBTOON) by Refrainbow is a comic about getting yourself a boyfriend… or multiple boyfriends! It follows four college students who begin a polyamorous relationship and navigate the adventure that is their dating life.
The new endeavor is joined by editor Bobbie Chase as Executive Editor under the leadership of Ashleigh Gardner. Chase most recently acted as Vice President of Global Publishing Initiatives & Digital Strategy at DC Entertainment helping to launch the middle grade and YA imprints at DC Comics.
For more on this news, read the official press release below.
TORONTO and LOS ANGELES – November 18, 2021- Wattpad WEBTOON Studios today announced WEBTOON Unscrolled a new graphic novel imprint to bring WEBTOON hits to bookshelves. Dedicated to publishing high-quality graphic novels from WEBTOON, the world’s largest digital comics platform, WEBTOON Unscrolled will debut under the Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group alongside the Wattpad Books, W by Wattpad Books, and the Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books imprints. WEBTOON Unscrolled’s debut list will hit shelves in Fall of 2022, including international WEBTOON sensations like Tower of God by SIU and True Beauty by Yaongyi.
Bobbie Chase will join WEBTOON Unscrolled as Executive Editor. Chase was previously Vice President of Global Publishing Initiatives & Digital Strategy at DC Entertainment, where she launched the company’s graphic novel imprint aimed at middle grade and YA readers. Chase has also worked with industry giants Marvel and Disney.
With 72 million passionate readers around the world on the WEBTOON platform, WEBTOON-originated TV and film adaptations on screens, and a growing international fandom for digital comics, WEBTOON Unscrolled will bring works from WEBTOON creators to bookshelves everywhere.
WEBTOON Unscrolled continues to build on the Wattpad WEBTOON Studios verticalization model, creating monetization opportunities for creators across a variety of adaptation formats. With Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ unmatched expertise in digital comics and fandoms, along with a roster of leading comics creators, WEBTOON Unscrolled will create a best-in-class experience for artists and a product fans will love.
The WEBTOON Unscrolled editorial teams will select titles from some of the most successful and promising digital comics on WEBTOON, with built-in audiences and established fandoms.
Ken Kim, Chief Executive Officer, WEBTOON Entertainment said, “WEBTOON has transformed the comics landscape, helping creators find new fans all over the world. As the global leader in digital comics and IP, WEBTOON’s storytelling technology and creators are fueling a Literary Creator Economy, ushering in a new era of publishing and entertainment. With WEBTOON Unscrolled, we’ll bring some of the biggest names and undiscovered talent from WEBTOON to bookshelves.”
Ashleigh Gardner, SVP, Publishing at Wattpad WEBTOON Studios said, “The Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group is building the future of publishing, with diverse new voices and genres that have established fandoms all over the world. At WEBTOON Unscrolled, we have the best WEBTOON artists on the planet and a world-class team dedicated to creator success. With WEBTOON Unscrolled we’re going to bring more WEBTOON artists to bookshelves faster than ever. Our creators are already famous around the world and I can’t wait to see them thrive on bookshelves.”
Readers can look forward to novels in both the adult and children’s category across a wide range of genres, from action adventure to romance and everything in between. WEBTOON Unscrolled plans to release 12 titles per year.
The Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group will continue to partner with Macmillan in the
U.S and Canada for sales distribution.
The first full slate of graphic novels from WEBTOON Unscrolled is as follows:
Tower of God by SIU – 2.9 million subscribers on WEBTOON
What do you desire? Money and wealth? Honor and pride? Authority and power? Revenge? Or something that transcends them all? Whatever you desire—you can find it here, at the Tower. When Bam’s best friend Rachel declares she’s going to climb the mysterious Tower, he is devastated, and decides to try and make the climb after her in order to see her again, risking death and much, much worse.
Tower of God is a global phenomenon on WEBTOON, where it has more than 4.5 billion reads from fans around the world. WEBTOON and Crunchyroll recently
co-produced a hit anime adaptation, available on Crunchyroll and HBO Max.
True Beauty by Yaongyi – 6.5 million subscribers on WEBTOON
True Beauty, a smash hit webcomic from Korea, follows the story of a high schooler named Im Ju Yeong who sees her social standing skyrocket when she masters the art of makeup from YouTube. But will her elite status be short-lived? How long can she keep her real self a secret? And what about that cute boy, Lee Su Ho who knows her secret?
True Beauty is a global sensation, with 5.1 billion reads on WEBTOON. The digital comic has been adapted into a hit series, and a feature film based on the story is also in development.
Doom Breaker by Blue-Deep – 441k subscribers on WEBTOON
Zephyr is the last human fighting evil in a world abandoned by the gods. When he is killed in battle by Tartarus, the god of destruction, all hope for humanity seems lost. But Zephyr’s fate is not sealed — the gods who find his battles entertaining have gifted him a second chance at life, as he is sent ten years into the past, back to when he was a slave instead of the most powerful human alive. Can Zephyr get his revenge against Tartarus and save the woman he loves, or is he doomed to repeat the past?
Doom Breaker is a growing hit around the world online. The digital comic entered the top of the daily originals within a month of opening on WEBTOON in Korea.
Cursed Princess Club by LambCat– 2 million subscribers on WEBTOON
Meet Gwendolyn – living proof that princesses don’t always have it all. See, although she lives in a castle and her father is the King, Gwendolyn isn’t like a movie princess, or even a fairy-tale princess. She’s got a big heart, but isn’t particularly attractive and doesn’t have a Disney-quality singing voice. But one night, she accidentally stumbles upon the twisted world of the Cursed Princess Club, and her life will never be the same. Hexed and cast out, the ladies of the club are just the people Gwendolyn needs to show her that just because she doesn’t “fit the mold” does not mean she’s any less of a princess.
Boyfriends. by Refrainbow – 1.5 million subscribers on WEBTOON
A graphic novel about getting yourself a boyfriend… or multiple boyfriends! Four college students begin a polyamorous relationship and navigate the adventure that is their dating life!
Everything Is Fine by Mike Birchall – 790.9k subscribers on WEBTOON
Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors or their sweet little dog. Everything is Fine.
WEBTOON Unscrolled is one of the first major publishing ventures from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven global entertainment and publishing arm for Wattpad and WEBTOON.
WEBTOON Unscrolled arrives as digital and print comics, along with graphic novels, continue to grow in prominence among consumers, publishers, and entertainment companies. WEBTOON-originated digital comics and IP have become a global force in publishing and entertainment: Rachel Smythe’s Harvey-award winning WEBTOON phenomenon Lore Olympus was recently published by Penguin Random House. The digital comic was previously nominated for an Eisner Award and is in development as an animated series from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and The Jim Henson Company. Miriam Bonastre Tur’s WEBTOON Hooky was published by HMH in September 2021 and has since become a New York Times Bestseller. Other popular WEBTOON adaptations include the Netflix hit Sweet Home, and Noblesse, an anime co-production between WEBTOON and Crunchyroll.
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