VIZ Media Presents POKÉMON MANGA Creators At SDCC

Welcome POKÉMON ADVENTURES Manga Creators

Hidenori Kusaka And Satoshi Yamamoto For A Special Panel Discussion And Autograph Sessions At The Famed Annual Pop Culture And Comics Convention

Satoshi & Hidenori

San Francisco, CA, July 12, 2016 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, proudly presents the creators of the famed POKÉMON ADVENTURES manga series – Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto – for their first-ever North American professional appearance at the 2016 Comic-Con International.

The pair are scheduled to meet fans for multiple autograph sessions and also will participate in a POKÉMON ADVENTURES panel event alongside the Japanese and English language series editors. VIZ Media will support their appearances with an exclusive POKÉMON ADVENTURES art book, as well as a manga bundle that will be available for purchase at the company’s booth on the main show floor.

Comic-Con International is one of the nation’s largest comic book, science fiction and pop culture events, and will take place July 20^th–24^th at the San Diego Convention Center, in San Diego, CA. VIZ Media will be located in Booth 2813. Complete details on Comic-Con are available at: www.comic-con.org.

POKÉMON ADVENTURES Comic-Con International Creator Events

Saturday, July 23^rd

1:00pm – 2:00pm        Spotlight on POKÉMON ADVENTURES Creators

                                      (Horton Grand Theatre)

The creative team behind VIZ Media's POKÉMON ADVENTURES manga, Hidenori Kusaka (writer) and Satoshi Yamamoto (artist), will lead this special ticketed panel presentation. Attendees will receive a limited edition poster. Pairs of tickets will be  distributed starting at 9:00am at the Sails Pavilion; please check program guide for more details.

3:00pm – 4:00pm        POKÉMON ADVENTURES Autograph Session

(Sails Pavilion AA07)

Meet writer Hidenori Kusaka and artist Satoshi Yamamoto, the creators behind the POKÉMON ADVENTURES manga! All attendees at this ticketed signing session will receive a personalized shikishi art board! Ticket distribution begins at 9:00am at the Sails Pavilion.

Sunday, July 24^th

1:00pm – 2:00pm        POKÉMON ADVENTURES Autograph Session

(VIZ Media Booth #2813)

Meet writer Hidenori Kusaka and artist Satoshi Yamamoto, the creators behind the POKÉMON ADVENTURES manga! The first 100 attendees to participate will receive a personalized shikishi art board and priority will be given to those that purchase a POKÉMON ADVENTURES book from the booth! Stop by the VIZ Media booth for more details.

VIZ Media POKÉMON ADVENTURES Products Available For Purchase:

·         THE ART OF POKÉMON ADVENTURES 2016 Con Exclusive: $15

·         POKÉMON X•Y Vols. 1-3 Bundle: $10    

Hidenori Kusaka writes and Satoshi Yamamoto creates artwork for POKÉMON ADVENTURES, where fans’ favorite Pokémon game characters jump out of the screen into the pages of this action-packed manga! The creative duo have developed several series within the POKÉMON ADVENTURES universe including Pokémon Adventures, Pokémon Adventures: FireRed & LeafGreen, Pokémon Adventures: Emerald, Pokémon Adventures: Diamond & Pearl/PLATINUM, Pokémon Adventures: HeartGold & SoulSilver, Pokémon Adventures: Black & White and POKÉMON X•Y. They are currently working on the twelfth and thirteenth story arcs, POKÉMON X•Y and POKÉMON OMEGA RUBY ALPHA SAPPHIRE.

In addition to writing manga, Hidenori Kusaka also edits children’s books and plans mixed-media projects for Shogakukan’s children’s magazines. He uses the Pokémon Electrode as his author portrait.

Satoshi Yamamoto began drawing VIZ Media’s POKÉMON ADVENTURES in 2001, starting with volume 10. Yamamoto’s favorite manga creators/artists include Fujiko Fujio (Doraemon), Yukinobu Hoshino (2001 Nights), and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira). He loves films, monsters, mysteries, punk rock music, and livin’ the good life. He uses the Pokémon Swalot as his artist portrait.

POKÉMON is one of the most successful international entertainment franchises of all time. More than 275 million POKÉMON video game titles and over 21.5 billion Pokémon Trading Cards have been sold in more than 74 countries in addition to substantial publishing and merchandise sales. VIZ Media is the official North American distributor for a wide variety of POKÉMON home media releases including animated series and films and also publishes a variety of POKÉMON manga graphic novel series including Pokémon Adventures, Pokémon Adventures: FireRed & LeafGreen, Pokémon Adventures: Emerald, Pokémon Adventures: Diamond & Pearl/PLATINUM, Pokémon Adventures: HeartGold & SoulSilver, Pokémon Adventures: Black & White and POKÉMON X•Y.

For additional information on POKÉMON as well as other anime and manga titles distributed and published by VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Established in 1986, VIZ Media is the premier company in the field of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing. Along with its popular digital magazine WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, DRAGON BALL, SAILOR MOON, and POKÉMON, VIZ Media offers an extensive library of titles and original content in a wide variety of book and video formats, as well as through official licensed merchandise. Owned by three of Japan's largest publishing and entertainment companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is dedicated to bringing the best titles for English-speaking audiences worldwide.

Learn more about VIZ Media and its properties at www.VIZ.com.