While you’re out buying school books this month, don’t forget to grab your copy of the latest YEN PLUS! Those of you with subscriptions should be starting to receive them in the mail (crosses fingers), so you already know all about this month’s fantastic issue! Side “B” features Nabari No Ou’s Tobari-sensei looking fine in pinstripes, and Nightschool’s hunter crew kicks up the action on the flip side! Be sure to note those lovely Nightschool color pages on the interior as well! This month’s issue wraps up the three-part preview of the Kieli novels, now available in stores! If you enjoyed the preview, please check them out! We hope you enjoy this month’s mag and will stick with us for many more to come!

If you have any specific questions about your subscription to YEN PLUS, please direct them to subscription services at 1-800-876-7598.

Hi all,

I just wanted to take a quick moment to extend our sincerest apologies for the recent delays with subscriptions.  Please rest assured that when we were made aware of the latest problem (which unfortunately was not for several weeks after the subscriptions were supposed to have been shipped) that we made every effort to get the August issue shipped as expeditiously as possible.  We sincerely hope that these problems have been resolved, and given that we’re hearing reports that folks are beginning to receive their September issues, we have high hopes!  Thanks for bearing with us, and if by some chance you have not received your August issue — or if you have any issues with your subscription, do by all means call the Yen Plus customer service line at 1-800-876-7598.  While they won’t be able to provide you with a replacement copy of the August issue, they will extend your subscription by a month to compensate you for the lost issue.  And if you really want to track down that missing issue to round out your collection, I highly recommend checking out either RightStuf! or Robert’s Anime Corner Store, both of which regularly offer backissues of Yen Plus.

Thanks again for all your patience and support, and we hope that you all continue to enjoy reading the magazine as much as we enjoy making it!

The word is out! Yen Press is simply delighted to present to you Black Butler, which will be running monthly in Yen Plus magazine with the first volume release scheduled for January 2010. For those of you not familiar with the story, it’s the tale of Ciel Phantomhive, who, despite his youth, has taken charge of the family business and manor in his father’s stead. Most would find the sudden responsibility crushing, but his loyal butler Sebastian is able to handle any and every situation with poise and grace, whether it be a dinner party or a confrontation with the foulest criminals of London’s underbelly. In fact, he’s almost too good to be true…

Hello, Tania here! I just wanted to drop in and say that, of all the titles I’ve wanted Yen to pick up since I started here (and believe me, there are a TON), Sebastian and company have always been at the top of my list. From its first GFantasy installment, Black Butler has kept me hooked with its mix of period charm, dark undertones, and gorgeous art. I’m especially fond of how this series has one foot firmly planted in English history! And as an Anglophile, working on this series has sent me running for my BBC period dramas, P.G. Wodehouse books, pastry cookbooks, Debrett’s Peerage, and everything in between to make sure our edition of Black Butler is as authentic as possible, right down to the Queen’s English! I hope you’ll enjoy all our efforts on this series as much as we’re all enjoying working on it!

Yay! Butlers! Butlers who make dessert! Handsome butlers who make dessert! And with that, I hope you love Sebby, Ciel, and the rest of the Phantomhive household as they make their shining debut in Yen Plus!

It’s hard to believe that one year ago we were getting our first copies of the first issue of Yen Plus. I remember going to the bookstores and newsstands just to see if I could catch a glimpse of that gleaming Maximum Ride/Soul Eater cover. A lot’s changed since then, but we’re still committed to bringing you the best titles the world has to offer. And so, with our anniversary issue hitting shelves over the next week, we just thought we’d give you a heads up on what’s in store. Nudge and Gazzy are celebrating Yen Plus turning one with a tasty NYC hot dog, and there’s also a special pull-out poster from Maximum Ride so you can celebrate too! And the Max madness doesn’t stop there. For those of you attending San Diego Comic Con, NaRae Lee, artist extraordinaire, will be joining us for a special signing!

But what’s that featuring on the flip side of the magazine? There’s already so much good stuff over on the Japanese side… What could it be? Hmm… I wonder…

Anyway… We’ve been getting a lot of feedback about subscriptions, and we have indeed been listening. So from here on out, new subscriptions to Yen Plus will be for six months at a time rather than for the full year. The cost will be the same ($25.99 for six months), but you won’t have to shell out for that full year’s subscription all at once. So hopefully that makes things a bit more affordable and convenient for you all! We always appreciate your comments and continue to do our best to make Yen Plus great! Thank you for sticking with us through year one! We look forward to a another fantastic year ahead!

Though we are gradually planning improvements to our site (a webcomic was a good start, right?), we recognize that we have been a bit…slow…in adding forums and message boards for you to connect with other fans. But that’s why great guys like Garrett have created sites like yenplus.info to share their thoughts on the latest issues, all of our features, and pretty much everything else going on with Yen Plus. So why not register and share what you think? And hopefully in the foreseeable future we’ll have some fancy, totally tricked-out new message board for you to…okay, hopefully we’ll have a message board for you to chat with one another right here at www.YenPress.com! Yay!

Ahhh, things are finally warming up outside! And I can’t think of a better way to enjoy a long, lazy summer afternoon than with a copy of the latest Yen Plus! This month’s cover features the girls of Sumomomo, Momomo and the equally amorous star of Pig Bride! In addition to our usual lineup of fantastic, this month’s mag also features a special short story from Queenie Chan called “Forget-Me-Not,” as well as the first installment of a three-part preview of the upcoming Kieli novel. This month also marks our first full year of publication at Yen Plus, so next month will be our big anniversary issue with all kinds of great new stuff for you readers! Enjoy!

At last it’s here! The first chapter of Pandora Hearts!!! And who better to grace the cover than Oz Vessalius himself, ready to tackle the terrors of Abyss! We’re so proud to be bringing it to you in the pages of YEN PLUS! (Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for all those Alice in Wonderland references in Pandora! ^_^ ) As we welcome this newcomer, we bid a fond farewell to Sarasah, which is making its final appearance in YEN PLUS. Ji-Hae and Ja-Yun will be missed, but don’t worry, Volume 1 of Sarasah will be in stores in July: click here to see the release schedule! As an added bonus, we have a special interview with Darren Shan discussing the manga adaptation of his bestselling series, Cirque du Freak, coming this month from Yen Press! And thank you for reading!

The word is out — and Amazon Canada and Lissa over at Kuriousity beat us to the punch! D’OH!

Ah well, you’d have read about it in the May issue of YEN PLUS (hitting bookstores right around now!) in JuYoun’s Editor’s Letter anyway. Yes, I can indeed confirm with great pride and enthusiasm that PANDORA HEARTS has been “rescued” by Yen Press. Still more, we have Jun Mochizuki’s previous title, CRIMSON SHELL, added to our list as well. Now what you won’t have heard elsewhere — unless you already snagged your copy of the magazine and studiously read JuYoun’s letter in which case more power to you *gasp* — is that you won’t have to wait until December to read PANDORA HEARTS. Nossir! That’s because starting with the June issue, we’re going to begin serializing the series in the pages of our beloved YEN PLUS!We are super-excited to be adding PANDORA HEARTS to the mix of the magazine, and we sincerely hope you’ll be similarly enthused!

That’s it for now except to say that if you haven’t already stopped by our EXTRAS tab on the site be sure you do to get your latest dose of the funny from our webcomic preview of this fall’s TOXIC PLANET. It may not be manga, but it is pure goodness. New strips every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so enjoy!

I can’t believe it’s time for the May issue of YEN PLUS already! But the calendar says it is so, and so it must be. We’ve got an awesome new YEN PLUS for you this month, featuring the dark and deadly Jack Frost and the girls of the Muroe High kendo team! Sadly this is the last month you’ll see Bamboo Blade in the anthology, because we’re making room for a brand-new series starting next month . . . Pandora Hearts! (Read more about it here!) But don’t worry, you can still get your hands on the collected book editions of Bamboo Blade! In fact, in April and May we’re releasing several volumes of the series you know from YEN PLUS: Nightschool, Pig Bride, Nabari no Ou, Sumomomo Momomo, Jack Frost, and Bamboo Blade! Be sure to check them out! And as always, thanks for reading!

The new Yen Plus is here! The new Yen Plus is here! We’ve got a whole new chapter of all your favorites, with cover and color pages from Svetlana Chmakova’s Nightschool. And on the flip side, Maka has a super-cool bonus for you, our loyal readers—this awesome poster featuring the whole cast of Soul Eater! It’s the first of many bonuses to come, so proudly display your poster and keep looking for more great comics and extras in Yen Plus! Let us know what you think and thanks for reading!