The webcomics giant Webtoon is getting into print comics publishing, with a planned fall 2022 debut. Webtoon Unscrolled will be a print graphic novel imprint part of its sister company Wattpad Webtoon Book Group.
Webtoon Unscrolled will be led by newly-hired executive editor Bobbie Chase, an American comics industry veteran who has been everything from Marvel's co-editor-in-chief to most recently, DC's vice president/executive editor of young reader and talent development.
Webtoon Unscrolled plans to release 12 titles per year beginning in the fall of 2022, in both the adult and children's categories. The initial titles are adaptations of several Webtoon hits, including:
- Tower of God by SIU
- True Beauty by Yaongyi
- Doom Breaker by Blue-Deep
- Boyfriends by Refrainbow
- Cursed Princess Club by LambCat
- Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall
Webtoon has an estimated 72 million readers for its webcomics, although they are largely free - readers can pay to get early access to some new material, however. It'll be interesting to see how fans of the webcomics (and new readers) take to the printed editions that will be sold. At the same time, several print editions of free webcomics have become big sellers in the past.
Although not represented in this initial list, Webtoon has published a number of comic creators and even characters that traditional superhero comic fans would recognize. Earlier this year, Webtoon began publishing original DC webcomics as part of a deal with the publisher, and previously was the digital-first home of a new volume of Marc Silvestri's Cyberforce from Top Cow/Image Comics. Webtoon has also published original webcomics by Stan Lee, Dean Haspiel, Katie Cook, and more
Webtoon Unscrolled (as part of the Wattpad Webtoon Book Group) will be distributed by Macmillan in North America.
Webtoon comics could soon be shelved right next to your favorite DC, Marvel, manga, and more - so make sure you have a hookup with our guide to comic shops!
