Manta, one of the leading platforms for subscription-based digital comics, has unveiled plans to launch more than ten original cartoon series through the third quarter of 2023.
The company, which is owned by Korea’s RIDI Corporation, launched in 2020 and has become the number one comics app on Google Play in certain territories including the U.S., Mexico and Spain.
Webtoons are a made for mobile genre of comics, that have become yet another Asian entertainment category that is having fast-growing international success. Many webtoons offer vertical scrolling, opportunities for new creators and content that is immediately available in multiple languages.
Business models vary from platform to platform. Manta is available via a simple monthly subscription – rather than the pay-per-episode model typicallyused by many other companies in the space. Its members have unlimited access to the stories in English and Spanish.
Manta says it is expanding its in-house productions, through Manta Studios. The division has predominantly focused on creating webcomics based on sources including – webnovels owned by RIDI, and movies licensed, to be adapted into webcomics.
(In another expansionary move, Manta has appointed Stephen Lee Byong-Uk as its chief business development officer (CBDO). Lee held a similar position at Nexon, driving the global expansion of the company’s IP including “MapleStory”.)
Romance and fantasy genres have been particularly successful for the company and have driven total downloads of Manta’s mobile apps to more than 10 million as of March 2023.
New titles include “Falling for Danger,” which premiered last month, in which a renowned hitman loses the love of his life and begins a war of revenge on the organization he used to work for. That is, until he meets Marine, a girl who brings color back into his black and white existence.
“Countdown to Love,” launching on Friday, involves a disappointed basketball star who can see a timer in the sky that he believes is a countdown to the day he dies – until he discovers that his classmate can see it too.
In “The Lady Alchemist,” a steampunk fairytale retelling of “Rumpelstilskin,” a woman whose impossible task is made possible by a conniving magician who wants her firstborn. It is adapted from an original novel by Samantha Vitale.
The three new titles follow the release of fan-favorite titles “The Blood Moon,” “Werewolves Going Crazy Over Me”and“The Superheroes of Class F,”which were the first three series developed and produced entirely in-house by Manta Studios.
The company is also bringing back its flagship title,“Under the Oak Tree,” later in July and will unveil further originals in the coming months.
“Manta Studios is the engine at the heart of our success, and we are thrilled to showcase the team’s newest creations and the limitless possibilities” said Jeong Moonseok, COO and head of content at Manta. “We remain committed to creating stories that will resonate with readers around the world, and the continuous expansion of our studio’s capabilities will play a significant role in further establishing Manta as a leading brand offering top-of-the-line storytelling across multiple genres.”
Just as manga in Japan have been the basis for anime series and live-action adaptations, Korean webtoons have been the underlying IP for dozens of TV and streaming series. Examples of titles that have been popular with millions of fans in the U.S and around the world that have been remade into popular streaming series include“Semantic Error”and“once Upon a Small Town.”
