Fantagraphics Books is one of the most highly regarded independent, small press publishers in the industry today, having published titles like Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth and Acme Novelty Library from Chris Ware. They've long been on the cutting edge of the more literary side of comics, and now they're making a move into another genre of sequential art.

Today they announced via their The Comics Journal site that they will be launching a Manga imprint via Shogakukan that will be edited and curated by Matt Thorn. This move has been four years in the making apparently, and will premiere in September with a collection of stories from Moto Hagio. This has been a labor of love for the company, so expect some high quality work to be coming our way this year.