Tokyopop has announced a multi-book publishing deal with Hee Jung Park, one of Korea's top female creators.  Tokyopop will be releasing four of Ms. Park's titles during the coming months, Fever (in March), Hotel Africa (April), Martin and John (July), and Too Long (August).  Tokyopop is mounting a year-long promotional effort to raise awareness of Ms. Park's sophisticated art and storytelling abilities.  All four new titles will be previewed on Tokyopop's Website as well as on the company's MySpace profile, and Tokyopop will run a number of contests, giveaways, and convention promotions for the new titles.

Hee Jung Park is a master of the short story format as well as longer-form narratives.  The shonen ai collection Martin and John demonstrates her mastery of the comic short story, as does Hotel Africa with its various tales tied together by a central narrator and a distinctive location in the Utah desert, while Fever presents a different take on that shojo staple, the slice-of-life high school drama, because this time the female protagonist isn't primarily concerned with romance.