Tokyopop, Inc., has signed with Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising to create Cine-Manga versions of hit Fox television shows for the first time.

 

Malcolm in the Middle, currently scheduled for release in August, is based on the Emmy Award-winning comedy series.

 

The next Cine-Manga release, due in October, will be based on Family Guy, the cancelled Emmy Award-winning Fox animated series that sold so well on DVD (the top selling TV series to DVD title in 2003 and fourth best TV to DVD seller of all time so far) that it becomes the first show brought back to television based on its DVD sales, with at least 24 guaranteed new episodes (see 'Family Guy Back in Production').

 

After that, also coming in October, will be Tokyopop's Cine-Manga version of The Simple Life, featuring the (mis?)-adventures of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

 

Fox now joins Disney and Viacom in Tokyopop's line-up of Cine-Manga titles based on popular television shows (see 'Fairly Oddparents Cine-Manga From TokyoPop' and 'TokyoPop, Disney Plan More Cine-Manga').

 

Tokyopop reports that, with Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy carrying its Cine-Manga titles, over one million units of Cine-Manga titles were sold in 2003.