American manga publisher DrMaster has taken a very original path to creating its own original manga: it has signed noted videogame designer Yasushi Suzuki (aka D-Suzuki) to create Purgatory Kabuki, a new samurai fantasy set in the afterlife.  Imanotsurugi, the samurai hero of Purgatory Kabuki, wants to leave the afterlife but he must collect the swords of 1,000 fallen warriors in order to do so.

Yasushi Suzuki is an established conceptual designer, graphic artist, and animator, who has worked on IKARUGA (Sega), Sin & Punishment (Nintendo), and Radiant Silver Gun (Sega), and for Purgatory Kabuki he plans to mix Japanese legends and myths into an action-packed narrative that he will illustrate in a style reminiscent of the classic ukiyoe woodblock prints

DrMaster plans to publish Purgatory Kabuki as a 200-page graphic novel in late 2007 with both color and black-and-white pages. Prior to the release of the print version of the graphic novel, DrMaster will release 50-60 page installments for paid downloads via the Direct to Drive Website, which is well known to video gamers, who are of course very familiar with the work of D-Suzuki.