Drat! Another victim of the crappy economy is Shojo Beat magazine. The July 2009 will be the last issue, and it will be published June 16. The magazine first hit the stands in 2005, and has featured some shojo gems over the years, including NANA, Sand Chronicles, and Vampire Knight. The good news is that the imprint will continue to publish graphic novels.
Ev Dubocq, director of publicity for Viz, had this to say about the decision:
Yes, the final issue of Shojo Beat magazine will be the July 2009 issue which is on newsstands June 16th.
We are very proud of the past issues of Shojo Beat magazine and the efforts of the entire team. The magazine developed quite a fan base but unfortunately in today’s difficult economic climate we felt the need to place our resources elsewhere at this time. Of course all of our great shojo manga titles previously serialized in Shojo Beat magazine will still be published and available as graphic novels under the Shojo Beat imprint from VIZ Media.
Each Shojo Beat Subscriber will be receiving a free copy of the August issue of Shonen Jump magazine with the pertinent information on what their subscription/refund options will be. Subscribers and fans of shojo manga can get the latest information on all new Shojo Beat titles and news by visiting www.shojobeat.com.
What a bummer! I only occasionally picked up the magazine because I purchase most of the collected volumes of the series that run in it, but it’s still depressing to mark the end of yet another manga/anime magazine.
May 20, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I have regularly bought SB off the newsstands ever since Vampire Knight debuted. I’m sorely going my monthly shojo fix. And I’ll hate having to wait months in order to find out what happens next in VK.
May 20, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Yeah, the only possible positive is maybe having the release schedules of the SB graphic novels be accelerated. It is sad to see another magazine go the way of the dinosaur. Print publications are an endangered species.
August 1, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I have bought every issue of Shojo Beat for the last couple of years but due to illness in the family was not able to get the last issue. Gee I will miss this mag.
October 9, 2009 at 12:33 pm
While Shojo Beat magazine may have been discontinued, that doesn’t mean that something else cannot fill the hole it left. Currently there is no English magazine that focuses directly on shojo manga.. We are attempting to start a magazine project, named ShojoBerry, to do just that, primarily due to the demise of Shojo Beat..It will be several months before we have anything ready, but if you’re interested, it might be worth checking out! You can find us at:Shojoberry Facebook Pageor at:Shojoberry Homepage (under construction)Hope to see you there!-Garrett