(Press Release translated from Korea)
Popular webtoon company draws wild response from overseas fans at Lucca Comics & Games in Italy
Koogi, creator of Lezhin Comics’ popular title, “Killing Stalking” signs for large crowds at Lucca
Published: Nov. 6, 2017
The webtoon, “Killing Stalking” from Lezhin Comics was received with great passion by overseas readers at the Lucca Comics and Games 2017, Europe’s biggest comics convention held in Italy.
Lezhin Entertainment (CEO Heesung Han) participated in the Lucca Comics & Games held last week in Lucca, Italy, with Koogi, the creator of “Killing Stalking” – a webtoon published on Lezhin Comics. Lezhin announced that Koogi attracted wide attention from many local Italian fans during the event.
Salone Internazionale del Comics, the predecessor of Lucca Comics & Games, was first held in Bordighera, Italy in 1965. The event was relocated to Lucca in the following year and has been held there ever since. Renamed, “Lucca Comics & Games” in 1996, the event has been held annually. Lucca is Europe’s biggest celebration of comics, with 270,000 comics fans and industry professionals participating in last year’s convention.
“Killing Stalking” which was invited to the Lucca Comics & Games is a thriller, and the grand-prize winner of “The 2nd World Comics Contest” held by Lezhin Comics. The comics is being published in Korea, U.S., and Japan since November, 2016. With only 2 Seasons and 35 Episodes released so far, the comic is very popular not only in Korea and Japan, but also in English speaking and non-English speaking countries.
At this year’s Anime Expo, the biggest animation convention in North America, Koogi’s signing sessions attracted massive crowds of local fans. Convention personnel came to the Lezhin Comics booth several times a day to assist in crowd control and safety.
Lezhin Comics was invited to this year’s Lucca Comics & Games by Edizioni BD, its publishing partner in Italy.
Edizioni BD is Italy’s leading publishing company for comics, and the publisher of the paperback version of “Killing Stalking,” a Lezhin Comics’ webtoon. The local reception of “Killing Stalking” was such that the book ranked first place on Amazon Italy’s comics category in its first week of publication.
Edizioni BD participated as a major exhibitor with a large booth presence at the Lucca Comics & Games. Edizioni BD allocated one of its four main banners to ‘Killing Stalking,’ introducing “Killing Stalking” to Italian readers and hosting Koogi’s fan signings.
During the signing sessions, thousands of local fans came to the booth and asked for the creator’s autograph. Many fans made comments such as, “I really enjoy “Killing Stalking,” and “I’m a big fan of Koogi.” Some fans greeted her in Korean, and asked her to write their names in Korean.
There was also a moment of cheers and tears, when Edizioni BD announced that it will be releasing “Killing Stalking” Season 2 in paperback.
“I was truly shocked when I first came across “Killing Stalking” on the Lezhin Comics English site.” said an Edizioni BD insider. He praised the comic, saying, “This comic has a unique, unforgettable style. Full of suspense, and always keeping you on your toes trying to guess what happens next, “Killing Stalking” has the makings of a superb thriller.”
“So much has happened during the past two years. I won the Grand Prize in the Lezhin Comics World Comics Contest, started publishing, and gained so much attention from global readers which I never expected. I am extremely grateful. I will devote myself to creating more interesting comics in return for all the love and support.” said Koogi, the creator of “Killing Stalking.”
Heesung Han, CEO of Lezhin Entertainment said, “Lezhin Comics started out as a platform to discover new talent and to support their creator-owned projects, as well as those of established creators. We will continue our pursuit of discovering great comics in various genres, and of introducing high-quality comics to the global market through translation and localization.”
Upon hearing that “Killing Stalking” is published in Italian, Spanish fans started an online petition for the book to be published in Spanish. Approximately 2,000 Spanish readers participated in the petition so far. Lezhin Comics will publish the Spanish version of “Killing Stalking” in the near future with Edizioni BD.
