Viz announced today at San Diago Comic Con that it has acquired the license for both Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, and Pluto, completing Urasawa’s trilogy of awesome with the manga Monster. Both of these titles are due out in Februray 2009, and will be released bi-monthly after that point; which means two releases per full moon for those of you who still don’t understand.

20th Century Boys has been very busy recently with the live-action movie in the works, which is not just a simple movie, but a trilogy. The story is about a group of best friends who will one day save the world; well, according to them that is. However, as these boys grow up their ‘prophesies’ begin to come true and everything starts to change; especially when they realize this is no longer a game, and things get fatal. 

Pluto is a story based on Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy; however, this is not about Astro Boy, but one of his villains named Pluto. It takes place during “The Greatest Robot on Earth” story arc from Astro Boy, and is about a murder mystery revolving around a detective trying to solve a string of murders. It won the Excellence Prize for manga at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival, and the 2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize.

This is great, and most unexpected, seeing as Naoki Urasawa stated in the past that he didn’t want 20th Century Boys to be released until Monster was finished in America; though maybe by the time its released it will be finished, I don’t know. Seriously, Viz will win the world by releasing these two manga clasics at one time in mankind’s history. Kudos to you Viz.

[Via the GIA]

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