Japan International Manga Awards, the only North American manga to receive an honor. The series is published by Saturday AM, which focuses on manga by people of color, and features Karim Yun, a biracial taekwondo fighter whose Olympic dreams were shattered when he was attacked by a violent gang.De Bard is a black belt martial artist, and the story follows Karim’s battle to restrain his emotions, which could kill him if he gives them full rein, while seeking revenge on his attackers. The first volume was published in May 2023.
Saturday AM also launched a new series, Orisha, by Nigerian artist Huzayfa Umar, in February 2025. The story is set in Nigeria and the hero, Aboki, has the skin condition vitiglio, which is considered bad luck. In true shonen-hero fashion, Aboki finds a “Celestial Seed,” the source of power for the godlike beings known as Orisha, and embarks on a journey of learning how to control his powers and how best to use them.
Saturday AM started out as a digital publisher of global manga with a focus on creator-owned stories by diverse creators. They inked a deal with Quarto in 2022 to publish their works in print (see “ICv2 Interview: Frederick Jones of Saturday AM”).
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Source: ICv2
