Kill Time Communication’s Comic Valkyrie magazine, known for its “fighting heroine” manga, concluded its print run with its November 2012 issue on Thursday, September 27, 2012. The publication has since been “reborn” as a free online-only magazine, accessible on its official website and the Nico Nico Seiga service, starting November 27, 2012.
Transition to Digital-Only
The shift marks a significant change for the Japanese science fiction and fantasy seinen manga magazine, which originally launched in July 2006. Publisher Kill Time Communication announced that while the physical magazine would cease, the content would continue to be published digitally and would remain free.
New Online Home and Content
Readers can now find Comic Valkyrie content, including full volumes and chapters, on its official website and Nico Nico Seiga. The move online also brought new content, such as No. Gomesu’s manga adaptation of Ricotta’s Walkure Romanze bishōjo game, which debuted in the online magazine in November 2012. Kill Time Communication also stated they would continue to publish compiled book volumes of their series.
A Look Back at Comic Valkyrie’s Print History
Comic Valkyrie began its serialization in July 2006, with a focus on “manga for fighting heroines only,” a concept that resonated with its target readership of males in their teens and thirties. It was initially a bimonthly publication, moving to monthly between May and September 2011, before returning to a bimonthly schedule until its final print issue. The magazine ran for 40 volumes in its print format.
Notable Series from the Print Era
Among the popular works serialized in Comic Valkyrie‘s print run was Dall-Young Lim and Kwang-Hyun Kim’s Freezing, which also inspired a television anime series. Many manga serialized in Comic Valkyrie have also been published in bound volumes under Kill Time Communication’s Valkyrie Comics imprint. The magazine was known for its “bishōjo battle” theme, featuring attractive young women in adventure or combat scenarios within futuristic or fantasy settings.
