Dark Horse and B&N's manga 'experiment'

Publishers Weekly (subscription required) follows up on the deal between Dark Horse Comics and Barnes & Noble Books to release several of the comics publisher's best-selling manga titles in hardcover editions, for sale exclusively at B&N.

The agreement originally was announced in late June.

The new editions are priced lower than their original trade paperback releases. For instance, the exclusive Akira hardcover is priced at $14.95, compared to $24.95 for the original TPB. The new edition of Trigun is $11.95 (versus $14.95 for last year's trade).

Dark Horse's Lee Dawson told PW the agreement is "an experiment."

B&N Books will release hardcover editions of Trigun Vol. 2 ($11.95) and Hellsing Vol. 1 ($9.95) in December.