The GATV Website is reporting that a manga adaptation of Shinichiro Watanabe's Samurai Champloo anime series will debut in the monthly manga anthology, Shonen Ace, due out in Japan today. Watanabe is the director of the highly popular Cowboy Bebop series as well as two superb segments from the Animatrix. Geneon USA has acquired rights to the Samurai Champloo anime series, which may well be available in the U.S. by the end of this year.
Given Watanabe's strong track record (and the popularity of samurai titles like Rurouni Kenshin -- see "Manga & Comic Strip Reprints Dominate Bookstore Sales") this is a property that retailers who deal in anime and manga should keep their eyes on -- don't forget that the various Cowboy Bebop books from Tokyopop have sold extremely well here (as have the Cowboy Bebop DVDs), largely thanks to great exposure on the Cartoon Network.