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eigoManga Launches Kickstarter for First Squad Manga

Publisher EigoMANGA launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for its release of Enka Sugihara's First Squad - The Moment Of Truth manga on Friday. The campaign is aiming to raise US$3,000 to cover the cost of printing and shipping the release to retailers.

As of press time, the campaign has raised US$936. The publisher will use funds raised in the campaign to print and ship the manga, create and ship Kickstarter rewards, and cover Kickstarter fees. Funds raised beyond the goal will go toward future First Squad publications. Backer rewards will include physical and digital copies of the manga, a commemorative coin, a poster, stickers, bookmarks, and a name listed in the credits. The campaign will end on August 2.

The manga is slated to ship in October 2020. The publisher explained on the campaign's crowdfunding page that the book is complete, retailers have placed purchase orders, and early copies have already shipped. EigoMANGA is crowdfunding the release to ensure that it "can fulfill the purchase orders and supply books to bookstores."

EigoMANGA announced the English release of Sugihara's First Squad - The Moment Of Truth manga in March 2019 with an initial release window of fall 2019. The company describes the manga:

The story is set in the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front and centers around a Soviet teenager who possesses supernatural abilities to commune with the dead. Nadya has been recruited by the Red Army to fight the invading German army and is tasked to journey into the spiritual realm of the dead.

There Nadya must recruit her fallen comrades and form the First Squad in order to oppose the evil Baron Von Wolff, who is raised from the dead by the Nazis, and his occult army of 12th century Crusaders. The First Squad and Crusaders engage in a spiritual battle known as the "Moment of Truth". Whomever wins the supernatural battles within the spiritual realm dictate the outcome of physical battles waged between the Red Army and the Germans.

Studio 4°C's 2009 First Squad - The Moment Of Truth anime is based on a story by Russian artists Misha Sprits and Aljosha Klimov. Sugihara drew the manga based on Sprits and Klimov's story before passing away in 2012.

Sources: Press release, First Squad manga's Kickstarter page