Tite Kubo Retires from Bleach Manga
Manga-ka Tite Kubo announced today that he'll be retiring from his Bleach series effective immediately. Kubo stated that he felt he'd done Bleach for long enough & couldn't move it in any new directions, so it was time for him to move on.
However, it was also revealed that the Bleach manga will still be continuing on without him. According to the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, Kubo has handed the reigns of his baby over to extremely talented American comic artist, Nick Simmons. Simmons caught Kubo-sensei's eye when the young artist was accused of plagiarizing Bleach. More than anything, Kubo was impressed that Simmons could mimic his art style so well. Seeing his work, Kubo knew he had found his successor.
Kubo was quoted as saying that he knew he was leaving the manga "in good hands." Simmons was also quoted, stating that he was looking forward to "being apart of the world of detergent & magma." He also stated he plans to stop the "nonsense" of doing the series only in black-and-white.