Robot 6 is reporting on an announcement that Kodansha made at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo this past weekend: the company will be publishing the long out-of-print manga Sailor Moon in the U.S. again. Not only that, they will also be publishing a prequel which was never licensed in the U.S., Codename: Sailor V.

The new editions will launch in September and a new volume will be released every two months. They will apparently be following the same schedule as the 2003 Japanese re-release, condensed into 12 “deluxe” volumes with two volumes of short stories. The books will have new covers and retouched interior art.

First, you have to understand that I was of the particular generation of little girls that went to the comic shop every month to buy the single-issue releases of Sailor Moon being put out by Mixx/Tokyopop. I had them all. Sailor Moon factored in my childhood in a major, major way.

I actually rewatched the (original) show’s first two seasons a few years ago and found them surprisingly entertaining, despite some things that make me wince as a feminist and as an adult (all the dieting-obsession episodes, for one thing).

However, I have to remember that as a kid, this series was the first time I’d really seen a bunch of women getting together to kick monster ass. Sure, it was sparkly and they wore tiny outfits and fought over boys. But, you know, they were still a team of women kicking ass. Also, there were lesbians!

So.

Yeah, I’m pretty excited about this.

Brit Mandelo is a multi-fandom geek with a special love for comics and queer literature. She can be found on Twitter and Livejournal.