A-ko

A-ko is a manga-inspired character from Antarctic Press's Girls of Ninja High School whose adventures are rooted in anime parody culture, featuring companions C-ko, B-ko, and Lum in stories that celebrate the gleefully chaotic energy of classic anime.

Bursting onto the scene in 1993 through Antarctic Press's Girls of Ninja High School, A-ko is a Copper/Modern Age character who embodies the wild, manga-inspired energy that made Antarctic Press such a distinctive corner of the comics world. Across a handful of series — including Mangazine and Project A-Ko versus the Universe — she keeps lively company with the likes of C-ko, B-ko, and Lum, a roster that signals just how gleefully steeped in anime and manga culture her adventures are. With 14 catalog appearances spanning the 1990s into the early 2000s, she's a compact but spirited piece of that era's cross-cultural comics explosion, when American publishers were eagerly embracing Japanese pop aesthetics. For collectors with a soft spot for Antarctic Press's offbeat, fan-loving output, A-ko is a charming time capsule well worth seeking out.