Having come to the attention of Del Rey’s Associate Publisher for drawing a manga version of The Simpsons, Nina Matsumoto has used her internet meme to leverage herself a series of books. So you see, it can happen.
Yokaiden is inspired by Japanese folk stories and tells the tale of a young boy called Hamachi, who travels to the world of Japanese spirits (known as Yokai) in search of his Grandmother’s murderer. While most people fear the Yokai, Hamachi believes they are simply misguided and mischievous, and can be befriended by sympathetic humans. But when he runs into child-bothering ogres and angry water-spirits, he begins to realise that he might have bitten off more than he can chew.
For more of a preview of Matsumoto’s work, check out her web comic Saturnalia.