In 1987, Viz Comics, an American subsidiary of the Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, began publishing translations of three manga series – "Area 88", "Mai the Psychic Girl", and "The Legend of Kamui" – in the U.S. in association with the American publisher Eclipse Comics. Viz went on to bring English translations of popular series such as "Ranma ½" and "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some other American publishers released notable translations of Japanese comics in this period, such as First Comics' serialization of "Lone Wolf and Cub" which started in May 1987. However, the first manga to make a strong impression on American audiences was Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira", which was brought to the United States in colorized form in 1988 by Epic Comics, a division of Marvel.