PW Comics Week rolls out two entertaining manga articles this week.
First up and no surprises really is the announcement that Toykopop and Harper Collins have cut a co-publishing and distribution deal. Admittedly Calvin Reid has already covered this to some degree already for the PW Daily newsletter and a lot more of the same information has already come out from the ICV2 interview and a plethora of other news related sites.
The Bookstandard in their report of this news were fairly interested in the abrupt change of heart by Tokyopop by dropping CDS in favour of HC, and that no official statement had been made by any of the parties involved (outside of the reassuring statement by Mike Kiley in the ICV2 interview), but Reid digs up some more information,
Sources have told PWCW that CDS was notified of Tokyopop’s distribution switch less than an hour before the first press releases announcing the deal went out. Indeed sources have also said that Tokyopop had approached a number of New York publishing houses about a possible copublishing deal. And most observers see the publishing aspect as the most important part of the deal. James Killen, graphic novel buyer at Barnes & Noble, said, “considering where Tokyopop is moving with OEL [original English language manga], this gives them access to titles with a bankable presence. That’s really the biggest change here and it’s a change for the better.”
Harsh, but that’s the way things go. Really though it was pretty much a no-brainer decision for Tokyopop to make, as Kiley states,
the publishing partnership that HarperCollins offered was of a different magnitude. To be able to publish with these guys is a great opportunity.
But this is really a deal of two halves and the co-publishing part is just as interesting as the clout boost Tokyopop’s distribution has just received.
But the new program is going to require still more competent manga artists.
I liked that bit as I read it and thought, ouch that’s a little harsh on the existing ones, but I guess that isn’t what was meant.
Actually I’ll just highlight the rest of the sentence,
Asked how the new deal might affect its current OEL publishing program, Kiley said that “there are not an unlimited number of homegrown manga artists. It will be challenging to nurture a sufficient number of artists to produce these new works. We’re going to be selective. This isn’t about volume. It’s about quality and innovation and picking properties and authors that will expand manga’s appeal.”
Because it’s not often you hear quality over quantity where Tokyopop is concerned. ^.^
If that is not your cup of tea, then Kai-Ming Cha rolls out a lesson in manga from Dark Horse in Manga Still a Big Story at Dark Horse.
Whilst a lot of the article is a recap/historical look at what Dark Horse have published and what we know so far of what they are publishing this year, there was every so often a little throw away comment that caught my eye.
This bit on Dark Horse and releasing original material,
While Dark Horse has no specific plans to publish more Original English Language manga, Dawson says they’re always on the lookout. “American [OEL] manga is not new to us,” he says, pointing out Adam Warren’s OEL humor and science-fiction series Dirty Pair, which was published at Dark Horse in 2001. “It’s something we’ve done in the past to great success. We’re always looking for quality work.”
Something that not many people always remember though to this day it still remains as one of Immelda’s favourite titles, probably more now for sentimental reasons then anything else.
I did like the juxtaposition of the next couple of paragraphs where Lee Dawson reminds us that whilst manga is popular especially in the bookstores and everyone wants a piece of the action it is still small fry compared to the source.
“[Japanese publishers] don’t need us. They don’t need the U.S.,” says Dawson, quickly adding, “That doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate or respect us, but the quantities that sell over there are vastly different from those that sell here.” In Japan, a popular manga series can sell in the millions. A bestselling series like Dragon Ball can sell better than 100 million copies; One Piece, another wildly popular manga series, has sold more than 60 million copies.
Though I did find it interesting to hear that Dark Horse have nearly shifted a million copies of Lone Wolf and Cub.
It is a nice article and helps to remind me why I like a lot of Dark Horse material. I say a lot because the jury is still out for me on this whole Harlequin idea though I have to say I like the concept regardless of whether it pays off of not.