Just caught this while browsing through Right Stuf International (yes, we google ourselves, too!), I noticed that Midara from Yumisuke Kotoyoshi is on sale for the shocking price of… $9.99!
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Last post on Tokyopop, I promise… for today, at least.
The Comics Reporter has a big collection of reactions (except mine… sob), some already linked to in my previous post. An interesting question is asked at the end on why this endevour had to be exclusive. This is what I want to talk about now, since exclusivity is what makes this such a bold move, and why, if successful, it’s a precursor of major things to come (which I’ve also covered in the last TP post.) Tokyopop is attempting more than they let on in the two interviews, even if they don’t know it yet.
We’re working on the Council of Carnality Unlimited trade by Yanagi Yuki right now. Do I really even need to post these preview pages? Or give you a run down of the story? This is the most requested comic running in Comic AG right now. You all know you have to pre-order this book, don’t you? But here are the first 10 pages anyway, because that’s the kind of guy I am.
I really need to stop posting about other publishers… but Fantagraphics gets a pass too because they carry our books, which makes them almost…kinda cool. Besides, we’re still working on issue 43, and have nothing ready to show yet. So…
TCJ has relaunched with a spiffy new look, designed by someone who actually knows how to make WordPress do his bidding (as opposed to someone like, say, me.) This also marks the return of Journalista, the original comics blog. But the real reason I’m posting about this, though, is the little poll that’s running on the site right now which, intentional or not, I find belly-achingly hilarious. So, who killed American comics industry? (But what they really mean is independent comics, since Marvel and DC are doing quite fine right now.) Is it Colonel Retail with the lead pipe? Professor Diamond with the rope? Or dainty little Miss Manga with the revolver?
We just got in our copies of Comic AG 40 today, and it looks spiffy. In this issue we have an incestuous short from Yuuki; Umehara, the bespectacled cutie finally puts her moves on clueless Satou in Council of Carnality; and lastly, the first half of a really long-ass chapter of Blue Eyes, with Tatsuya visiting the mom-and-daughter in Britain.
If you haven’t noticed, we now have media kits up and available to everyone. Heck, if you’re uber l337, you can rename the extension to CBZ if you want. Go pick this one up on Wednesday!
Again, normally, I don’t talk much about books from the other big publishers… only our books are deserving of your hard-earned money. But I have to mention this…I have to make an exception for Genshiken. Because it’s the MUTHA FUGGIN’ GENSHIKEN!
Heisei Democracy has their hands on the newest book, and brings good news for the next volume, specifically the goodies that will be packed with it, as was done with book 6. If you’re only following the English releases, there might be some spoilers ahead… but seriously, did you really not think that Sasahara and Ogiue would get together?
Edit:
Dunno how I missed it the first time around, but MangaCast has the Taiyosha rankings (who doesn’t keep an archive, unfortunately), while via Comipress comes the rankings from Tohan. Guess who takes top spot on both lists?
ICV2 has some serious coverage of Tokyopop up today, first with a basic rundown of Tokyopop’s move to offer some manga titles exclusively from their website, then an interview with Mike Kiley so big, they had to break it down into two parts.
Normally, I wouldn’t be posting about the other big publishers, because we’re the only one you should care about. But what Tokyopop is trying to do has industry-wide ramifications. In short, they want to cut out the middlemen by selling books directly to consumers from their website.
David at Love Manga has the scoop (as he always does) on the website launch for DramaQueen’s new BL anthology Rush. What immediately stands out from the site is just how good the sample art looks for every single story. Perhaps it’s because hard-core genre fans just make that much more effort to study their craft. (I feel this is generally true of Yaoi Press’ offerings as well, despite having one of the most ill-conceived titles ever; “Yaoi Hentai” assaults my brain like fingernails running across a blackboard. Arrgh.)
I think it’s appropriate, actually I feel an obligation, to remind everyone of Yaoi911′s essay on the need for BL fans to support comic book shops. It’s simple, really… comic shops are independent bookstores that can make their own stocking decisions. They’re more likely to carry the books you want (i.e. porn that mainstream chains will not carry), if you let them know the demand is there. And supporting them means supporting your own community, too.
Now some of you male porn hounds out there might be thinking “wTF!? What’s with the YAH-WAY junk on this site? teh suXX0rz!” Well, here’s my real impetus for writing this post… to berate you all. Guys, ero-manga came here first, but look how far women have been able to take BL and Yaoi; how much distribution and retail support BL has; how the creative output from the BL fan community completely trounce the amount of original ero porn. Are you people paying attention? We’re losing to the girls, men. Just what is going on?
Is it because BL fans just have more ambition and initiative? Judging by the number of self-financed comics from female fans versus the paltry ero fan art one generally finds on some self-satisifed social art dump, that seems like a no brainer.
Are women more supportive of their hobby? They’re certainly buying more books, that’s for sure. And they’re also talking more about it… where’s the blogosphere love for Eros? Radio? WHAT ABOUT US??
And the most important, and perhaps most painful, question of all… do BL fans simply respect their hobby more than ero fans? Unfortunately I’d have to say yes (excluding the cool people who buy our books, of course. :) ). Maybe it’s because most guys were introduced to “hentai” with the dawn of the internet, and came to expect hentai to be free. How many can name the artists whose works they trade over usenet and IRC as if they were closeted perverts? How many realize the pointlessness of wanking off to a Tomoyo-theme doujinshi if one has never read Card Captor Sakura? I’m afraid the number of true ero manga fans in the West are completely overwhelmed by hoarders who have no real appreciation for the medium.
Anyway, you people need to shape up. This is a call to arms. Blog, organize, propogate, create. Follow the example set by President Madarame in Genshiken. BL fans see no shame in expressing their love, and neither should you. If that’s not motivation enough for you, let me repeat this…we’re losing to the girls, men. In fact they’re totally kicking our ass. Girly Girlz! F@#$!
From the TCJ forum, alternative/arthouse/porn publisher Fantagraphics is holding a Fall sale from now until September 30th; 20% off on all purchases over $40. Dunno about you, but I say it’s a good time to complete that Bitchy Bitch set, grab the two Peanuts collections, or get a replacement for that tattered, wrinkly copy of TCJ #269. Porno not eligible, though… shucks.
Here’s an interesting title that came out of nowhere… just in at Last Gasp is a book about drawing erotic manga. More surprising is that it’s published by Harper Collins (a division of News Corp… oh, I do hope someone sends a copy to Bill O’!) I wonder if it has special sections on drawing moe characters, how to properly express multi-breasted cleavage, or the articulation of tentacles.
Ogii-chan the blue jay is doing well (thusly named because of her propensity to fly into windows.) A little scruffy now, because she’s finally shedding her baby down for more permanent adult feathers…
It’s been a relatively eventful week for the anime and manga-sphere, what with Bandai announcing its intent to enforce its copyright on Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, to the demotion of Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet (does that make Sailor Pluto “Ensign Pluto” now?) But what most caught my eye was this gem from the fine folks at Comipress, a translation of an analysis/opinion piece by yaoi blog MoePre on Shonen Jump’s attempts to court female readers. (I’m not going to quote from it, because the article should be read in its entirety. But do come back!)
Basically, Jump has been adding “yaoi-esque” elements to its manga in order to appeal to female readers. But the effort has pretty much backfired, at least for this Japanese reader (and I think this has some relevance to, ahem, a few other blog threads lately…)
A few interesting points to pick up from the article imo:
- Shonen Jump is marketed to boys, but it has a silent, but significant, number of female readers. Significant enough, at least, for Jump to consider this editorial change.
- The increasing ”fan service” for female readers risks alienating male readers, Jump’s core audience.
- However, female fans may not necessarily embrace the new changes either, finding them contrived, and a needless alteration of the magazine’s overall feel.
- A segment of the female readers of Jump do not identify themselves as Jump’s audience, and hide their existence as not to influence and change the magazine’s flavor. Let that sink in for a moment…
- Here’s something that is peripheral to the article, but might be of interest to aspiring OEL creators: Japanese editors exercise a great deal of creative influence on the manga artists they oversee (a prerequisite for the kind of magazine-wide changes this article talks about.)
If anything, this is a look into the kind of expectations readers in Japan have, and how those expectations play a part in structuring the highly specialized manga genres. The ability to reach a wide audience, that strength of manga so often touted by its proponents, comes not from pandering any one product to as wide an audience as possible, but its willingness to create very specific products for very specific tastes.
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