Moe statistics, gay comics, English playwright on Diamond’s chopping block

Via ANN, the Chronicle Herald reports that one James Corey Hammond pleaded guilty in Canadian court to possession of child pornography, which “included animated video,” re: yaoi/shota anime.  Another man, David Scott Hammond (relative?  Husband/partner?), also faces charges stemming from the same raid.

+++

ANN went through Diamond’s March cancellation list, and sussed out some manga that I had missed… a couple Manga Shakespeares from Abrams, several titles from Eigomanga, and import artbooks from Tohan.  ANN’s sister publication, Protoculture Addicts, also lost its orders.

There’s one more manga title we both missed the first time around… No Starch Press’ Manga Guide to Statistics, too, got the code 3 axe.  I don’t know if this was a first solicitation or a relist, but this book received a bit of mainstream press because of its quirky approach to teaching math, so it’s a little surprising that it didn’t make the threshhold, either.

+++

And yet another adult publisher has become entangled in Diamond’s new threshhold… Canada-based Class Comics revealed that one comic was rejected from listing outright, and prospects for future solicitations with Previews seem dim.  This is a surprise for a couple of reasons… Class Comics is one of the very few exclusive gay comic publishers out there, and probably the only one with a regular release schedule of comics.  They’ve also received a fair amount of coverage and promotion, yet all of that (and having purchased cover ad spots on several issues of Previews Adult) does not seem enough to earn them a reprieve.  The rejected comic will still be released, and the publisher is currently exploring alternative distribution.  (Found via GGY Meta)

+++

For those with a stomach for large numbers, Brian Hibbs painstakingly goes through the Bookscan 2008 numbers, breaking them down into Marvel, DC, Manga, and other, and further dissects the manga stats by publisher.  Make some hot cocoa before you sit down for this one.

Edit: Matt Blind compares his results with Bookscan’s.  Because Rocket Bomber’s methodlogy combines several data sets, DMP and Dark Horse end up looking much healthier.

Edit 2: Journalista takes great exception to analysis on art/literary comics Hibbs drew from the bookscan numbers.  My only thought is… there’s no incentive for any literary comic publisher to come out and explicitly support one view over the other.  Too much potential for hurt feelings.  Politely nod head and smile.  Every sale counts, and leave it at that…

+++

Meanwhile, MangaCast does the same with Japanese manga magazine circulations for 2008, as provided by the Japan Magazine Publishers Association.  Scroll down for numbers on a few ero manga magazines, which compare quite favorably with mainstream publications… in fact, the numbers for Wani Magazine’s Comic Kairakuten easily surpass all U.S. comics which don’t feature the president on their cover.

Unfortunately, there are no stats for Akaneshinsha or Core Magazine, two of the biggest players in the genre, as they are not part of the association.

+++

Isn’t moe just lolicon without the guilt?  No!  Gia Manry explains… and possibly reveals a fetish for red-headed snipers.  Yesss, I’d like to give those a great big hug too… err…