Kodansha Comics – it’s official

David Welsh has an in-depth interview with Ed Chavez of Vertical Inc, covering announced licenses Peepo Choo and Chi’s Sweet Home, while hinting the publisher may expand far beyond what even seasoned manga watchers expect (“adult” manga?  Maybe.)  That makes Vertical the most intriguing manga publisher, and the one to watch next year (yes, ahead of Kodansha, I’d say…)

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Speaking of which, Kodansha Comics has finally unveiled itself to the world via this interview at Publishers Weekly, a mere week ahead of the release of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, the company’s first two books (GitS SAC will hit later on).  Kodansha Comics’ Yoshio Irie says the publisher will focus primarily on the Japanese parent’s considerable back-list in its early stages of life, which almost assuredly means one thing… the long-awaited re-release of Sailor Moon, the influential magical girl manga which not-so-coincidentally was just re-issued in Japan this month.  Love it or hate it, this is the one back list title with the most potential demand in the US market.

Shockingly, the company currently consists of 4 people, and only 1 person is at its New York office.  The words “movies” (oh God), “long-term commitment”, and “original properties” show up a few times.  The company also reiterated continued support for other licensees such as Del Rey, saying it is not looking to become exclusive to itself.  US versions of its flagship magazines seem unlikely at this point.

Other than that, it’s tough to say just what older manga Kodansha may be looking to bring over (the obvious answer would be the titles they pulled from other publishers, but even that isn’t certain after this interview, I think), or if the company will offer any immediate competition to industry stalwarts Viz, Del Rey, Tokyopop, and Yen.  That is no doubt the eventual goal, but everything in the interview paints an initial approach typical of large, old Japanese companies… patient, if not dawdling and overly conservative (the lone US operative, Tomoko Suga, seems like a sniper on a scouting mission.)  Looking at the format of Kodansha’s first two releases (oversized, $24.99 MSRP), one gets the impression that they’re not quite ready to compete on the same playing field just yet.  Their symbiotic relationship with Random House certainly complicates things further.  But given all the changes in the book market, a rather timid launch might not be a bad idea after all.  If anything, it’ll make that $2 million start-up fund last longer.

Kodansha is still the only company that can really challenge Viz’s dominance in the US market.  They have the resources.  Whether they have the desire and the right plan to do it is a surprisingly open question.

Edit: Check out the comments at The Beat, including one very skeptical of Kodansha’s business acumen by someone who claims to have worked with the company.

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Found via ICv2… This New York Times article explores the rising number of services that allow for easy sharing of any file, including pirated books, and wonders whether it’s the book publishers’ turn to experience the same kind of “Napterization” that gutted the music industry’s sales by half.

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Prices of ero games have hit the century mark.  Smaller market?  Higher development costs?  Piracy?  Economy?  Nay to all of those, I say… it’s just a clever scheme to force home-bound otaku to get off their butts and find a job.

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Robert’s Anime Corner Store discusses what he sees as a transition of the manga retail business towards a scarcity model; more books are getting limited print runs, leading to shortages and even speculative buying.

It’s true that manga companies have been hit pretty hard lately, but this transition may become eventuality for all of publishing as adoption of e-books increases.  New print runs always involve some risk, because in addition to the production costs, physical books also require storage, and unsold inventory is taxed.  E-books incur none of those expenses.  One day, the only people buying print books will be those with a fetish for the book as an object… collectors, in other words.

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Comics Worth Reading reminds every blog and online reviewer out there: those of you who receive free promotional items for review are now required by the FTC to disclose it.  If the publisher has previously advertised on your website, you must disclose it.  If you own stock options on the publisher, you must disclose it.  If the book came with a $100 bill bookmark, you must disclose it.  If a comic creator buys you a drink at a convention, and you review his book while still inebriated, you must disclose it.  Okay, I’m not sure about the last few, but the first one is dead serious… fines can be up to $11,000 for each offense.  I’m not sure what legal theory grants them the power to regulate speech by individuals on the internet, but the FTC is convinced they have it.

Actually, I’m not against the spirit of the regulation, which is directed at corporate astro-turfing of review sites through shills (I’m also not against reviewers disclosing they received review copies one bit).  But as it happens so often, broadly-worded laws and regulations get twisted, manipulated, exploited, and abused (this poor Michigan woman’s story is just the latest example).  Even a well-crafted law can be stretched beyond its intent with some semantic chicanery (consider the entire history of obscenity laws that try to redefine “art”).  I also find it hard to accept that bloggers are essentially under closer scrutiny than radio, print, and TV news.  Imagine if all the analysts on CNBC and Fox Business had to disclose which stocks they owned.  Don’t tell me you trust those guys to be completely impartial…

Edit: Dear Author speaks with Richard Cleland of the FTC, and learns the guidelines are very much a work in progress.  (Thanks, Shelley)