Interviews, website launches, and pre-emptive outrage diversion plans

July 5, 2007 in General Chatter, Manga Minutiae | 21 comments

PWCW interviews Icarus Publishing!  Finally, some cerebral, hard-hitting comics journalism!

Oh, PWCW also has some coverage on Anime Expo and Netcomics’ expansion, but who cares about that stuff?  No one, that’s who.  It’s all about MEEEEEEEEEE!!! 

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Ehem… in other Icarus news, Comic AG issue 61 should be hitting stores today.  Over at Prospero’s Manga, Ferdinand checks whether Flash Bang! is fit for human consumption, or should be banned and sent back to China.

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MangaBlog is the first to spot the new Yen Press website up and running, which at the moment is minimal, but elegant so.  And despite the lens flare, I would very much like to check out With The Light, the centrepiece of their launch.

Speaking of which, ComiPress has a backstage interview with MangaBlog’s Brigid Alverson, and to be honest it’s cooler than mine.

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MangaCast has the lowdown on manga licenses from AX, which was full of nice surprises.  Tokyopop has a Tong Li license; the DrMaster and Dark Horse books all look very promising; Seven Seas is entering BL, and has also snagged Dance in the… umm… err… chotto mate… Dance in the Vampire Bund!?  *Smacks forehead* 

Wow.  I sincerely hope that Seven Seas has had a thorough discussion on whether this is the right book for them at the right time.  I poke fun at everyone on this blog from time to time, myself included, but regular readers (all 8 of you) know I’m not out to pick on anyone or stir up fanboy rampage, especially not against a company that has the fortitude to be original and a little risque.  But this just leaves me flabbergasted.  Given 7Seas’ inability to put out the internet flames over the manga that shall not be named and stand up for that book, how could Dance in the Vampire Bund, with all its full-frontal hinnyu and lowleg panties, be any easier for them to defend?  (And this is not a snarky rhetorical question… I really want to know!)

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  1. mpasurf on July 5, 2007 at 11:21 am

    Congrats Simon! That was a great interview with a lot of things I didn’t know about even after a year or two of reading this blog.

    Reply

  2. Simon on July 5, 2007 at 11:52 am

    Thank you! m(_ _)m

    Reply

  3. ed chavez on July 5, 2007 at 2:59 pm

    VampireBund… Maybe it is not well known enough.
    I had a talk with fellow manga savant Jason Thompson at AX about the hardest of hard sells of licensed manga. KnJ was bad, but we both agreed that ComicsOne’s Indian Summer was possibly even more questionable. Koharu Biyori was literally about a guy who’s robot maid was not loli enough so he would invite kids to his place… MAN!!

    Heck Enmusu might not have been that racy but it was filled with Russian maids and the SM factor was through the roof for a shounen title. Enmusu makes Eiken look like kids stuff… Eiken…. WOOF and people say boobs don’t sell.

    Reply

  4. ed chavez on July 5, 2007 at 3:06 pm

    Oh and nice interview Simon. Man what kind of madman would pitch ero manga to a mainstream industry mag like PW though… Hope the exposure takes you both to new heights of success or depravity!

    Reply

  5. Simon on July 5, 2007 at 4:27 pm

    PWCW has reached its zenith with this interview. It’s all just going to be downhill from here on out, man…

    I don’t think Vampire Bund – or even the manga that shall not be named, for that matter – is anywhere close to being the most “questionable” license. The problem isn’t Vampire Bund, but Seven Seas itself and the baggage they now carry from their previous actions. I can only envision a lose-lose situation with this book. I can’t fathom the reasoning behind this license.

    (Have you read it? In an early scene the protagonist rubs lotion onto the vampire princess, who wears nothing more than a lowleg bikini for roughly a quarter of the book. Yes, the girl on the cover.)

    Reply

  6. Gumugum on July 5, 2007 at 8:01 pm

    Hmm Vampire Bund is the kind of manga that needs to be released shrink wrapped…I mean, while the manga is more toward the violent end of things, a few scenes in there are more “suggestive” than Nymphet will ever get…

    Reply

  7. Simon on July 5, 2007 at 9:34 pm

    You’re exactly right, and that’s why I think this may be a no-win situation. Even if Vampire Bund could slip under the radar and avoid controversy, this would give fodder to the fans who were waiting for *the manga that shall not be named* to call them out on their inconsistent content policy, and I believe rightly so.

    I mean, I’d actually like to see how such a book would do in the market, I’m just surprised that Seven Seas would be the ones to try it after their complete renunciation of *the manga that shall not be named.*

    Reply

  8. mpasurf on July 5, 2007 at 9:50 pm

    But isn’t it possible that 7S had Vampire Bund licensed before the whole N- blow up? So instead of pissing it to the wind without trying they’re going to give it a go. If that’s the case then I applaud them for giving it another go, as long as they don’t license anything along these lines again until they see how VB works out.

    Reply

  9. Simon on July 5, 2007 at 10:07 pm

    Given the time it takes to secure some licenses… I’m sure you’re right. But if I were one of those who felt strongly about the first fiasco, this would probably sting like a slap in the face… a second one.

    Reply

  11. ShellyL on July 6, 2007 at 5:43 am

    Simon, maybe this is a stupid question but I know nothing about the industry except what I read here. Why don’t you sell through online venues? For those stores that carry hardcore BL and anime hentai, I’d think you’d be a natural fit. I realize you’re probably too busy to ship from this site, but wouldn’t a working partnership with just one online store increase your sales quite a lot?

    Reply

  12. Simon on July 6, 2007 at 9:14 am

    Shelly–>

    Actually, we do sell quite a bit through online sources. Roughly 40% of our initial sales are outside Diamond, and a significant portion of those are to online retailers.

    We also sell online ourselves (see Catalogue/Shop link on top left.) We just don’t push it all that much because I’d rather sales go through retailers whenever possible. It’s actually why I changed this website to the blog setup you see now.

    The one thing we don’t do but a lot of people have asked for is mail order catalogue. But again, I prefer to tough it out a bit longer and see if we can grow our sales through retail before we even consider that.

    Reply

  13. ShellyL on July 6, 2007 at 9:45 am

    Oh! I only read the “How to buy” link and thought I had to go through my only local comic book store which, to be blunt, I’ve had problems with in the past. That’s great news, since I’ve wanted to buy your books. Thanks!

    Reply

  14. Akcoll99 on July 6, 2007 at 11:16 am

    It’s like I’ve been saying all along, what got the “Title-that-shall-not-be-named” in trouble wasn’t its content alone, but the focus that its English language title brought. If they just called it something else, I don’t think it would have become nearly as big a deal. Just my opinion…

    Simon, I had a question based on something you said in the interview (which was quite good, btw). You make a good point about how successful the hentai ANIME market has been in comparison to the hentai MANGA market. When you go to license titles, have you considered going after series that have an anime adaption, like Parade Parade, Stainless Night, Immorality, or Taboo Charming Mother, just to name a few examples?

    Reply

  16. DocWatson on July 6, 2007 at 11:46 am

    In answer to the inevitable question(s) about the link above, “copy and paste”.

    Reply

  17. Simon on July 6, 2007 at 11:54 am

    Akcoll99–>

    I do not consider anime adaptations because to be honest, I’m not that well versed in ero anime. (I prefer manga over anime, and this extends to general releases.) Heck, we may already have books with stories which have been animated, and I just don’t know it.

    However, we have licensed one manga from Chataro, and if it performs well, we might consider picking up his seminal work, Nami S.O.S…. which has been animated and is released in the US by TRSI’s adult label.

    Reply

  18. Simon on July 6, 2007 at 11:58 am

    gynocrat–>

    Please madam, control yourself! This isn’t that kind of blog! We have standards! We… umm… okay, I’m kidding, we don’t have standards here. ._.;;

    Well, you gotta admit, however questionable some of Seven Seas’ actions online may have been, they sure have a really good eye for art style.

    Reply

  19. gynocrat on July 6, 2007 at 12:41 pm

    What’s wrong with an 9 year old in a thong with a rose… oh wait, is she 11 or 12? Because you know, that makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

    You know… DC isn’t much better:
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v339/jesterswords/10062074_l.jpg

    But you can’t blame the artist [P Craig Russel?] after all, this was pre-Mary Kay LeTourneau.

    Reply

  20. Simon on July 7, 2007 at 12:31 am

    Oh yeah, and where were all the fine villainesses when I was in school? =p

    Reply

  21. gynocrat on July 8, 2007 at 5:35 pm

    They were in Gotham City!

    Reply