Monday, September 17, 2007
Manga Mondays: Courting The Comic Book Fans
One of the blogging rituals I miss now that I'm not reading any superhero comics regularly is the monthly solicitation commentary. You know the routine: Marvel and DC release listings and cover images for all their comics coming out a couple months down the road and everyone in the comics blogosphere offers their take on the previews. After reading ICv2's interview with Viz's Senior Vice-President Liza Coppola where she talks about working more with the Direct Market fan base, I wondered why manga publishers don't release monthly solicitation information to comic book sites like Newsarama and Comic Book Resources (or even anime/manga fan sites like Anime News Network or AnimeOnDVD). Sure, Dark Horse and DC include their manga releases with their overall product listings each month, but I'm wondering why dedicated manga publishers don't release their monthly schedules to the fan sites. It's not like big publishers like Viz and Tokyopop don't already have that scheduling information available, so it doesn't seem like it would be a major effort to compile the info in a slightly different format for a different audience. I know the chances of getting superhero devotees to try something new are slim, but perhaps by getting the information out there in a format and cycle they're familiar with you might snare a few eyeballs while they're busy refreshing Newsarama waiting for the latest press release from Marvel or DC to go up. Plus, I know there are manga fans like me that still check the comic sites every now and then, and if we're blogging about your upcoming books and other manga fans join in, that's more free advertising for your books.
Anyway, here's some light snark about the manga solicitations that are available on CBR.
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service heard that having your characters appear as zombies on the cover helps sales.
"Honestly, Doc, I don't know how that got up there!"
Yes, she shredded her own outfit with swords just so you could see a little skin, fanboy. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW???
This cover graphically depicts the relative popularity of cheerleaders (shown in blue) vs. marching band (shown in red).
"Gon hungry! Gon snatch!!"
Dear DC/CMX: Thanks for setting back by decades fans' efforts to convince people that manga's not about the creepy sexualization of minors.
This, on the other hand, is the good kind of manga creepiness. What's in that box? What does it smell like? IF I SMELL IT WILL I LOSE MY EYELIDS, TOO???
"Karnac sees all! Karnac knows all!!"
From DC's first Flex offering, Zombie Fairy, whose solicitation copy
reads like it was spit out of the Random Manga Cliche Generator 2000.
One of the blogging rituals I miss now that I'm not reading any superhero comics regularly is the monthly solicitation commentary. You know the routine: Marvel and DC release listings and cover images for all their comics coming out a couple months down the road and everyone in the comics blogosphere offers their take on the previews. After reading ICv2's interview with Viz's Senior Vice-President Liza Coppola where she talks about working more with the Direct Market fan base, I wondered why manga publishers don't release monthly solicitation information to comic book sites like Newsarama and Comic Book Resources (or even anime/manga fan sites like Anime News Network or AnimeOnDVD). Sure, Dark Horse and DC include their manga releases with their overall product listings each month, but I'm wondering why dedicated manga publishers don't release their monthly schedules to the fan sites. It's not like big publishers like Viz and Tokyopop don't already have that scheduling information available, so it doesn't seem like it would be a major effort to compile the info in a slightly different format for a different audience. I know the chances of getting superhero devotees to try something new are slim, but perhaps by getting the information out there in a format and cycle they're familiar with you might snare a few eyeballs while they're busy refreshing Newsarama waiting for the latest press release from Marvel or DC to go up. Plus, I know there are manga fans like me that still check the comic sites every now and then, and if we're blogging about your upcoming books and other manga fans join in, that's more free advertising for your books.
Anyway, here's some light snark about the manga solicitations that are available on CBR.
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service heard that having your characters appear as zombies on the cover helps sales.
"Honestly, Doc, I don't know how that got up there!"
Yes, she shredded her own outfit with swords just so you could see a little skin, fanboy. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW???
This cover graphically depicts the relative popularity of cheerleaders (shown in blue) vs. marching band (shown in red).
"Gon hungry! Gon snatch!!"
Dear DC/CMX: Thanks for setting back by decades fans' efforts to convince people that manga's not about the creepy sexualization of minors.
This, on the other hand, is the good kind of manga creepiness. What's in that box? What does it smell like? IF I SMELL IT WILL I LOSE MY EYELIDS, TOO???
"Karnac sees all! Karnac knows all!!"
From DC's first Flex offering, Zombie Fairy, whose solicitation copy
reads like it was spit out of the Random Manga Cliche Generator 2000.
Labels: Manga, Manga Mondays, Solicits
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