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
11:11 PM | |
Monday, September 10, 2007
Manga Mondays: Last Week's News - TODAY!
ITEM! Via David Welsh comes news that the 20th volume of Bleach topped PWCW's comics bestsellers list last week. As David points out in the comments, it's not that surprising that Bleach sells well given its popular anime tie-in, but I still can't get over the odd feeling of having something I enjoy also being popular. This comes from years of watching series I liked (e.g., Chase, Power Company) cancelled out from under me back when I was a more regular reader of superhero comics. Also: can something so popular still be good? I feel torn, like I should be engaging in critical backlash to take down this empty, overhyped book.
ITEM! Via Ryan Lewis [via Brigid Alverson] comes word that Love Roma creator Minoru Toyoda is working on a new series, presumably for the Japanese manga anthology Afternoon where his other work has been published. No word on when the series would even start in Japan or how long it would run, so who knows when (or if) we'll ever see it released here, but it still made me smile to think that there's a possibility of more material from one of my favorite mangaka becoming available maybe someday.
ITEM! Via Dirk Deppey comes the crushing verdict that Tekkon Kinkreet is not, in fact, a mature work. Great, and right after I went ahead and ordered the book based on Christopher Butcher's heartfelt plea to support manga for grown-ups. (Team Adult Manga?) Oh, wait: One of my favorite manga is aimed at pre-teens (and "rotten girls," apparently), so I guess I'm not that devastated. (And really, if I were interested in buying Tekkon Kinkreet to support any cause, it would be the one whose goal is to get publishers to put out MORE FAT BOOKS OF LOTS AND LOTS OF MANGA!!! (I call it 'Team Mammoth Manga' and you can be a part of it, too!))
ITEM! Via David Welsh comes news that the 20th volume of Bleach topped PWCW's comics bestsellers list last week. As David points out in the comments, it's not that surprising that Bleach sells well given its popular anime tie-in, but I still can't get over the odd feeling of having something I enjoy also being popular. This comes from years of watching series I liked (e.g., Chase, Power Company) cancelled out from under me back when I was a more regular reader of superhero comics. Also: can something so popular still be good? I feel torn, like I should be engaging in critical backlash to take down this empty, overhyped book.
ITEM! Via Ryan Lewis [via Brigid Alverson] comes word that Love Roma creator Minoru Toyoda is working on a new series, presumably for the Japanese manga anthology Afternoon where his other work has been published. No word on when the series would even start in Japan or how long it would run, so who knows when (or if) we'll ever see it released here, but it still made me smile to think that there's a possibility of more material from one of my favorite mangaka becoming available maybe someday.
From Minoru Toyoda's one-shot Flip-Flap,
published in the Feb. 2007 issue of Afternoon
published in the Feb. 2007 issue of Afternoon
ITEM! Via Dirk Deppey comes the crushing verdict that Tekkon Kinkreet is not, in fact, a mature work. Great, and right after I went ahead and ordered the book based on Christopher Butcher's heartfelt plea to support manga for grown-ups. (Team Adult Manga?) Oh, wait: One of my favorite manga is aimed at pre-teens (and "rotten girls," apparently), so I guess I'm not that devastated. (And really, if I were interested in buying Tekkon Kinkreet to support any cause, it would be the one whose goal is to get publishers to put out MORE FAT BOOKS OF LOTS AND LOTS OF MANGA!!! (I call it 'Team Mammoth Manga' and you can be a part of it, too!))
Labels: Bleach, Manga, Manga Mondays
12:22 PM | |
