Something is going on in the world of manga publishers.
Last month on Facebook Tokyopop founder Stu Levey announced "a new partnership with our friends at GeekChicDaily" where "the original TOKYOPOP magazine concept can be revived and refreshed -- rebooted actually -- in a much more modern, exciting, and accessible format." What that means exactly, I don't know, and apparently others weren't sure either.
Tokyopop encouraged questions be directed to an anonymous Twitter @TOKYOPOPManga but there were doubts as to the legitimacy of the account, questions of if they'd been hacked, and the sincerity of this new decision. After all, TP opted to abandon publishing in April/May of 2011 in favor of perusing their film division. The rights for the Japanese licenses reverted back to their original owners, though the company retained the rights to (some? all?) Original English Language manga they published. Their webpage was taken down as well, the url redirecting to Facebook. The general consensus was Mr. Levy wasn't satisfied with the lack of fame manga granted, hence the short lived "America's Greatest Otaku". Film was more shiny and new; after all, comic books were big in the theaters, right?
Despite the big announcement and encouraging Q&A, on Facebook Tokyopop wrote, "We can't give too many details at this point, but we thank you for your patience and look forward to announcing something soon." Evasive as usual. Why make such a big deal of this if they're not ready to answer the hard questions? I'm particularly annoyed that TP appears to place all the blame on their failing upon Borders, as if they didn't make any mistakes as well.
From Twitter:
TOKYOPOPManga
@ANNZac We're starting a newsletter and we're laying the groundwork for publishing new manga again. Hope that satisfies you. :)
TOKYOPOPManga
@MatthewCycyk I can't answer that question right now, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to give you an answer soon!
TOKYOPOPManga
@Kiriska We want to publish new manga. We couldn't escape the problems that caused our shutdown, but now we have the opportunity to reboot.
TOKYOPOPManga
@botoggle We just got the right opportunity to continue publishing our manga. We'll have more info on what that is soon.
TOKYOPOPManga
@Kiriska Our goals are the same. We closed because of the Borders bankruptcy. They weren't paying us for our books.
TOKYOPOPManga
@yawmin @botoggle We've not had any Kodansha titles for a long time, so we won't be relying on their manga. And now we can't rely on Borders
TOKYOPOPManga
@MagicalEmi We're only two people right now. We're not at a point where we can hire anyone back.
TOKYOPOPManga
@debaoki I know! I'll try to get approval to let you know who I am ASAP.
Reactions have been mixed, encouragement alongside distrust and doubt. Why is Tokyopop trying to restart its North American publishing arm after shuttering it mere months ago? Will Levy flip-flop on his decision months later?
Personally, my concerns are related to the writers and artists of any OEL manga TP may pick up. Multiple creators struggled to get their rights back in May, some successfully, others not. How will Tokoyopop treat creators now?
Tokyopop encouraged questions be directed to an anonymous Twitter @TOKYOPOPManga but there were doubts as to the legitimacy of the account, questions of if they'd been hacked, and the sincerity of this new decision. After all, TP opted to abandon publishing in April/May of 2011 in favor of perusing their film division. The rights for the Japanese licenses reverted back to their original owners, though the company retained the rights to (some? all?) Original English Language manga they published. Their webpage was taken down as well, the url redirecting to Facebook. The general consensus was Mr. Levy wasn't satisfied with the lack of fame manga granted, hence the short lived "America's Greatest Otaku". Film was more shiny and new; after all, comic books were big in the theaters, right?
Despite the big announcement and encouraging Q&A, on Facebook Tokyopop wrote, "We can't give too many details at this point, but we thank you for your patience and look forward to announcing something soon." Evasive as usual. Why make such a big deal of this if they're not ready to answer the hard questions? I'm particularly annoyed that TP appears to place all the blame on their failing upon Borders, as if they didn't make any mistakes as well.
From Twitter:
TOKYOPOPManga
@ANNZac We're starting a newsletter and we're laying the groundwork for publishing new manga again. Hope that satisfies you. :)
TOKYOPOPManga
@MatthewCycyk I can't answer that question right now, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to give you an answer soon!
TOKYOPOPManga
@Kiriska We want to publish new manga. We couldn't escape the problems that caused our shutdown, but now we have the opportunity to reboot.
TOKYOPOPManga
@botoggle We just got the right opportunity to continue publishing our manga. We'll have more info on what that is soon.
TOKYOPOPManga
@Kiriska Our goals are the same. We closed because of the Borders bankruptcy. They weren't paying us for our books.
TOKYOPOPManga
@yawmin @botoggle We've not had any Kodansha titles for a long time, so we won't be relying on their manga. And now we can't rely on Borders
TOKYOPOPManga
@MagicalEmi We're only two people right now. We're not at a point where we can hire anyone back.
TOKYOPOPManga
@debaoki I know! I'll try to get approval to let you know who I am ASAP.
Reactions have been mixed, encouragement alongside distrust and doubt. Why is Tokyopop trying to restart its North American publishing arm after shuttering it mere months ago? Will Levy flip-flop on his decision months later?
Personally, my concerns are related to the writers and artists of any OEL manga TP may pick up. Multiple creators struggled to get their rights back in May, some successfully, others not. How will Tokoyopop treat creators now?