So what does everyone think about Publishers Weekly Comics Week’s coverage of retailer reaction to Tokyopop’s on-line exclusives?
- Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter
- Brigid at MangaBlog
- David Taylor at Love Manga
- Lyle at Crocodile Caucus (not specifically about the article, but about the issue)
- Chris Butcher at Comics.212.Net
- Dirk Deppey at ¡journalista! (in the Manga section)
As for myself, I think Calvin Reid did as well as can be expected. Short of developing telepathic powers or placing a mole inside Tokyopop, these seem to be the answers that the publisher is going to provide no matter who asks them or how often.
I do tend to agree with everyone who suggested that avoiding discounts isn’t a good way to get a realistic picture of what on-line sales will be. I’ve hardly ever purchased a graphic novel at full price from an on-line outlet, unless I didn’t have any other… HEY!
And I think that this quote from Mike Kiley…
“’It’s interesting that people are so fascinated in about 20 books out of the 500 we publish each year,’ says Kiley. ‘It’s not like we’re talking about Fruits Basket or Kingdom Hearts.”
… is not especially helpful. My first reaction to it was, “500 titles? No wonder there’s a problem with shelf space!” Because seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a retail outlet, direct market or chain bookstore, that had room for 500 titles total, much less 500 titles from Tokyopop. And when you factor in the books that always seem to have a complete run available (the really popular ones), the problem compounds. (I vote for “Less is more” as the next big publishing theme.)
No direct quotes or attribution were available for this paragraph:
“While general trade bookstores are not quite as adamant as the direct market, several trade book retailers contacted by PWCW are nevertheless critical of any publisher selling direct to consumers.”
But I did get an anonymous comment from someone claiming to be a Borders employee who’s far from overjoyed.