The Manga Curmudgeon

Spending too much on comics, then talking too much about them

Q and no As

by

Yesterday, Tom Spurgeon posted a list of questions he’s going to be pondering over the upcoming holiday season. They’re all worth a think, but I naturally gravitate towards the last item:

“10. What Is The Big Picture Future Of Translated Manga?
“I haven’t seen anyone describe in even general terms a future for translated manga beyond some folks making assurances it will continue and be really, really successful and other people writing semi-snotty articles and message board posts that the opportunity for traction from bigger licenses seems to be on the wane. I’d love to see someone address the future for this kind of publishing in more direct fashion that didn’t seem like a snow job, and be allowed to do so without people proclaiming that this means they hate those kinds of comics or that they’ll eventually be shown up for betting against that field. I mean, I assume the future is at least different from the present, right?”

I haven’t been doing much big-picture thinking lately, and my reaction to the recent mini-wave of preliminary manga autopsies has been to shrug and/or roll my eyes. But that’s more laziness and evasion on my part than a thoughtful response.

Still, I think Tom’s question isn’t immediately answerable, and while I’m not exactly Jesuitical in my thought process, I find myself responding to the question with more questions.

1. What does the economic downturn, here and abroad, mean for comics as a whole? I’ve seen arguments that comics and other forms of entertainment have a history of maintaining during economic downturns. There was a piece on NPR the other day about movies during recessions and depressions, pointing to their history of providing escape during the Great Depression. But that was when movies were cheap. Comics were relatively cheap then too. And on the price-per-page scale, I still think manga paperbacks are one of the better values available in the category, so maybe that will give them a leg up.

2. Will Borders survive its seemingly inevitable bankruptcy or reorganization? Borders was one of the earliest adopters of manga and arguably played a huge role in popularizing the category for people who might not otherwise have ever picked up a comic, so trouble for the bookseller won’t be without consequences for manga. But while it was an early adopter, it’s been followed by other outlets like Barnes & Noble and Amazon. And if my memory is functioning correctly, graphic novels (including manga) are one of the few sectors of the book industry that are maintaining, if not thriving.

3. Are big hit titles a rising tide or a crushing wake? In other words, what will manga do when books like Naruto (Viz) and Fruits Basket (Tokyopop) conclude their runs? Does evergreen demand for those books and others like them suck up shelf space and make it harder for marginal titles to find an audience? On the one hand, there are lots of the usual suspects in the monthly BookScan graphic novel numbers. On the other, there seems to me to be a reasonable sprinkling of other books (particularly shôjo) that don’t have the sales-driving of a high-profile cartoon, so some readers are still finding new titles to enjoy outside of the five or six blockbusters.

4. What happens when the current teen and pre-teen audience grows up? Will they keep reading comics, or will they leave it behind as an adolescent habit? This one always intrigues me, though I think we’ve already seen at least a portion of the first teen/pre-teen readers grow up. And some kept reading, and some moved on to ignoring their college textbooks, or whatever comes next. But I think it’s one of those questions that can’t be answered for a while yet. I know a lot of people think that readers who couldn’t leave adolescent fixations behind is part of what’s strangling Marvel and DC creatively, but I don’t know if the same set of conditions apply with Japanese comics. If the current crop of readers does keep reading and their tastes mature, there’s product available for licensing that can suit their evolving tastes.

5. What’s the future of alternative or experimental manga? A lot of the answer to this one is tied into the previous question, but I think there are a couple of other factors. I think the mainstream audience for books created by North Americans (like Fun Home and others) could be lured by similarly thoughtful, intriguing Japanese comics, provided those comics are attractively packaged and readily available in bookstores.

6. How will mainstream publishers with comics initiatives do in the current economic climate? There have already been layoffs at Random House, home of Del Rey, and it seems inconceivable that many big book publishers will escape the fallout (or score a government bailout). But if the relative health of the graphic novel market sustains, might those corners of publishing houses be left untouched? Because they’re steady earners

7. Will Japanese publishers continue to cut out the middlepersons? Viz continues to steam along, which must be an alluring example for other publishers. Kodansha is apparently in the midst of starting its own manga publishing outpost, but who knows when we’ll see that manifest itself in actual titles. Broccoli recently announced its closure, and ICE Kunion got absorbed by Yen Press, but Aurora and Netcomics are still plugging along under their own auspices. The occasional story bubbles up about economic problems for Japanese publishers and declining readership on their home turf, but that could conceivably make foreign markets more attractive rather than less, provided they have the resources to maintain a North American outpost.

8. What role will libraries play in all of this? I don’t know if this is borne out by any evidence, but I suspect that it must be tough to be a librarian during a recession. On one hand, you’ve got a larger audience looking for free content, but you’ve also got inevitable budget cuts from local governments paring down their expenses on what they view as non-essential services. (I’m not saying libraries aren’t essential. I’m saying that local governments might view them that way when compared to roads and law enforcement and other concerns.) But I do think that librarians probably have a unique perspective on the aforementioned teen/pre-teen audience. They know what they read over and over again, and they know what they read when the blockbusters aren’t available. They can gauge demand and spot trends.

It’s really a hydra of a question. Hack off one of its heads, and more slither out of the scar. What do you think?

Readily available

by

Over at Good Comics for Kids, Robin Brenner has some good advice for comics publishers who want a presence on library shelves: keep your catalog in print:

“Unlike the general public, librarians cannot just walk down to the local book store or comics store and buy what they need. We have to go through vendors, and often we are limited to the vendors that our library is contracted to use. When our vendors are out of titles, we may or may not have an alternative option (say, ordering them via Amazon with a library credit card or purchase order), but this is not possible everywhere. When our vendors are out of stock, we’re stuck with kids clamoring for more titles that we cannot provide. When I brought up the problem with the Diamond Comics folks at the fair, including that juggernaut of comics advocacy John Shableski, they assured me that they could help me get whatever volumes I needed. On the one hand, yay! On the other hand, most librarians don’t have that direct option.”

From the stack: Salt Water Taffy: A Climb up Mt. Barnabas

by

If I was a sufficiently good person, I would donate my copy of Matthew Loux’s Salt Water Taffy: A Climb up Mt. Barnabas (Oni Press) to the local library so that area schoolchildren could take in its many charms and borrow it to the point of decay, as I know they would. I’m not that good a person, so I’m keeping it for myself.

The first volume of this series was easily one of the most delightful comics discoveries of the year. The second is just a bit better in that Loux’s storytelling is a bit more confident, and his absurd sense of humor has a bit freer reign. Having established that weird things happen in the seaside hamlet of Chowder Bay, Loux can dive into new weirdness faster and take it a little farther.

This time around, Jack and Benny Putnam have put their father on the defensive with their hero-worship of Angus an old, Chowder Bay salt with his finger on the pulse of local lore (because he was there for most of it). Dad tells a whopper, and the kids are duly impressed. They’re so impressed that they decide to reenact Dad’s adventure.

What follows involves a perilous climb up the titular peak, a sneaky wolf, improbable headwear, and lots of other engaging stuff. It also involves snappy dialogue, nifty characterization, charmingly loopy art, brisk pacing… pretty much everything you could ask for in a funny adventure comic. There really isn’t a panel wasted.

So no, I’m not going to share my Taffy. Maybe I’ll change my mind if Oni publishes a handsome, hardcover omnibus like they did with Scott Chantler’s Northwest Passage, but until that day comes, the local youngsters are on their own.

(Here’s a preview at Comic Book Resources, along with a review by Greg McElhatton and an interview with Loux.)

Thought for the day

by

I’m not going for a theme week or anything, but it did occur to me that I’d probably end up spending a discounted fortune if Drawn & Quarterly got on the holiday sale/free shipping bandwagon with Oni and Top Shelf.

I’m just saying.

More bargains

by

Another fine independent comics publisher is offering some discounts. Top Shelf has marked some items down and is offering free shipping on orders of $40 or more until Sunday, Dec. 14.

As far as recommendations go, it’s hard to go wrong with Renée French or Andy Runton. Andy Hartzell’s Fox Bunny Funny is a terrific book for grown-ups, as is Lars Martinson’s Tonoharu. Aaron Reiner’s Spiral-Bound is a great choice for kids.

See how easy it is to spend $40?

I prefer 'extravaganza' to 'blowout'

by

Oni Press is having a “Holiday Sales Extravaganza,” with all volume one graphic novels reduced 15 to 25% and free shipping on orders over $30. Orders must be placed by 2 p.m. PST Dec. 19, 2008, if you want them to arrive by Christmas.

Oni publishes some terrific stuff, so I thought I’d list some of my favorite first volumes in case you were tempted but didn’t quite know where to start:

  • Black Metal by Rick Spears and Chuck BB: I reviewed the book here.
  • Courtney Crumrin: The Night Things by Ted Naifeh: Quirky supernatural adventure starring a pointedly antisocial heroine, which makes it right up my alley.
  • Maintenance by Jim Massey and Robbi Rodriguez: I reviewed the first issue here, and I continue to enjoy the series.
  • Polly and the Pirates by Ted Naifeh: I reviewed the first issue of the mini-series here, and loved the whole thing. When do we get the second volume?
  • Queen and Country: Operation Broken Ground by Greg Rucka, Steve Rolston and Stan Sakai: Smart stories starring grouchy British spies.
  • Salt Water Taffy: The Legend of Old Salty by Matthew Loux: I reviewed the book here.
  • Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley: Chances are you own it already, but one never knows. I reviewed the book here.
  • Whiteout by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber: A gritty mystery set at the bottom of the world, or the top, depending on your perspective.

    • Comics Rx: Eric Davis's entry

    by

    Here’s Eric Davis’s prescription for the comics industry:

    “I have no experience with the business side of comics, and I’m pretty clueless when it comes to business stuff generally, but the most encouraging sign I’ve seen for the comics industry is the recent increase (in Ontario, anyway) of clean and friendly comic book shops that stock beyond the Big Two. Our local shop in Kingston (4Colour8Bit!) runs weekly D&D, video game, and Magic game nights, as well as other special community events, and generally fosters an exciting, inclusive and not-at-all-boys-club atmosphere. So long as the industry supports and encourages stores like that, I think there will be plenty of fools like me happy to spend more money than we should on comics.”

    That’s the last of the prescriptions. To look at the whole lot of them, click on the Comics Rx category, and thanks to everyone who entered!

    Comics Rx: Rob McMonigal's entry

    by

    Here’s Rob McMonigal’s prescription for the comics industry:

    “I think the biggest problem right now is that the industry is using the trade-and-singles system all wrong. Rather than increasing the singles price more and more for titles people are going to read in trade anyway, just trade a Batman or JLA or Spider-Man arc every 3 months or so, priced at $9.99 or $14.99 or even $19.99, depending on size. Use anthology comics for the smaller characters and if they do well, give them trades as well going forward. Then use single issues to try and bring readers to the trades. A Spider-Man one-shots only monthly, for instance. Same for Bats, Supes, and the rest. And get that thing everywhere—book stores, toy stores, convenience stores, and—and this one’s huge—drug stores. With a limited product ala ‘real’ magazines and Shojo Beat style anthologies, they just might get the reader base going back up again.

    “Then use the trades for people once they’re hooked or for long-time readers like us. Putting out material meant for a trade in single issues just doesn’t make sense anymore.”