Comments on: A Few SDCC Highlights

By: jadexanadu

jadexanadu — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:04:42 +0000

Waaahh! I was really hoping to get samples from TP, and they only had anything on Preview Night? That sucked! And I wish they had been more explicit about just signing in. I thought it just for new sign-ups. Not that the manga shop had much I was looking for…
Tokyopop seems to be the most forward thinking of the manga community in relation to going digital. I’ve found their website to be the most welcoming to fans of all the big sites. It took Viz forever to just get online manga previews going. But, I don’t think the manga market isn’t ready to as digital as they seem to want. E-readers have to come down in price, and cell phones need to evolve more before I’ll read manga digitally. Books are still the mainstream, and TP should continue to market that way as well as continuing to develop the digital market.
It’s not that their books (the OEL) aren’t good. I’ve been surprised by some titles that I had no interest in when I read the initial descriptions of them. Reading first chapter previews have changed my mind. I think if they got more previews in more people’s hands and not just computers, they’re sales would improve, and they wouldn’t have to rely so much on quantity.
YP was really fun, and I really liked everything they had to say. I wish I could have gone to Del Rey. They announced some books I will definitely be getting, Fairy Tail and Hell Girl. It would have been nice to hear the announcements first hand.

By: renagrrl7

renagrrl7 — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:57:40 +0000

You’re right, there should have been more–I found one Shojo Mojo manga sampler in their booth on Preview Night (don’t know what else they were offering). And thank God I did–it had a preview of Dramacon vol. 3! Why they didn’t have any of the leftover Choose Your Weapon samplers from Free Comic Book Day, I’ll never understand…And what the hell were the sampler stands still doing in their booth if they were completely empty the entire time?!? Also, you could get the TP giveaways if you just signed in to your profile–early part of the weekend was a T-shirt, wristband, and $0.99 manga coupon; Sunday was poster, wristband, and aforementioned coupon…Of course, Viz always has the best giveaway with their popular bag!
And I did attend TP’s “big” panel over the weekend, and found their online ventures…interesting. But, again, this was in my role as PR-type/marketer. Web 2.0 is really big in PR right now, with everyone trying to figure out what their company should be doing to incorporate it into their marketing plans. I wonder how much of it is actually going to increase sales, though…My guess is they’re trying to appeal to MySpacers and not the maturing manga market (which includes folks like you and me). And I’m not sure the U.S. is ready to read/watch manga TV serials on their computer, or even on their cell phones…People barely read the paperback (or online pirated) versions of manga as it is. Not to mention, we’re WAY behind in cell phone technology…
Ha–During the YP panel, I was in the front row on the left and was the person addressed when they noticed I was scribbling notes about SunDome! and “blue balls”… XD

By: jadexanadu

jadexanadu — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:43:55 +0000

As a marketer, I found the fact that their giveaways required you to sign up for a TOKYOPOP profile was a smart strategic move…
I don’t deny that it was a smart move, but there really should have been more. Tokyopop seems to be putting all their eggs into the online basket, and in the manga market, I don’t think that’s going to work. Not everyone is online, and they should be trying to reach out to a wider audience. I really think a combo of online and print marketing is the way to go, with the print directing people online. If they would just follow through on their original promises for their magazine, then I think they wouldn’t have to bury us in hundreds of releases. They need to show they have some quality in all their quantity. Besides, I’m already registered for the Tokyopop site. They didn’t have any promotions for me. But I got my really neat Viz book bag…
I’m glad SDCC won’t be moving anytime soon. I like it in San Diego. Like I said, it’s a tradition for us. And for all my moaning, we will probably go again next year.
Ah, you were at the Yen Press panel
Yeah, I was two rows behind Ed from the Mangacast, scribbling notes.

By: jadexanadu

jadexanadu — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:34:15 +0000

Well, from what I’ve heard from other podcasts, they didn’t even have space on the convention floor at AX, and they were touted as a sponsor of SDCC (both on the website and at the convention), so I don’t think it’s a question of associated with ‘western comics’. They have had a booth at SDCC for the last couple of years, and have had samplers before. I got my first issue of the free mag at SDCC, as well as some older samplers. I picked up Crescent Moon based on the sampler. I think it’s more a question of priorities, and they just don’t have there’s in the right place. SDCC *is* a place to go all out, because you get movie studios (to license your properties too) as well as libraries. SDCC isn’t just comics anymore. It’s not a one-genre con anymore. It’s gone multimedia, and anyone would be crazy NOT to go all out.
About Yen, they said they didn’t have any plans yet for how to solicit for new talent, but that they were working on it. It wasn’t concrete information, just an answer to a question about the anthology. The editor from Ice Kunion was handling that, and she didn’t say a word into the mike the whole panel. She just smiled a lot.

By: renagrrl7

renagrrl7 — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:27:29 +0000

Ah, you were at the Yen Press panel--I found it really interesting and found it highly entertaining, especially when they were explaining some of their titles like SunDome!...Thankfully, they're more quality than quantity. The only redeeming quality about TOKYOPOP was their booth programming. I got to listen to their OEL creators speak on a variety of topics in a fairly intimate (or as intimate being in the middle of the Exhibit Hall can be) setting. As a marketer, I found the fact that their giveaways required you to sign up for a TOKYOPOP profile was a smart strategic move... And there's no hope for changing Comic-Con venues--it's signed up for the Convention Center through 2012. But I have to agree, Comic-Con is too big, too crowded, and too diluted content-wise as it is. The San Diego Union-Tribune had an article about Comic-Con in yesterday's issue that summed up a lot of folks' thoughts. While I didn't make it into any of my first-choice panels on Saturday, I did get to enjoy the Shojo Beat panel with Arina Tanemura-sensei and the Del Rey panel. And while I'm not entirely happy with this year's Con, I'll still be buying next year's pass the moment it goes online next week...

By: anderson_t

anderson_t — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 02:35:07 +0000

There is so much they could do, but it all just wasted potential.
Do think this might be on purpose? I often wonder with companies like TP, if they consider SDCC more of a ‘western comics’ show. As it stands, is there a con where ‘manga publishers’ actually come out in full force? If they’ve done SDCC for the past few years, perhaps they’ve realized that SDCC just isn’t the con to ‘go all out’ with in terms of exhibiting or dealing, as a publisher of manga. :/
And about Yen – they say they’re looking for talent, but where are they looking? Do they take agent-only submissions from established creators, or do they plan to accept new talent from unknowns via mail-in submissions. Did anyone ask that, by chance? ^_^