Reaction to Tokyopop Online Exclusives

I was going to post a pointer to the ICV2 interview with Tokyopop about why they’re now selling certain series online only, but I left to get dinner and the blogverse sprung into action without me!

Christopher Butcher (link no longer available) tosses off a quick burst of anger over Dragon Head being pulled from retail stores, promising more commentary to come.

Dave Lartigue (link no longer available) expresses his displeasure to Tokyopop, pointing out

Moving to web-exclusive removes this convenience [of purchasing through his local store], asking me to place an additional order somewhere and pay shipping. As much as I like the book, and I like it very much, at the end of the day it’s just a funnybook, and now that you’ve made it more of a hassle to order it, I won’t do so. I can live without it.

In addition, this now makes me wary of buying any of Tokyopop’s titles. What if I start to enjoy something else and then find that it too will be made more difficult for me to get hold of? Rather than go through the annoyance of such a thing, it’s easier to simply avoid your titles altogether.

For John Jakala, it’s about the money — Tokyopop isn’t discounting and doesn’t offer free shipping, unlike other online sources. He also suggests action to take.

Someone at translationdojo who seems to know what they’re talking about goes into detail about the possible economic rationale behind the decision and is noticeably optimistic about the whole thing.