[...] is a graduate of Toykopop’s school of hard knocks for young artists. Her previous series Dramacon is generally considered one of the few successes for Tokyopop’s line of original manga. Many [...]

[...] will be remembered at all? Even the best of the line were hampered by endings that, in my opinion, weren’t as strong as they should have been. (I have hopes that Steady Beat will still prove me wrong.) The books [...]

[...] the Tokyopop OELs have been very hit and miss, and one of the reasons for that was pointed out by Johanna Draper Carlson at her blog, there isn’t a lot of contact between editor and creator, and it shows in the [...]

As for being difficult to tell a story in three volumes, pish-tosh, unless it is a five-volume story.

Finally, the reason I serialize online is because it is VERY hard to work in and stay motivated in a vacuum. I do believe I will always insist that I do it this way. Unless I’m getting paid a page rate to motivate me, being able to share my work is a powerful motivator.

[...] of Tokyopop, Rivkah Greulich addresses some of the questions raised by Johanna Draper Carlson about Tokyopop’s handling of its young global manga [...]

And yes, Tintin, if you have a skilled friend, that’s a great way to go.

However, I have to say that I loved Dramacon 3, particularly for the story of Beth. That part made me seriously tear up, great pacing and characterization. It proved to me how much empathy Svetlana has for her characters, and I can’t wait to see her carry some of that into her next series, Night School.

Also, my husband and I talk a lot about burn out amongst artists. Our conclusion is the comics industry would fare much better with a place to serialize the stuff. Making graphic novels is like performing in a theater with no one watching. After doing it for a year or two, you’re likely to get burnt out and discouraged. This might explain why there’s so many bleeding heart/self-reflection stories coming out of graphic novels. No one’s watching while they create these books but themselves, so that’s the audience they’re playing for. I can safely say that is partly what happened to me anyway. And after writing prose, I have to say there’s much more of a performance aspect to comics than writing prose, in my limited experience so far, because you’re acting while you draw. The more editors we get that have the experience of making comics themselves, the better off the comics industry will be…

When the pitching process started, I wanted the book to be only two books long, like one of my favorite Korean comics “Unplugged Boy”. However, they had the requirement of three. So, I tried to stretch out the story to three and that what makes the pacing in book one a little choppy. Then, after realizing that I didn’t have enough to story to fullfill their requirements, I asked that I go back to my original plan of two. They said ok. So that’s why book 2 is all rushed and compact. Plus, like Jen, I went through a lot of changes at the time. The story is a reflection of a year of falling in love, pondering the nature of creativity in relationships, and realizing that I’d rather be a prose writer.

I don’t mean to say this in “defense”, because the book is out already and it is what it is. It’s just what happened in case you were curious. Nice article, by the way.

As a creator/writer/artist, it’s my job first and foremost to make sure my work makes sense to everyone.

The only thing editors are supposed to do is to offer suggestions and alternative choices to help steer your story into a marketable position. And you are not even obliged to follow those suggestions. And hey, most of these editors are newbies themselves!

I think it’s more of a boon than a curse to have little to no editorial support. If a company tells me that they won’t be giving me an editor, I’d be stark raving overwhelmed with happiness because that would mean I’ll have 100% EDITORIAL AND CREATIVE CONTROL. Frankly I do not want to share even 1% of that control with anyone.

I’d rather have a proofreader than an editor, mind you. Proofreaders at least make my grammar spotless. But I’d seriously not want to draw a giant 10-foot donkey because my editor said it’s hot with the kids these days.

That said, it’s perfectly true that the 3-book format isn’t new at all in modern novels. It IS new from what I and most people know about MANGA though. I understand that Johanna is speaking about the editors and not the writers, but being the only person on the reply page who’ve actually done an OEL manga, I’ve found that theory is one thing, and practice is another. I believe the editors found so too – because I believe I DID have good editors who tried their best to give me good story, art and characterisation feedback.

Sometimes though, real life gets in the way, and TOKYOPOP had to do alot of restructuring and staff organising to start producing original manga. “The Dreaming”, for one, had THREE different editors, which should tell you something (one for each volume?). My second editor Carol Fox was the best and longest one, and she picked up mid-way through book1, and then had to leave the company at the beginning of book3. It was nobody’s fault that these reshuffles happened – people come and go and there’s nothing a company can do about it. (”Dramacon” had the same editor throughout though, as did some others, but then there are yet other OEL stories who couldn’t because people leave and work gets redistributed)

So in terms of editing, the story may not be that simple. An editor may be good, but they may not be the editor who signed on the story (as in my case). I felt the need to speak in defence of my ex-editor Carol for that reason (who’s now working at Viz), and only because real life gets in the way.

1) Most Australians would have known Miss Anu was aboriginal from the start. Nearly all black people in Australia would be considered aboriginal. And all aboriginals know about “The Dreaming”. It’s part of their culture. In fact, nearly all Australians would have picked up the aboriginal connotations of the story from the title “The Dreaming”.

Well, yes, I had picked all that up – seeing that I’m living in Australia, though not Australian. Might I suggest, however, that it might be useful to provide a little more context for a (hopefully) international audience? Entertain AND educate!

2) No clothing in the story is historically accurate, nor meant to be. The whole thing is fantasy. Certainly this was obvious from volume 1?

It was. And I’m happy for creators to take a great deal of latitude in matters like costuming – who can forget THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES, with the Comte Mercy in full Victorian dress and sideburns at the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette? Nevertheless, I do – and I recognise this is a personal nitpick – get annoyed when TV or film directors, authors OR manga creators just assume that everything before, say, 1970s can be lumped together as The Olden Days, when anything goes. (And it’s not just me – there were quite a few reviews of EMMA, for instance, which picked up on the fact that one character has a model airplane, well before the airplane itself was invented. The mangaka apparently consulted a historical expert on the Victorian era beyond her Vol.2 stories to avoid just such bloopers).

As I said, Queenie, I enjoyed quite a lot about THE DREAMING. It’s simply that I did feel some elements could have been tackled more effectively. Meantime, I’ll be looking out for your next work – support for Aussie creators! – and wish you all the best.

That is one of my fear in trying to break into the market (I write). I think I’m a good writer but really it takes years of practical experience to know how to construct a comic story, manga or otherwise. There’s a certain pacing, set-up, and resolution expectation that is implicit to the medium.

I try my best when I’m writing to accomplish those goals but I know I need an editor who, when it comes time for me to get published, will take the time (and have the balls) to tell me when something is flat, or doesn’t ring true, or lacks “umph”. Being too close to the material is probably the worst handicap and a fresh set of eyes who understands what a comic is all about can really help a comic excel.

[...] Draper Carlson takes a critical look at some of Tokyopop’s global [...]

I’d think that the three volume tankoubon format actually gives greater opportunities for editorial control than the Japanese weekly serial. With the TP production process, you’ve got to have a finished plot outline and script before a single page is drawn. The editor can see the work’s entire scope and sculpt accordingly, as often happens with traditional book publishers. Of course, this is the ideal situation, barring changing scripts mid-book or cancelling a series in the middle of the story’s run, as happened with Divalicious.

And really, the 3-volume book format isn’t that new. Most modern mainstream fantasies, both literary and cinema, are plotted as trilogies. And satisfying stories can be fitted to almost any format- one volume, two volume, whatever.

I would have found it flattering if Johanna had high expectations of my work, even if she was ultimately disappointed, because it indicates that she believes in the creator’s potential. And really, the post is encouraging in tone: these are new artists who’ve got loads of talent, they just need more guidance, or freedom, etc.