Late yesterday, Tokyopop sent out an announcement that they had made “more than fifty volumes of manga available immediately for digital download” through Zinio. Most of the books are from Tokyopop’s OEL arm, works created in English, not translated from Japan; Tokyopop likely doesn’t have the rights to upload any licensed properties, only those they own. Titles announced include Bizenghast, Dramacon, and Princess Ai, the book written by Tokyopop’s CEO Stuart Levy. Don’t look to buy any of those specific […]

In the wake of yesterday’s news that DC is shutting down CMX, a variety of reactions hit the internet. Here are some of the strongest and smartest. David Welsh reviews DC Comics’ history of forgetting that it had a manga imprint. When Diane Nelson took over for Levitz, it surprised absolutely no one that CMX was not among her talking points, probably because DC didn’t have the right to repackage CMX properties in other media, so who cares? We need […]

Brigid Alverson at Robot 6 reports that DC is closing the CMX Manga imprint as of July 1 due to “the challenges that manga is facing in the American marketplace”. (Update: As of 5/21/10, DC has removed the CMX website as well.) CMX launched in October 2004, and while their early title list was uneven, lately, they had been releasing a number of enjoyable titles, including Stolen Hearts My Darling! Miss Bancho The Name of the Flower The Lizard Prince […]

Publishers Weekly is reporting that Viz Media laid off “as many as 55 people”. In addition, it appears its small New York office, which had about 5 staffers, has been closed. The number of staff released represents about 40% of the employees at Viz Media. Declining sales in the US manga industry over the past two years are blamed, although manga still does well in comparison to other book genres. In a formal statement the company confirmed the layoffs although […]

Speculation has been swirling this week over what’s going on with manga publisher Go! Comi. Signs aren’t good, with their online presence now gone. Go! Comi launched in 2005 with four titles: Cantarella, Her Majesty’s Dog, Tenshi Ja Nai!!, and Crossroad. (All of which are still available from Amazon.) They went on to publish a variety of series, of which the only one I read was Japan Ai (published in 2007, now out of print). Their last big project was […]

X-Men: Misfits was a shojo twist on the superhero team that came out Summer 2009. Now, its future (or lack thereof) has been revealed on Twitter. First, @debaoki asked got a tweet from a reader that Del Rey has opted to not publish X-Men Misfits Vol. 2. true? not true? To which @yaytime, aka co-writer Dave Roman, responded Wow! News travels fast! @goraina [co-writer Raina Telgemeier] and I super disappointed since it was written as a 2-part story and it […]

Netcomics, the online manga pay site, has posted a notice that reads, in part: In response to a request from our provider Aurora Publishing, we will be dropping all series from Aurora publishing, including those under Deux Press and Luv Luv Press imprints, promptly after midnight PST April 14th. Aurora last released a new title in October 2009 (a book originally promised for March). Throughout most of last year, and still ongoing, their books have been available at fire-sale prices. […]

Tokyopop has advertised a unique internship — they’re looking for students to spend the summer, from the end of May to Labor Day, traveling with them “to promote TOKYOPOP, our stories, and our characters.” They’re looking for those who can plug the company using “social media tools”; setup, host, and take down events at conventions and bookstores; and “plan, shoot, edit, and upload video for a web-based “reality show”-styled grassroots marketing endeavor”. The company has already set up a promotional […]