At Robot6, Brigid Alverson interviews Marco Pavia, Tokyopop Director of Marketing, about the company’s plans to release completed OEL manga online. Much of it is typical marketing talk — and I wouldn’t expect anything else, since that’s his job, to present Tokyopop’s story in a positive light — but I found this section intriguing, in response to questions about how readers will find earlier volumes of the promoted series: [W]e will always have at least one chapter of these series […]

After Tokyopop reorganized in June of last year, word leaked out that they would not be printing any more of their OEL (original English language) manga, instead releasing them online. Finally, over a year later, comes the confirmation: Tokyopop is pleased to announce the release of a number of its original series exclusively on Tokyopop.com. Modernizing the magazine serialization made famous by Charles Dickens, today Tokyopop will debut Psy*Comm volume 3, with a new chapter serialized weekly for free until […]

Putting out a Twilight manga is a perfect combination for the teen girl target audience. No specific release date has been announced, but publisher Yen Press should have a huge hit, especially if they can get it out around the July 2010 date of the third movie. (I’m guessing November of this year, when the second film, New Moon, is due, is too soon.) Art is by Korean artist Young Kim, which makes me think it will be left-to-right, which […]

Digital Manga Publishing has announced a “Pre-Order/Demand for Publication Web-A-Thon“. Basically, fans can get advance copies of selected yaoi titles by committing to buy months in advance, effectively paying DMP’s print bills for them. The only title announced so far is the novel All You Need Is Love. It’s scheduled for release at the end of January 2010, but if DMP gets $3,500 before the end of September, those pre-purchasers will get the book at the end of October. If […]

In contrast to my pessimism, it looks like Aria Book 5 will appear after all. (An earlier offering of the book was cancelled at the beginning of the year.) Brigid got an email from Tokyopop Marketing Director Marco Pavia saying that volume 5 will be out in November. Of course, plans (and the economy) might change by then, but for now, watch for the September Previews catalog for ordering information.

John Jakala rounds up discussion of Tokyopop’s price increase while cutting back on print quality. They’ve gone to a thinner, newsprint paper which allows image bleed-through, disturbing the reading experience. (He’s got pictures that show what he means.) He’s also rounded up links to Tokyopop responses, which are, as expected, noting that times are tough. Although competitors have also raised prices, the obviously cheap paper and lower quality books makes Tokyopop’s $1 increase seem worse. Plus, Tokyopop’s pricing is more […]