Tokyopop is splitting into two companies: one for the traditional publishing, and a new company, “Tokyopop Media”, for film and digital production. Tokyopop’s been interested in the latter for a while now, talking about trying to get comics on cellphones and creating online media to promote titles. The general impression is that they have to be more creative — most of the prominent Japanese manga titles are now tied up by competitors Viz and Del Rey. That also explains their […]

Rivkah, author of Steady Beat, published by Tokyopop, comments on their recent announcement of changes. Honestly, I’m happy this happened. I was expecting bankruptcy by November 2007. Instead, for perhaps the first time ever, Tokyopop has made the right move by cutting back on how much spagetti they throw at the wall to see what sticks. I don’t doubt the turmoil will take several months to settle down and many of us creators will be cut, but from a business […]

Good comment on the Manga Pilots Tokyopop contract uproar: Brad Fox compares the Tokyopop and Zuda contracts (with a cute graphic of the two logos). He concludes that the Tokyopop one is preferable because it allows you to walk away with your rights if you want to after the contract is over. By his reading, Zuda, on the other hand, takes “*all* adaptation rights … Print. Merch. Movies. Television. Spin-offs. The whole ball of yarn.” Brad also thought the Manga […]

Brigid analyzes comment on whether ADV Manga still exists and whether Yotsuba&! volume 6, originally due in February, is ever coming out. The short version is as follows: A former Newtype USA editor said ADV Manga was defunct. In response, Chris Oarr, who handles Sales & Marketing for the company, was recently interviewed in a piece that’s remarkably content-free, even for internet interviews. Although some are pointing to this as evidence that the company’s still around, there are no actual […]

I sent a query to Tokyopop’s PR contact asking “Does Tokyopop have a response [to the Manga Pilots uproar]? Are any changes in the contract planned?” In return, I got this back, described as the official TP statement from the Pilot Program team, Paul Morrissey and Hope Donovan: The Pilot Program represents an exciting new stage in the development of original manga for TOKYOPOP, and one of the things we’re most excited about is having a brief, accessible contract–and being […]

More on the latest Tokyopop contract problem: Lea is enjoying getting to say I told you so — she had concerns about the OEL manga contracts years ago, but she was told she didn’t know what she was talking about (not likely, given her long-ranging experience in the business) and that she was too old. Brigid, a former book editor, takes a look at the contract. While she agrees the moral rights issues are problematic, she finds some of the […]

In their continuing strategy of signing up young wannabes before they have much experience in determining what a good deal looks like, Tokyopop has launched Manga Pilots (link no longer available). … promising manga creators are selected and hired by our editorial team to create a 24-to-36-page “pilot”–a short-form manga that will be used to determine whether or not a full-length manga will be created. The Manga Pilot will be published online for TOKYOPOP community members to review, rate, and […]

I’m running out of headlines to express my surprise whenever another issue of Tokyopop’s Manga magazine shows up. What’s not surprising, though, is that it’s even slimmer than the previous issue, with only 48 pages this time. It’s cover-dated Spring 2008 and has only three paid ad pages. One of which is for the New York Comic Con, which starts in three days, so this release date is cutting it a little close, hmm? But I expect that they’re going […]