News

Some Tokyopop Manga Volumes Out of Stock (Updated)

Retailers are listing several Tokyopop manga volumes, such as Aria volume 4, as out of stock. The Comics Worth Reading blog notes that Diamond Comic Distributors lists the following solicitations as "Cancelled by Publisher":

DEC084265 ARIA GN VOL 05
DEC084271 CAUSE OF MY TEACHER GN
JAN094444 DEMON FLOWERS GN VOL 05
JAN094443 DEMON SACRED GN VOL 01
SEP084286 DOT HACK SIGN MANGA NOVEL SPECIAL ED
JAN094447 ELEMENTAL GELADE GN VOL 11
DEC084256 GET BACKERS INFINITY FORTRESS GN VOL 03
JAN094449 INITIAL D GN VOL 34
JAN094445 JYU OH SEI GN VOL 03
JAN094448 KING OF HELL GN VOL 23
JAN094455 LOVE HURTS AISHIATTERU FUTARI GN
DEC084261 SPEED GRAPHER MANGA GN VOL 03
DEC084269 TACTICS GN VOL 08
JAN094436 THIS UGLY YET BEAUTIFUL WORLD VOL 01
JAN094450 TSUKUYOMI MOON PHASE GN VOL 13
JAN094441 VB ROSE GN VOL 06

These books may not be permanently out of stock; it is normal for a solicitation to be cancelled but still relisted or rescheduled at a later date. MangaBlog contacted Tokyopop Marketing Director Marco Pavia about Aria volume 4's status, and he said that it is sold out "mainly because orders came in much higher than projected." However, he was noncommittal about when or if Tokyopop will reprint the book and explained, "It all depends upon demand — we do monitor our inventory very closely. I'm sure you can understand that we have to be very careful in this economic climate."

Update: Pavia has further clarified with MangaBlog that almost all of the "cancelled" solicitations will be rescheduled later, in the aftermath of Tokyopop's December layoffs. The one possible exception is the .hack//SIGN Manga-Novel Special Edition bundle, which combines the franchise's first manga and novel volumes — both already published separately — due to "some licensing issues."

Tokyopop made a similar clarification about cancelled solications last summer, after its June round of layoffs delayed other books.