News
Dark Horse's Manga Sales Up 13%, Vertical Also Up 18%
posted on by Gia Manry
During his FanimeCon panel on Saturday in San Jose, California, Dark Horse Comics manga editor Carl Gustav Horn reported that his company has seen a 13% increase in manga sales from May 2009 to May 2010. Horn offered this as an example of companies continuing to succeed with manga in the face of economic difficulties. Horn also indicated that Dark Horse still plans to publish a new work from CLAMP, but that no new updates on the project are available at this time.
Vertical Inc. marketing director Ed Chavez told the Bookgasm website in April that the New York-based publisher "had an 18% increase in revenue over the last year." In the interview posted last month, Chavez credited works by Osamu Tezuka, which he says made up a third of Vertical's overall sales. Chavez also noted that Tezuka's Black Jack bucks the industry standard of "diminishing returns," in which a series' individual volume sales drop off with each new book released; Black Jack has reportedly seen reader increases at volumes 6 (released on July 28, 2009) and 10 (March 23, 2010).
Chavez also addressed the matter of e-books, stating that along with Vertical distributor Random House, Vertical is waiting and watching trends before diving into the e-book market.
Last month, Viz Media laid off approximately 40% of its staff. DC Comics announced a July shut-down of its CMX Manga imprint, and publisher Go! Comi allowed its website to expire.
