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NEWS: Tokyopop to Release Chinese Comic Bloodivores Digitally

So they'll probably release it like they did their manga back when. Release it on regular schedual and then drop it off for 6--12 months before not releasing anymore.
...I have so many half-collections of manga still because of Tokyopop. Because they snapped it up when it was fresh, it prevented others from getting it. Now that they're older, most people won't get them unless they retain popularity. And some have been so long now.

Tokyopop lost my respect long ago. I wish these foreign companies would do research on them before signing any time of agreement with them. It means their work is now tied up with an unreliable company that already peaced-out years ago.

Don't get me started on their halfarse animation venture.

In perfect honestly, I hope Tokyopop DOESN'T get any licences.

They're still around? Hope this is one last gasp before sinking back forever into the murky depths from whence they came.

At least it's only bloodivores. When it doesn't sell well, they may finally give up for good.

personally I'm still miffed at how Tokyopop handled most of their novel releases. even the one they did the best job with, Twelve Kingdoms, had crap issues like the entire missing chapter in the hardcover version of the fourth one. no real apology to that other than what was basically a "well, if you really want a version that's not missing that chapter just buy the softcover version when that comes out. otherwise tough luck loser."

Too bad their German branch was aces (even after the main branch died, I think) and translated heaps of volumes of books, and I can't speak German.

They DID go out of business.

I'm sure they got Bloodivores, though, either because the Chinese publisher hasn't yet realized TokyoPop's habit of dropping series midway through or because it's the only English-language publisher that decided to try for it.

personally I'm still miffed at how Tokyopop handled most of their novel releases. even the one they did the best job with, Twelve Kingdoms, had crap issues like the entire missing chapter in the hardcover version of the fourth one. no real apology to that other than what was basically a "well, if you really want a version that's not missing that chapter just buy the softcover version when that comes out. otherwise tough luck loser."

and personally after Stu Levy called people still buying printed media (which of course included people buying the printed manga they were making profits from) morons they lost my respect with no way to get it back, not unless someone decent buys it out and takes it over anyway. so long as Stu Levy is still involved with Tokyopop in any way they could start releasing something I really wanted and I'd rather import the Japanese editions and read fantranslations than support them, even with my low income due to not being able to work much because of health issues.

Remember when Tokyopop was king of the Borders manga section?

Now they're lucky to get their Disney tie-ins in a random Books-a-Million.

My understanding is that Stu Levy, Entrepreneur™ shut it down just because he got bored, which I'm not quite sure can be described as "going out of business".

The most key debacle to me on their releases were the Slayers novels, which only stands to be 8 of the whole released. The novel series was complete when Tokyopop picked it up, they released the first 6 fine on regular schedule and then stopped.. releasing the next 2 over a period of I think 2 or 3 years before stopping.

I recall a couple of other manga series doing the same. Completed series getting released monthly or bi-monthly for the first 2-3 volumes and then the next volume would come MONTHS later.

The fact that they made agreements to release has tied these things up and prevented other companies from releasing them. For a company that snatched up so much, they seemed to be just pandering for quick cash on hot titles now that I look back to it not really caring about the actual fans they were selling to.

If TP fronted the cash, I can see the original publisher not asking questions. That's probably about the only way they can get anything these days.

Mhmm ... StuLevy has become the deputy CEO of TokyoPop Germany last year after the original one left for unknown reasons (there are rumors, but who knows ...). This is quite worrying to me, combined with his newly (re)found interest in Manga publishing.

TP holds about 1/3 of that country's market.

I do notice when TokyoPop stopped publishing manga though, Viz snatched up a number of them, most notably Sgt. Frog.