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NEWS: Dark Horse Comics CEO Mike Richardson Interviewed

The area that’s led that growth--the bookstore manga, particularly shojo--seems to be abating somewhat. I think we’re seeing that some of the companies that came into that market have experienced less robust sales than they’ve seen in the past. I think that spreads across the board for manga sales. Because Dark Horse has been in a different area from a lot of the manga that is responsible for the primary sales in the bookstore market, we’ve avoided that particular downturn.

You mentioned that you think shojo sales are declining. Why do you think that is? A couple of reasons. I think that much of the best material has been released. I think the overall level of quality has probably dropped somewhat.

What about Buffy? Do you think that might appeal to a female reader who is graduating from manga?

Comics are a particular kind of experience when you read them and I don’t think anyone’s found a successful way to present those on the Internet in a way that will draw large numbers of existing comics fans.

They should have asked why Berserk is the only manga ever that costs $20 per volume (Well okay like $17.99 but close enough, and I live in Canada).

Agoston: It's because you have to be 18 to read it, so they lose potential younger buyers as a result.

Dark Horse and Viz INVENTED manga sales in this country, and I for one am glad that Dark Horse didn't jump on the damnable shoujo bandwagon that's left booksellers with a glut of unsold titles on their shelves.

Dark Horse's titles like Berserk, Oh! My Goddess, and Hellsing continue to be gold standards in their genres and the company gives them releases fitting the quality fans want. I rarely see Dark Horse titles languishing on the shelves the way I see the bulk sellers like Tokyopop, Del Rey, or ADV.

I rarely see Dark Horse titles languishing on the shelves the way I see the bulk sellers like Tokyopop, Del Rey, or ADV.

What about Buffy? Do you think that might appeal to a female reader who is graduating from manga?

...even though both are 18+ titles and should be shrinkwrapped, though my local Borders doesn't for some reason.

Agoston: It's because you have to be 18 to read it, so they lose potential younger buyers as a result.

I didn't know Hellsing was the same price, but that's sort of weird, I'm pretty sure Berserk has more pages and has much more mature content. Still, there's only 9 volumes of Hellsing out while Berserk is on 25 and a bi-monthly release schedule, and on top of that Hellsing ends at volume 11 IIRC while Berserk is ongoing. It's also on that irregular schedule where the last few volumes have taken nearly a year to release.

Also, if what Gatsu says is true about MPD's page count (never read it myself) and the smaller format, that would explain it somewhat but Hellsing also has less pages than Berserk so.. I'm not really seeing a pattern here.

I'll betcha anything they receive them shrinkwrapped and then the manga cows rip it off so they can read it without buying it. Same thing happens at every Borders I've ever been to. Barnes & Noble has the same problem... they graze but don't pay.