Forum - View topicNEWS: Publishers Weekly on Tokyopop OEL
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carol_kitsune
Posts: 2 |
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Er...I don't officially represent TP, but I do work there, and am fully aware of what the artists for whom I edit are paid. I agree that most of them do not make enough to do it without supplementary income, and that that stinks. However, hopefully the reason for this is relatively plain in what I said above regarding costs and financial risk. I am also aware of the costs of producing original works vis-a-vis publishing licensed manga, and I can tell you with authority that you are talking out of your ass. |
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linlinchan
Posts: 286 |
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As someone else who also does not represent Tokyopop in an official capacity but also works there, and deals in both foreign acquisitions AND paying OEL manga creators, I too agree that it is quite obvious, in this case, that you have no idea what you are talking about. The sheer amount of time and effort, and subsequently money, spent working with OEL creators is exponentially higher than licensing most very successful series. Not to mention that Japanese/Korean licensed manga are paid with a Minimum Guarantee and then % royalty of sales, where as for original manga, ALL the money has to be poured in by the company up front. |
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Copper Rings
Posts: 7 Location: Somewhere there is sunshine :) |
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For me, I think the reluctance and griping comes from it seeming more like a ploy than honestly trying to come up with something new. Whether TP's doing that on purpose or honestly trying to innovate, can't say.
There also seems to be a "surface gloss" approach to the art on most original manga outside of Japan, like a manga frosting on a regular comic book story. Now before anyone starts bitching and crying "Racism! Elitist!" I do believe non-Japanese artists can make manga. Look at Taiwan and Korea, you don't have to be purely Japanese to make a good story, heck not even asian. (Seven Seas on a few of its titles hits dead on the money, and they have gotten praise I hear from Japanese manga publishers) The problem (as it at least appears to me, please keep this in mind, I am telling *no* one else how to think) is that Korea and Taiwan have had enough visual exposure to the "style" (and I'm using that term very tentatively) that it's natural to them and they can express it well. Even with all the industry here for Japanese manga and anime, it's nowhere near the level of saturation as there. I think the more we get, the more we watch, the better and more "manga-like" we'll be. There *are* some style marking that are consistent over a very large sample, but they weave in and out so much, or are specific to a certain genre it makes them nigh near impossible to categorize with any surety. Hence the "no style for manga" argument. However, I think, with those little quirks, used in the same manner and used in the same context, and using all of the spectrum available, the "feel" of some of these original manga titles will reach the level of their asian counterparts. (and I'm only saying "level reached" because if we are going to play the game of labels and what they mean like this, most of the time it involves comparing how close is the target topic to the trait described.) |
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