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Seriously, could someone explain to me what's happening to some of the comics publishers lately? Because I do not understand. Not even a little. I am one with the not-understanding.
Most of this via The Beat or Anime News Network, with the exception of the last item.
Item: TOKYOPOP -- and nothing whatsoever to do with the Pilot Season contracts brouhaha.
So they are undoing the division split that they just did, laying off 39 people in the bargain, and, according to another announcement, cancelling more than half their print line.
...Well, all-righty, then!
These announcements are not, as far as I can find, anywhere on Tokyopop's own website.
Item: DRAMAQUEEN -- looking for, and not finding, new investors, and possibly "dead in the water".
Item: ARCHAIA -- announces restructuring due to investor pull-out, as well as an attempt to address delays. And Archaia's delays can be quite quite spectacular. Artesia's current volume should have been completed by the end of 2006; they only just shipped issue 2 of 6 last month. Archaia has released most of its creators to find other publishers, but most have decided to stick with them for now.
Item: PLATINUM -- Not paying its creators on time, and thereby forcing some to suspend work on titles.
Item: ARCANA -- this is purest speculation, but I wonder if something is going on there, as well. For one thing, the publisher weblog hasn't been updated in more than a year ... and the last announcement was when its publisher announced that he was taking on the additional position of Platinum's VP of Publishing. The reason that I wonder about Arcana, aside from the association with Platinum, is that it looks like Arcana's entire current catalog has been published on Wowio, including items like Marlow and Corrective Measures, both of which carry September 2008 publication dates and Helen Killer issue 2, which allegedly appeared in retailers just last week. (I say allegedly because my store made a point of ordering it for me when I merely asked about it, and it rather noticeably did not appear.) One title, Bluff, carries a December 2008 publication date, and doesn't even appear on Arcana's own website catalog.
For all that Wowio is still flying under a lot of people's radar, I can't imagine that retailers wouldn't have their knickers in a twist if they knew about this, nor that they wouldn't be at least somewhat justified. Retailers got seriously pissed off at Boom Studio for doing day-of-first-sale publication of North Wind on their website, so that people didn't need to pick up the pamphlet to read it. Imagine how transcendentally livid they would be to discover that you're sending them something that was available on Wowio in its entirety before they received even the first issue. It would be one thing if Arcana didn't publish single issues at all, and was using everything as a teaser for the trade, but that may not be what's happening here. After all, in that case, only first issues would appear, with ad pages telling people when the complete title would be available for purchase. But Wowio holds complete series/miniseries runs for many of Arcana's titles.
Something is definitely peculiar in the comics business these days.
Most of this via The Beat or Anime News Network, with the exception of the last item.
Item: TOKYOPOP -- and nothing whatsoever to do with the Pilot Season contracts brouhaha.
TOKYOPOP Spins Off Media Company in Progressive Reorganization
Focus on popular manga series; establishment of comics-to-film franchise-building creative studio
Los Angeles, CA (June 3, 2008) ― TOKYOPOP announced Tuesday that it has reorganized its North American business into two separate companies by spinning off its newly established comics-to-film and digital units into one new entity TOKYOPOP Media LLC.
As part of the spin-off and reorganization, 39 positions within the organization have been eliminated. The move will allow the company to align its publishing business with current book retail trends, as well as aggressively pursue growth in the white-hot comics-to-film and digital space.
According to Stuart Levy, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of the TOKYOPOP Group, “This reorganization is the right business move, but we are doing it with a heavy heart. It involves saying goodbye to 39 of the most talented, creative and compassionate people I've ever known. While it goes without saying, it's important to note that our restructure is not at all a negative reflection on them. The time is now for us to focus our publishing business to overcome current market challenges. Fewer releases will allow for less cannibalization at retail. At the same time, the opportunity is significant in the digital and comics-to-film space. As one of the largest comic book companies worldwide, we must adjust our overhead to properly execute this new business plan[...]"
So they are undoing the division split that they just did, laying off 39 people in the bargain, and, according to another announcement, cancelling more than half their print line.
...Well, all-righty, then!
These announcements are not, as far as I can find, anywhere on Tokyopop's own website.
Item: DRAMAQUEEN -- looking for, and not finding, new investors, and possibly "dead in the water".
Item: ARCHAIA -- announces restructuring due to investor pull-out, as well as an attempt to address delays. And Archaia's delays can be quite quite spectacular. Artesia's current volume should have been completed by the end of 2006; they only just shipped issue 2 of 6 last month. Archaia has released most of its creators to find other publishers, but most have decided to stick with them for now.
Item: PLATINUM -- Not paying its creators on time, and thereby forcing some to suspend work on titles.
Item: ARCANA -- this is purest speculation, but I wonder if something is going on there, as well. For one thing, the publisher weblog hasn't been updated in more than a year ... and the last announcement was when its publisher announced that he was taking on the additional position of Platinum's VP of Publishing. The reason that I wonder about Arcana, aside from the association with Platinum, is that it looks like Arcana's entire current catalog has been published on Wowio, including items like Marlow and Corrective Measures, both of which carry September 2008 publication dates and Helen Killer issue 2, which allegedly appeared in retailers just last week. (I say allegedly because my store made a point of ordering it for me when I merely asked about it, and it rather noticeably did not appear.) One title, Bluff, carries a December 2008 publication date, and doesn't even appear on Arcana's own website catalog.
For all that Wowio is still flying under a lot of people's radar, I can't imagine that retailers wouldn't have their knickers in a twist if they knew about this, nor that they wouldn't be at least somewhat justified. Retailers got seriously pissed off at Boom Studio for doing day-of-first-sale publication of North Wind on their website, so that people didn't need to pick up the pamphlet to read it. Imagine how transcendentally livid they would be to discover that you're sending them something that was available on Wowio in its entirety before they received even the first issue. It would be one thing if Arcana didn't publish single issues at all, and was using everything as a teaser for the trade, but that may not be what's happening here. After all, in that case, only first issues would appear, with ad pages telling people when the complete title would be available for purchase. But Wowio holds complete series/miniseries runs for many of Arcana's titles.
Something is definitely peculiar in the comics business these days.
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