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| My Personal Drawing~ |
Having run across many fun people on twitter, one person I have chatted with countless times is Deb Aoki. Among all of all the people I've talked to on manga, graphic novels and other kinds of comics, licensing issues and bootleg issues is far beyond my own expertise. So I decided to send her some interview questions based on the digital shift in the western market for manga, graphic novels, manga, comics or the state of illegal apps on Ios. I hope you enjoy reading these and give her shout out on twitter some time as a thank you.
1. How do you think the digital transition of manga in the west is
being handled by online sites and tablet devices?
A: I think it's
going pretty well. After years of being at a virtual
standstill, a lot is happening in the digital publishing space for manga
nowadays. This is largely thanks to 1) the arrival of a lot of reasonably
priced devices on the market,
2) the fact that more and more people own
them and
3) many have discovered that it's fun to read comics on them.
We're seeing a lot more manga becoming available in English legally,
digitally than ever before.
Granted, I only have an iPad, and iPhone, and a laptop computer, so I
can't say how good or poor the experience is on other devices like Kindle,
Nook, or Android tablets/phones, but I'm pretty satisfied with what we
have available today. VIZ Manga, Dark Horse Digital, Yen Press, Kodansha
Comics, Digital Manga,Manga University
like GEN Manga, ComicLoud, Manga Magazine, and several comics sites and
applications like ComiXology, Graphic.ly, Panelfly, etc. are all offering
manga online, in various ways. The selection is still relatively small
compared to all the manga that was published in print in Japan and North
America over the past few decades – but keep in mind that the shift toward
digital publishing is
The only downside is that buying digital manga means having to use digital
payment systems, which require a credit card. The downside to this is that
a lot of younger readers who enjoy manga simply don't have credit cards –
so it's not as easy for a teen or tween to buy some of these digital-only
titles / magazine subscriptions, whereas before, you could just go to the
bookstore or comic shop and buy what you like. Now, if you don't have a
credit or debit card, you have to ask your parents to buy online comics,
which I'd imagine must be a hassle.
But I think the manga publishers are aware of this, and I think they are
looking for some kind of solution. I feel like they have been pretty
responsive to fans' requests, so I see continual, steady improvement day
by day. .but keep in mind that the shift toward digital publishing is a relatively new development
standstill, a lot is happening in the digital publishing space for manga
nowadays. This is largely thanks to 1) the arrival of a lot of reasonably
priced devices on the market,
2) the fact that more and more people own
them and
3) many have discovered that it's fun to read comics on them.
We're seeing a lot more manga becoming available in English legally,
digitally than ever before.
Granted, I only have an iPad, and iPhone, and a laptop computer, so I
can't say how good or poor the experience is on other devices like Kindle,
Nook, or Android tablets/phones, but I'm pretty satisfied with what we
have available today. VIZ Manga, Dark Horse Digital, Yen Press, Kodansha
Comics, Digital Manga,
like GEN Manga, ComicLoud, Manga Magazine, and several comics sites and
applications like ComiXology, Graphic.ly, Panelfly, etc. are all offering
manga online, in various ways. The selection is still relatively small
compared to all the manga that was published in print in Japan and North
America over the past few decades – but keep in mind that the shift toward
digital publishing is
The only downside is that buying digital manga means having to use digital
payment systems, which require a credit card. The downside to this is that
a lot of younger readers who enjoy manga simply don't have credit cards –
so it's not as easy for a teen or tween to buy some of these digital-only
titles / magazine subscriptions, whereas before, you could just go to the
bookstore or comic shop and buy what you like. Now, if you don't have a
credit or debit card, you have to ask your parents to buy online comics,
which I'd imagine must be a hassle.
But I think the manga publishers are aware of this, and I think they are
looking for some kind of solution. I feel like they have been pretty
responsive to fans' requests, so I see continual, steady improvement day
by day. .but keep in mind that the shift toward digital publishing is a relatively new development
2. Do you think it's possible to create a free, yet legal site
dedicated to reading manga or doujinshi online??
To be honest,
no. Not unless artists and publishers were willing to do it
just for giggles / be willing to forgo getting paid. I don't think people
realize the expenses involved with publishing manga, and how few people
(inUS
of people who read manga, but it's but a fraction of the amount of people
who read manga inJapan
fewer people read manga online than say, read the NY Times online. While
the NY Times makes some content available for free, they do rely on
subscribers too, not just ad venue.
Online advertising only brings in so much revenue, and I don't see how
just ads would generate enough money to pay for expenses like translators,
graphic designers, editors, artists, and stuff like server/bandwidth
expenses, R&D to continually improve the websites/apps. If huge newspapers
and large mainstream online magazines are struggling to find ways to make
digital publishing as profitable as print was, then I don't think it's any
easier for manga publishers to do it either.
Besides needing to pay the people who translate, edit and do graphic
design on the manga you like to read, any online publisher also needs to
get agreement from the Japanese licensors: the publishers and comic
creators. Without OK from these people, nothing will happen – or at least
nothing legit.
There are doujinshi websites – in fact, Digital Manga is working with DL
Site to make translated doujinshi available online. But I don't think it
will be free.
There are free, all you can read webcomic sites out there too. But if
they're free, are the comics on there as consistently good as the manga
you buy from VIZ, Dark Horse, Yen Press, etc.? A website can offer all the
free manga/webcomics for free they like, but if it's not any good, then
that's no bargain for fans, now is it?
JManga is trying to offer a new strategy with JManga 7 where they'll offer
serialized chapters of new manga online to read for free, with the hope
that you'll pay for the complete volume later. This is promising, so we'll
see how it goes. But make no mistake – if the vast majority of the JManga
7 readers only read the free content / don't subscribe/pay for the premium
content/early preview privileges, and don't buy more JManga manga, then I
don't think this experiment will last very long.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, manga publishing is a business, not a
charity. Manga publishers and artists deserve to make money for bringing
us great manga. There are too many reasons why "free, all-you-can-eat"
manga websites aren't financially feasible in the current business climate
for book publishers, not just manga publishers.
just for giggles / be willing to forgo getting paid. I don't think people
realize the expenses involved with publishing manga, and how few people
(in
of people who read manga, but it's but a fraction of the amount of people
who read manga in
fewer people read manga online than say, read the NY Times online. While
the NY Times makes some content available for free, they do rely on
subscribers too, not just ad venue.
Online advertising only brings in so much revenue, and I don't see how
just ads would generate enough money to pay for expenses like translators,
graphic designers, editors, artists, and stuff like server/bandwidth
expenses, R&D to continually improve the websites/apps. If huge newspapers
and large mainstream online magazines are struggling to find ways to make
digital publishing as profitable as print was, then I don't think it's any
easier for manga publishers to do it either.
Besides needing to pay the people who translate, edit and do graphic
design on the manga you like to read, any online publisher also needs to
get agreement from the Japanese licensors: the publishers and comic
creators. Without OK from these people, nothing will happen – or at least
nothing legit.
There are doujinshi websites – in fact, Digital Manga is working with DL
Site to make translated doujinshi available online. But I don't think it
will be free.
There are free, all you can read webcomic sites out there too. But if
they're free, are the comics on there as consistently good as the manga
you buy from VIZ, Dark Horse, Yen Press, etc.? A website can offer all the
free manga/webcomics for free they like, but if it's not any good, then
that's no bargain for fans, now is it?
JManga is trying to offer a new strategy with JManga 7 where they'll offer
serialized chapters of new manga online to read for free, with the hope
that you'll pay for the complete volume later. This is promising, so we'll
see how it goes. But make no mistake – if the vast majority of the JManga
7 readers only read the free content / don't subscribe/pay for the premium
content/early preview privileges, and don't buy more JManga manga, then I
don't think this experiment will last very long.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, manga publishing is a business, not a
charity. Manga publishers and artists deserve to make money for bringing
us great manga. There are too many reasons why "free, all-you-can-eat"
manga websites aren't financially feasible in the current business climate
for book publishers, not just manga publishers.
3. What are your thoughts on scanlations and the amount of sites or
apps dedicated to hosting said illegal material?
I think
scanlation is something that started out with good intentions (I
love this manga, I want other people to love it too) that has just gotten
way out of hand.
It's created this perception with some fans that manga has no value, that
you should never have to pay to read manga, that it should always be free
to read/consume and that anyone who draws, writes, translates manga should
do it simply for love, not money. That's bullshit.
It aggravates me that the people who make money off scanlations and those
bullshit apps are not the original artists, or even the people who do the
translations. These websites DON'T pay the artists/translators who create
the content on their websites, but they profit from hosting content that
they didn't create by selling ads. Sure, it's profitable to run this kind
of website. They don't have to pay those inconvenient expenses like paying
licensing fees, or paying translators or graphic designers a living wage.
I have a lot of friends who are comics creators – heck, I'm a half-baked
cartoonist myself. I don't know if you can ever understand how it feels
until someone you created is stolen, and is used to make someone else (not
you) money; money that you will never get a share of. Worst of all, it's a
situation that you'll likely never be able to stop.
For me the bottom line is, did you get the artists' permission to post
that work? Are you sharing whatever revenue you're making from your with
the comics creators/artists and the editors, translators, etc. who drew,
wrote, edited, translated, scanned, cleaned up, etc. those pages that
you're posting on your website? If the answer is no to both of those
questions, then you're not doing the creators of the manga you love so
much any favors at all.
love this manga, I want other people to love it too) that has just gotten
way out of hand.
It's created this perception with some fans that manga has no value, that
you should never have to pay to read manga, that it should always be free
to read/consume and that anyone who draws, writes, translates manga should
do it simply for love, not money. That's bullshit.
It aggravates me that the people who make money off scanlations and those
bullshit apps are not the original artists, or even the people who do the
translations. These websites DON'T pay the artists/translators who create
the content on their websites, but they profit from hosting content that
they didn't create by selling ads. Sure, it's profitable to run this kind
of website. They don't have to pay those inconvenient expenses like paying
licensing fees, or paying translators or graphic designers a living wage.
I have a lot of friends who are comics creators – heck, I'm a half-baked
cartoonist myself. I don't know if you can ever understand how it feels
until someone you created is stolen, and is used to make someone else (not
you) money; money that you will never get a share of. Worst of all, it's a
situation that you'll likely never be able to stop.
For me the bottom line is, did you get the artists' permission to post
that work? Are you sharing whatever revenue you're making from your with
the comics creators/artists and the editors, translators, etc. who drew,
wrote, edited, translated, scanned, cleaned up, etc. those pages that
you're posting on your website? If the answer is no to both of those
questions, then you're not doing the creators of the manga you love so
much any favors at all.
4. Do you think that people should be careful importing risqué
manga such as kodomo no jikan or comic lo given recent issues lately?
Let's just say
I wouldn't do it.
Ryan Matheson spoke at Comic-Con, and the manga/artwork that got him
searched, arrested and thrown in jail for inCanada
think the political climate is such that it doesn't make sense to take
risks with importing potentially problematic material.
The problem is that manga has a visual style that often depicts characters
as younger than they really are. And for people who aren't familiar with
manga/anime art styles, if they see a comic character with large sparkly
eyes and small build, it looks like a child. And if that said character is
seen doing 'grown-up' stuff – then well… you see where this is going?
And come on. Is Kodomo no Jikan really that good of a manga? I haven't
read it myself, but I can think of tons more interesting manga that I'd
rather read, rather import fromJapan
be had via US publishers (Digital Manga'sProject H Hentai imprint comes
to mind). It's not worth it.
Ryan Matheson spoke at Comic-Con, and the manga/artwork that got him
searched, arrested and thrown in jail for in
think the political climate is such that it doesn't make sense to take
risks with importing potentially problematic material.
The problem is that manga has a visual style that often depicts characters
as younger than they really are. And for people who aren't familiar with
manga/anime art styles, if they see a comic character with large sparkly
eyes and small build, it looks like a child. And if that said character is
seen doing 'grown-up' stuff – then well… you see where this is going?
And come on. Is Kodomo no Jikan really that good of a manga? I haven't
read it myself, but I can think of tons more interesting manga that I'd
rather read, rather import from
be had via US publishers (Digital Manga'sProject H Hentai imprint comes
to mind). It's not worth it.
5. This goes back to question three do you think that it would be
okay to import a manga from Japan then download the scanlations for your
personal use?
By visiting a
scanlation site, you're still supporting them, financially.
Your presence on their websites = traffic, and the more traffic a given
website gets = they make more money from the online ads posted on their
site.
So even if you buy one copy of the manga, when you visit a scanlation
site, you're creating traffic to the site, which = money for that website,
and therefore, you're encouraging these sites to continue. By allowing
these sites to continue to make money, you're facilitating making an
unauthorized copy of said manga available online, and making it available
to many, many thousands of people who will never buy a legal (Japanese or
English) edition of that same manga.
Yes, some people will discover this manga via reading it on a scanlation
site, and may become a big fan that will buy the manga through legal
channels when it's available. But honestly, the vast majority won't spend
a dime on it. And that's more lost potential sales that your purchasing of
a single legal copy can't quite compensate for.
In the end, you're still causing a net negative effect to the artist /
comic creator. Your math may differ from mine, but that's how I see it.
Your presence on their websites = traffic, and the more traffic a given
website gets = they make more money from the online ads posted on their
site.
So even if you buy one copy of the manga, when you visit a scanlation
site, you're creating traffic to the site, which = money for that website,
and therefore, you're encouraging these sites to continue. By allowing
these sites to continue to make money, you're facilitating making an
unauthorized copy of said manga available online, and making it available
to many, many thousands of people who will never buy a legal (Japanese or
English) edition of that same manga.
Yes, some people will discover this manga via reading it on a scanlation
site, and may become a big fan that will buy the manga through legal
channels when it's available. But honestly, the vast majority won't spend
a dime on it. And that's more lost potential sales that your purchasing of
a single legal copy can't quite compensate for.
In the end, you're still causing a net negative effect to the artist /
comic creator. Your math may differ from mine, but that's how I see it.
6. To wrap this up what are some of your favorite manga
series/genres and why?
Hm. I love all
kinds of manga. My first love is shojo manga, and that's
probably my favorite. But I also enjoy seinen, shonen, and josei manga. I
like romances, comedies, action manga, slice of life manga… literally, all
kinds.
I like manga that teaches me something new while entertaining me. I also
love manga that shows a real mastery of the art. I like manga that makes
me laugh. And I'm a sucker for sports manga, because I don't actually
enjoy watching sports on TV, but I like the drama and real-life action in
these series that make me appreciate a sport I'd otherwise never get into.
Some of my current faves include Blue Exorcist, Kekkaishi, Ooku, Eyeshield
21, Cross Game, Slam Dunk, Drops of God, Chi's Sweet Home, Yotsuba,
Dorohedoro, A Drunken Dream, GoGo Monster, Children of the Sea,Summit
the Gods, and Skip Beat.
Hope that helps. Sorry to take so long to reply. Let me know if you have
any follow-up questions or need anything else.
Thanks!
-Deb
probably my favorite. But I also enjoy seinen, shonen, and josei manga. I
like romances, comedies, action manga, slice of life manga… literally, all
kinds.
I like manga that teaches me something new while entertaining me. I also
love manga that shows a real mastery of the art. I like manga that makes
me laugh. And I'm a sucker for sports manga, because I don't actually
enjoy watching sports on TV, but I like the drama and real-life action in
these series that make me appreciate a sport I'd otherwise never get into.
Some of my current faves include Blue Exorcist, Kekkaishi, Ooku, Eyeshield
21, Cross Game, Slam Dunk, Drops of God, Chi's Sweet Home, Yotsuba,
Dorohedoro, A Drunken Dream, GoGo Monster, Children of the Sea,
the Gods, and Skip Beat.
Hope that helps. Sorry to take so long to reply. Let me know if you have
any follow-up questions or need anything else.
Thanks!
-Deb
Deb Aoki
Guide to Manga
manga.about.com
About.com | Need. Know. Accomplish
About.com is part of The New York Times Company
Update:
I did have a quick chat with Deb on twitter on Kodomo No Jikan and explained to her what kind of series it was. I think that she understands that it's not completely just smut or baseless sex acts/lolicon but she did help point out the usual truths on the matter. This is the said quote below from our conversation on Aug 30th
there are just some titles that are too hot to handle in the US, and that's just how it goes. it's another reason to learn JP.
-Cecil The Dark Knight~
Guide to Manga
manga.about.com
About.com | Need. Know. Accomplish
About.com is part of The New York Times Company
Update:
I did have a quick chat with Deb on twitter on Kodomo No Jikan and explained to her what kind of series it was. I think that she understands that it's not completely just smut or baseless sex acts/lolicon but she did help point out the usual truths on the matter. This is the said quote below from our conversation on Aug 30th
there are just some titles that are too hot to handle in the US, and that's just how it goes. it's another reason to learn JP.
-Cecil The Dark Knight~
