Manga Maniac Cafe For the Geek in all of us

No new announcements at the Dark Horse panel, but I found it interesting none the less.  People hate attending cons with me because I actually enjoy the panels, and feel it necessary to drag at least one person with me to into the panel rooms.  I feel that maybe it will help them develop a new appreciation for them.  Hasn’t worked so far.

Carl Horn held the floor, and first off he passed out Japanese versions of some of the titles DH is currently working on.  Included were the Dirty Pair novels, the Ah! My Goddess novel, Translucent, and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service #6.  I was only given the opportunity to see some of the novels, and frankly, I’m not overly interested in them.  Dirty Pair was never my cup of tea, and I’m tired of AMG.

Mr Horn explained the delay between the latest volumes of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery – the series was on hiatus in Japan.  Also, as they’ve caught up to Hellsing, the release schedule won’t be as rapid as previously experienced.

I like DH’s attitude towards keeping the artists’ original art intact.  They shrink wrap books, not to protect readers, but to protect the books.  I personally don’t feel that I need the publishers to keep my sensibilities safe from "questionable" content, so I appreciate both their DH’s sentiment and their shrink wrap.

Couple of facts that I learned during the panel; Ah! My Goddess is the longest running manga series in the US (I would have guessed it was Ranma), and Lone Wolf & Cub is their best selling manga title.  Not bad for a 37 year old series.

In a collaboration with the Japanese publisher Asukashinsha , DH will be releasing the illustration magazine Style School starting in July 2007.  If I understood correctly, DH will be seeking fan submissions for the magazine in an effort to increase the dialog between US and Japanese readers and artists.  Japanese editors will critique the submissions, and the magazine will be published quarterly.   This sounds like an interesting project, and I’m looking forward to seeing  the magazine once it hits the streets. 

He touched briefly on the growth of graphic novels, both for their American comic lines and the manga titles.  Getting more shelf space in bookstores, and libraries picking up titles, is helping to fuel the increase in GN sales.  US comics are increasingly being published in premium format graphic novel collections.  Personally, I can no longer abide the pamphlet comic format, and until the manga explosion, that’s all I bought.  I never purchased graphic novels!  I can’t believe how much the market has changed, as has my attitude toward preferred reading format.  Now it takes a very special title for me to even consider purchasing a traditional floppy comic book.

Someone asked about the future of 3×3 Eyes.  Unfortunately, there are no plans to resume the series.  This was one of the first titles that I read from Dark Horse, and I wish they would reconsider their stance on it.  One of the problems, Mr Horn acknowledged, is the sheer length of the series.  At 40 volumes, I can understand why they are reluctant to pick it up again.  I guess it doesn’t matter how cool zombies are.

X-posted to MangaCast