The future of comics and graphic novels... and my utopian hopes.

[taniadelrio]

I was checking one of my favorite sites, Mangablog, and from there I was led to a link of a recent blog post by Becky Cloonan about floppies vs. graphic novels and how the whole Original Graphic Novel thing can't keep on the way it is. Too demanding, not enough pay, and individual volumes tend to disapear on the shelves with the rest of the masses

Comments

[jtabon]

A fantasy? Yes.
But a damn good one, and definitely one worth working towards. What's frustrating (sad?) is how long it'd take for changes like these to come to fruition.
Good post; well said. =)

[taniadelrio]

Thank you! I do think it's fun to dream about the possibilities from time to time. ^_^

[limemanga]

Hey Tanja

[limemanga]

Sorry, I know your name is spelled Tania...just hit the wrong key!

[taniadelrio]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply! I've actually been quite interested in following what's been happening with Shogun magazine and I'm envious that it's only in Europe! I do think it's good that they are treating it as a sort of experiment and are flexible enough to change direction as needed.I feel it really has the potential to pave the way for similar publications if it succeeds

[limemanga]

Tania,

Your absolutely right on all points. The advance is not enough to live off of and Tpop would have been much better off with less projects (same can be said about Shogun which is going to have out more books than Tpop).

However, I want to mention one thing. Tpop's idea was always for the creators to do TWO BOOKS per year and not one. It sort of morphed into one book a year because that's what creators felt more comfortable doing. I know for a fact that the Tpop office is not happy with the release schedule. So, if you create two books, then the advance would be let's say 30k, which is already a lot better.

[pinguino]

wow, awesome post

not sure how well a serialized anthology would do. prolly the only best selling one i can think of is flight, and those are all standalone stories. i know thats how a lot of manga in japan gets audiences, basically cheap monthly anthologies.. just dont think it would work here. if the artists were all amazing and it offered something different like flight does, it could work.

i also never was a fan of flip comics either though..

[taniadelrio]

Thanks! I see what you're saying and I hear a lot of people say the same thing - that anthologies just don't do that well. But I find it odd that I can't really think of a major anthology that a big publisher has tried putting out on a regular basis (besides Flight, which seems to be doing well). I do think there is a difference between an anthology of stand-alone stories (which, honestly, don't always interest me, either) and an anthology series>/i> where each volume contains the same characters and continuing stories that readers can follow and get hooked on.
I guess my view is that if TPOP is willing to take such a financial "risk" on all these new artists, then why not take an equally financial risk on an anthology? I just don't recall seeing enough similar attempts out there to be convinced that it would be an instant failure.

[pinguino]

maybe you should pitch it to them ;) unless they already read your LJ

[pinguino]

http://www.dmpbooks.com/titles?n=15

^^ thats robot. digital manga. put together by range murata.

[jonnerbloo]

I've noticed a degree of self-loathing, both in the comic industry and among fans, regarding this issue. Starting back in the late 90s people became all-too willing to bash the monthly comics. You couldn't go to any comic news site without coming across a column by the latest Warren Ellis imitator ranting about how "pamphlets" are pure evil, and the New World of Comics is soon to be upon us.

Thank you for not submitting to the uglier side of comics fandom...the desire to bash one's self in hopes of appearing cutting edge and new. It's not the same thing.

Personally, I would love to see more magazine-style anthologies. "Disney Adventures" has several comics every month...and certain comics like "Bone" and "Little Gloomy" got exposed to a brand new audience that way.

Gamer magazines (of which I follow) sometimes have comics...more than a few of which become quite popular.

Why not comics in still more magazines? There's really no end of possibilities, if one really has the money and the desire to reach new audiences.

[taniadelrio]

Thanks! Yeah, I believe there are good and bad things about every comic format, but it's no good bashing them into the ground. And I had totally forgotten about Disney Adventures! That's exactly how I discovered Bone when I was about 13 years old.I know they continue to put out the magazine, but it's mostly filled with comics based on their own tv shows. Still, I always enjoyed reading it as a kid. Now we just need something similar for an older audience!

[goldfishhead]

Hello

[taniadelrio]

I completely agree with you on this issue of freelance. As I replied to Limemanga, above, one usually thinks of freelance as short-term projects that get done and then you move on to the next thing. But these are year-long freelance projects! These artists DO deserve to be considered employees. And you're right, their skills are valuable and not everybody can do what they do! My dad, who works in a corporate computer-programing job likes to remind me that the secretaries at his office make far more a year than I do. (Thanks, dad) And hey, I know secretaries work hard and I know I could never do their job as efficiently as they do(plus I get nervous on the phone, haha) but don't I at least deserve to make a comparable salary at my own profession? Or at least get benefits like a regular employee

[tiredfairy]

What's really important about your post is that you clearly list the pros and cons with all the formats. There's a tendency to claim that it's an either/or situation and that's impossible. The way comics work it would be impossible right now to lost monthlies as a format because the industry is based around it. But you can't lose gn's either because they represent a format that reaches another audience than the monthlies. Both have cost issues, and then there's the whole online/downloadable thing

[taniadelrio]

Thanks for the comment! Yes I do remember you - it was real interesting hearing about the editorial side of things on the panel. How is your own gn coming along?

Anyway, yeah I definitely feel that both comic formats are worth having for different reasons. I just worry that if things continue the way they are, that one - or both - will eventually phase out (although at this rate, it's much more likely to be the monthlies.)

[tiredfairy]

I think it's possible monthlies might fade out eventually, but the industry would have to make online/downloadables more viable and they'd really need to start defining gn's better. As it stands all they really are are longer comics without ads that are usually self-contained stories. Although the book market considers trades to be gn's they aren't really

[taniadelrio]

Excellent points! And it's true - a good "hook" goes a looong way when selling things of this nature.

And, of course, let me wish you the best of luck on your project!