Manga Recon at NY Comic-Con: Day Three

My final dispatch from NYCC focuses on CMX, Tokyopop, and Vertical Inc. No big surprises, but there’s some good news for fans of Buddha, Ode to Kirihito, and To Terra. Read on for the scoop!

CMX Gon Wild
Shame on you, DC! The CMX panel appeared on the main schedule, but was not cross-listed in the curiously-titled “Anime” events page of the NYCC program. Were it not for the eagle-eyed Ed Chavez, I might have missed the panel altogether. And what a weird panel it was… a lone CMX representative was paired with creators, writers, and publicists from DC’s Wildstorm imprint. I enjoyed hearing Brian K. Vaughan and Gail Simone discuss their work, but the juxtapostion of Ex Machina and sparkly-eyed shojo was disconcerting (to say the least). Only one new license was announced: Samurai Commando 1549, a two-volume seinen series slated for release this summer. I’m glad to hear that Samurai Commando earned kudos from Jim Lee and other certified comic-book geniuses, but I hope CMX has a better marketing strategy for this title than “It’s got to be cool if Jim Lee likes it, right?”

The other big announcement confirmed a rumor that’s been circulating for months: Gon, the Charlie Chaplin of T-Rexes, will return to print this July in a new, unflipped format with color pages and an appealing $5.99 price point. The only other titles discussed–Canon, Apothecarius Argentum, I Hate You More Than Anyone, and King of Cards–are all slated for publication within the next five months, and are featured in CMX’s NYCC giveaway sampler.

TOKYOPOP Artist Round Table
Tokyopop editor Tim Beedle moderated a panel featuring five artists: Joanna Estep (Roadsong), Dan Hipp (Gyakushu!), June Kim (12 Days), Drew Rausch (The Dark Goodbye), and Armand Villavert (Zapt!). Beedle first gave each artist an opportunity to pitch his or her work to the audience. The Award for Most Quotable Pitch goes to Rausch, who described The Dark Goodbye as “the perfect mesh between H.P. Lovecraft stories and film noir.”

The conversation then turned to the perennial topic of OEL vs. Japanese manga. Estep confessed to “loathing” this debate. “I feel like the word manga is used mainly as a buzzword or a marketing tool,” she argued. She wanted the freedom to experiment with whatever style suited her story best. “I’m greedy,” she explained with a laugh. Hipp concurred, adding that, “A lot of it comes down to packaging or who [publishers are] trying to sell it to.” He found manga a more forgiving method of storytelling than American comics, which he felt sometimes compressed events too much to fit the 32-page floppy model. The best comments on the subject, however, belonged to Kim, who argued that manga was a medium, not a specific style: “White people can rap. Non-Japanese people can draw manga… It’s all about how you use the grammar of manga and manipulate the moment.”

A final thought: why did the presentation’s introductory PowerPoint slides feature characters from licensed series? I saw familiar faces from Elemental Gelade, Model, Fruits Basket, and Kingdom Hearts, but don’t recall seeing a character from one of Tokyopop’s more successful OEL projects. Seems a little odd, given the panel’s emphasis on global manga.

Vertical, Inc.
Vertical’s low-key panel covered a lot of familiar ground for fans of Buddha, Ode to Kirihito, and To Terra. Marketing Director Anne Ishii confirmed rumors that Vertical’s fall publishing schedule will include Keiko Takemiya’s Andromeda Stories and Osamu Tezuka’s MW. Both promise a little something for everyone: Andromeda Stories explores the world of “incestuous royal siblings,” while MW’s protagonist is a serial killer who loves a gay, Japanese Catholic priest. (As Ishii explained to the audience, “We’re keepin’ it real” with the licensing choices.) Also on tap: cute craft books from the ladies of Aranzi Aronzo. Though Aranzi Aronzo describe themselves as “Norwegian-Vietnamese tambourine players,” they are, in fact, two sisters from Osaka with a huge underground following in the craft community. I picked up a copy of The Cute Book and am determined to make a flock of felt sheep for my dog to herd. She needs a job, after all.

The big news, however, is Vertical’s decision to create a separate manga imprint, which will debut in the summer of 2008. Old-school titles like Buddha and the forthcoming Apollo’s Song will continue to be branded as Vertical and published in a flipped format (at least titles with crossover appeal–namely, anything with the name “Tezuka” on the cover). Contemporary series–in all their unflipped glory–will be published by Vertical’s yet-to-be-named imprint. (I smell a contest opportunity!) What kind of books does Vertical plan to license? Editorial Director Ioannis Mentzas described their ideal property as being both “the kind of thing you see on Cartoon Network” and a complement to Vertical’s catalog of old-school manga, J-horror, and cute craft books. Can’t imagine what that might be, but I’m sure it will be entertaining. Perhaps their forthcoming Guin Saga will let us know what to expect from the new imprint.

In Case You Missed It…
Brigid at MangaBlog has a nice summary of last night’s CPM panel as well as an interview with Wendy Pini and Audry Taylor about Go! Comi’s new project, Masque of the Red Death. (Via Digital Strips.)

A final note: if you’re curious about today’s Del Rey panel, or any of the industry-oriented panels, stay tuned. Senior Ninja Consultant Erin F. was on hand for all the action, and will posting her two cents shortly.