Next year, American manga publisher Tokyopop will launch Tokyopop Graphic Novels, a line of full-color books featuring manga-influenced art and stories by artists from all over the world. Books published under the Tokyopop Graphic Novels imprint will be formated in a larger, 7x10 trimsize with full color illustration. The books will average about 120 pages and cost between $12.99-14.99. The manga house plans to release about a dozen of these graphic novels into the market starting in February of 2009 with the program growing gradually over the years.
“We’ve always viewed ourselves as global cool hunters,” Tokyopop publisher Mike Kiley said. “ We believe that manga exists in a number of different flavors and variant styles all over the world.”
Since its inception, Tokyopop has pushed manga in the U.S. in new directions. Their OEL (original English language) manga program introduced American fans to American creators inspired by the manga that they were reading. “We cut our teeth on black ad white manga from Japan,” Kiley said, “and it continues to be a huge component of who we are and continues to be our foundation.” However, Kiley sees the new imprint as “the next step” in Tokyopop’s “natural evolution.”
The new line will be distributed by HarperCollins in the U.S. book market and Tokyopop will work with Diamond Comics Distributors to get their new line into comics shops market.
Tokyopop will license works from French publishers Delcourt and Soleil, as well as from Chinese publisher Xiao Pan. Kiley is quick to acknowledge that in the past European licenses have not always had success in the U.S, market. “Tintin, Asterix, that type of material has had a checkered past in the U.S.,” he said. “They don’t translate well in this market. We believe the material that we’re bringing over is of a vibe that’s very relevant to the audience that we’ve developed over the past ten years,” Kiley said.
The new line kicks off in February with Orange by Chinese creator Benjamin who uses a sophisticated palate of watercolor for his work. “These are very subtle, angst ridden tales of loss and romantic longing.” Kiley said describing the works. “It’s about youth in their late teens to early and mid-twenties who are struggling for their place in the world.” Another title, Pixie, uses a more playful approach to it’s illustrations and will be released in March.
Luuna , a book previously published in France by Soleil, is a coming of age story about a Native American princess who is learning how to deal with an ancient curse and her position in her tribe. The first of three volumes also comes out in March 2009.
“The format and color used is breathtaking,” Kiley said. “It allows these books to appeal to readers who may not have been manga fans before. [These books] remove those barriers from experiencing the Tokyopop aesthetic.” Kiley also says that the company will continue looking into publishing original work from international manga artists.
“Maybe some really cool crossover mashup type of material will emerge from this.” Kiley says referring to manga’s influence in the work of American artists. “We really do believe in the globalization of manga. It’s not just marketing hype. Something about it speaks to everybody.”
