Back in 2007, when Yen Press, Hachette’s manga, manhwaand conventionalgraphic novel imprint, was first starting out, publishing director Kurt Hassler predicted that graphic novel adaptations of existing and known American properties were going to be the next big trend for manga publishing in the U.S. While the trend is still building, so far it has done well for the publisher. Volume two of James Patterson’s Maximum Ride manga adaptation was released last month and spent two weeks on the New York Times bestseller list for graphic novels. Volume one had an initial print run of 50,000 copies and has gone into its second printing.
The press has already announced plans for a manga adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s blockbuster bestseller Twilight; it has plans to release licensed children’s graphic novels and continues to seek out and publish a selected list of original works.Earlier this month the publisher announced plans to create a manga-style adaptation of Patterson’s Daniel X series, about a teen-aged alien boy on Earth who is hunting other aliens. “Jim has this dynamic and visual style,” Hassler said of Patterson. “Everything is fast paced and keeps readers riveted to the book. It translates so well to a visual medium.”
Given the success of Maximum Ride, Hassler added that Yen Press would continue working with Pattersonon new adaptations of his work.Patterson’s forthcoming Witch&Wizard, about teen siblings who become a witch and a wizard, could be a possibility for the future.
Both Daniel X books will be adapted by Korean artist Seung-hye Kye and will appear in Yen Press’s manga anthology magazine, Yen Plus. However, Hassler commented that he did not know whether the Daniel X adaptation would appear in the magazine as a full serialization or a preview.Hassler said that given the market for magazines, Yen Plus has held steady in its circulation numbers with its subscription base slowly developing. The bulk of the magazine sales have been through bookstores, where Hassler would like to see it stay. “We want to keep it focused in that direction because our readership is there.” He said
Hassler said that in the past, most manga sales were driven by foot traffic at big, mall-based bookstores. But the chains are pulling out of the malls and their withdrawal will likely effect manga publishers. “The entire mall bookstore [market has] closed down over the last few years.That was a huge portion of the market for manga,” said Hassler. According to Hassler, the challenge for manga publishers these days is tofind ways toreconnect with that existing customer base. “We’re figuring out a way to do it,” He said. “We’re not retailers ourselves so we’re looking for ways of working with someone or helping with outreach of our own.”
Yen Press’s forthcoming adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series—announced this past Summer during the San Diego Comic-con—will also likely spur a big sales response and attract new readers, although the project is being kept tightly under wraps by Hachette and Hassler said he can’t comment further. He was able to talk about Yen Press’s past year and he said the presshas done well with its Japanese licenses: both the Soul Eater and Haruhi Suzumiya series are popular and strong sellers— the strongest of the year according to Hassler—and show up a number of bestseller lists.The reintroduction of the charming and silly Yotsuba&series—picked up after the series was dropped by ADV—has also been a fun project at Yen Press and the series has shown up on both the PW comics bestseller list and the New York Times graphic books bestseller list.
Coming up in 2010, Hassler said the house will launch a series of French comic picture books for young readers which he described as having a “Stinky Cheeseman sensibility, ” referring to the popular picture book series. The books are intended to meet thegrowingdemand coming from parents, children, and librarians, who are asking for more graphic novels aimed at young readers. The series of three will be hardcover, 32 pages and will have a different trim size from the standard manga tankoubon trim size.
The press has also extended Svetlana Chamakova’s original manga series, Night School, to an additional volume bringing the series in at four volumes. Yen Press also continues to accept submissions for original projects. Although Hassler said that while the artwork they receive is moving towards a more professional quality, the settings and the storylines are still too heavily influenced by well known Japanese manga already in the marketplace.
“We want to see artists develop their own voice, not mimic what they’ve read.We want to see artists tell something closer to home for them,” said Hassler. “It’s the necessary step for establishing the market here.”
