Tokyopop: Bad news for comic bookers?

http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/180842.html


Good writeup (from the author of Scott Pilgrim) about the sorry state of Tokyopop’s current contract scheme, just in case you were looking for a place to get something published.

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I am opposed to the publisher Tokyopop.

They have this new Manga Pilot program. It's a thing where you come up with a great idea, you toil over it and create a 24-36 page comic, they put it online with a bunch of other submissions, and "the people" decide who wins. Or, y'know, whatever.

The contract for this fun deal is horrible, draconian, ridiculous. It's like Satan wrote it. I can't believe Tokyopop is getting away with this in broad daylight.

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I'm not surprised in the least. They've always had a kind of intangible 'skeezy cheapskate company' vibe.

Hey, you gotta start somewhere. It's like a rock band starting out and having to drive from gig to gig, haggling with bar and club owners over money, sleeping in their cars, etc. You're doing it to get your stuff out there and make a name for yourself.

Granted, a lot of TP's terms really suck, but I'm sure it's the same all over.

Comics in general are making less and less money, so it only leads me to believe that any publisher is going to shaft their creative base.

Remember how they released a few DVD series?

I think they had GTO, Brigadoon and Initial D, to name a few.

I called them for rights a while back. Apparently, they forgot. Oops. They really are a wonderful company.

Oh, I also love this story:

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Originally Posted by Wikipedia

This webcomic is also published in trade paperback by Tokyopop. According to Nielsen BookScan, Sokora Refugees is one of the publisher's best-selling amerimanga. The relevancy of this sales success was called into question in March 2005 in the comics newsblog The Beat, due to a perceived conflict-of-interest involving the author. [1]. In its 2005-03-21 issue, Publishers Weekly identified the writer of Sokora Refugees as Kurt Hassler, who was the Borders and Waldenbooks buyer for graphic novels; "Segamu" is presumably Hassler's pseudonym. [2]. Hassler left this position in November 2006. [3].

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lol

Um, isn't this how things work? I read the whole thing and it seems about as EEEEVIL as working for any company OR VERY POSSIBLY LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I never thought comic book publishers blew air up your ass while they let you do whatever the fuck you wanted all while throwing big wads of cash at you. I guess Oni Press does that for Brian O'Malley, bless his wonderful Scott Pilgrim self.

Tokyopop sucks, that's all there is, but just about as much as everyone sucks except Sex Bob-omb, they're pretty grawesome.

It sounds like Finch would agree with Josh Lesnick:

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The Rising Stars of Manga was always completely fucking stupid. COMPLETELY FUCKING STUPID, ALWAYS... SINCE ITS CONCEPTION. Same goes Zuda Comics. Fuck this flashy insipid American Idol cockfucketry. Normal businesses HIRE people to do CONTRACT WORK for a FEE. They don't REWARD CONTESTANTS with PRIZE MONEY. Not for doing something that constitutes an agonizing job.

LIVING OFF COMICS IS HARD WORK, AND THE COMPANIES THAT CONTROL MOST OF COMICS ARE ALL COMPLETE FUCKERS. DRESSING EVERYTHING UP AS A FUN HAPPY CONTEST DOES NOT MAGICALLY CHANGE THIS.

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Nothing new to me. A friend and I tried to entered the first and second Rising Stars contests way back when. I'm rather glad we didn't win. The first was a flop because I left writing and drawing to him. The second was far stronger with him left to just illustrating my script/characters. But I could never get him motivated to finish the story in time for the contest. I retain the characters, story and script with the loss of his designs. Annoying because we spent a month beating through the character designs back & forth to get them right.

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

It sounds like Finch would agree with Josh Lesnick:

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i always agree with Josh Lesnick. That man is the funniest motherfucker in the universe.

He is indeed extremely funny.

PREPARE FOR INCOMING REP.