Kid-Friendly Manga, Prose from Tokyopop
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on May 16, 2006 Sign up now!
by Chris Arrant, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 5/16/2006
In an effort to cultivate future comics fans and continue its efforts to expand into prose publishing, manga publisher Tokyopop is planning to publish two lines of books aimed at preteen readers—Manga Readers (short manga graphic novels) and Manga Chapters (short prose chapter books heavily illustrated with spot illustrations and sections of manga-style comics).
Aimed at readers aged 8-12, Manga Readers will be launched in July with a 96-page all-comics format priced at $5.99. The line features such titles as Kat & Mouse by Alex de Campi and Federica Manfredi, the story of two young private school girls who use lessons learned in science and math to solve mysteries. Eisner Award-winner Keith Giffen and Shannon Denton's Zapt! chronicles a 12-year-old schoolboy who moonlights as an intergalactic policeman, unbeknownst to friends and family. And Mail Order Ninja by Josh Elder and Erich Owen follows a young boy who happens to have an all-powerful ninja at his beck and call.
Set to launch in September, Manga Chapters will focus on 6-to-9-year-olds. Priced at $4.99, Manga Chapters are a combination of classic chapter books for children, manga-style illustrations and sections of manga comics. The flagship titles for this line include bestselling children's author Annie Auerbach's The Grosse Adventures: The Good, the Bad and the Gassy. Also appearing is Agent Boo: The Littlest Agent by Alex de Campi and Edo Fuijkschot, a universe-hopping romp featuring a fourth-grader named Boo.
Tokyopop senior editor Nicole Monastirsky will oversee both lines. She says Manga Chapters were hybrid works that used comics and illustrations to "segue" between different sections in the books' plots. "The segue from prose to manga is pretty organic. Sometimes the manga is a dream sequence, sometimes it's the protagonists' more idealized version of him or herself and sometimes it's a hard-core action sequence," says Monastirsky.
Demand from the preteen market drove the decision to launch the two book series, Monastirsky adds. "First, we had actual demand. Young kids would come up to us at conventions and ask if we had manga for their age group. Second, if you use Japan as a model, which we tend to do, you'll find that there's manga for every age, gender, etc." In the U.S., comics are often perceived as a medium solely for adolescents and young adults, but in Japan manga is widespread, with books aimed at every age group and social class. "It makes sense to create manga for different age groups, brand it accordingly and widen the demographic of manga enthusiasts," says Monastirsky.
The two lines come on the heels of the announcement that HarperCollins is taking over the distribution of Tokyopop titles to the North American book trade. The announcement also follows a similar move two years ago by manga publisher Viz Media, which is distributed to the U.S. market by Simon & Schuster. Although manga has experienced major growth into bookstores, the Tokyopop/Harper partnership looks to strengthen that growth with the distribution and market clout of a major trade house. "HarperCollins is certainly a force to be reckoned with, and we are very pleased to have them on our side," says Candice Uyloan, brand manager for Manga Readers and Manga Chapters. "We are confident that we will see our Manga Readers appeal beyond the manga/comics section, particularly in [sections of the bookstore] that have been previously inaccessible to our books."
Uyloan says Tokyopop and HarperCollins are working closely to promote and market the two lines to these new audiences. "We will be working closely with the national chains on programs that target the education market," she says. In addition, a special Manga Chapters-related freebie is planned for BookExpo. Uyloan even brags that the freebie will be the most-talked-about item from the show. "But we only have a limited amount," says Uyloan, "so I highly encourage those interested in our kid's lines to stop by and talk to us!"
