Jun 18 2007
DC Comics Invests in Japanese Manga Startup
DC Comics is looking to cash in on the Manga furor in one way or another. Last week saw the release of DC Comics manga for girls and now comes the announcement that it has invested heavily in Flex Comics. Flex Comics will be managed by DC Comics Japan and will produce original manga content for the Web, mobile phones and print for worldwide distribution.
The goal is to serialize the content online, build up an audience and then go print.
Via Publishers Weekly.
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Jun 18, 2007 @ 15:38:58
Lots of people in the manga blogosphere are watching this one closely because DC already has a manga imprint (CMX) and we’re wondering what’ll happen when Flex Comics goes print and how that’ll work in relation to CMX.
Jun 18, 2007 @ 15:40:06
I thought the CMX was just the imprint used to republish English translated Japanese manga?
Jun 18, 2007 @ 16:48:16
It is, but it’s something new and different in terms of the manga industry. TOKYOPOP publishes both licensed and original — both those which are new projects and those which are adaptations of HarperCollins work — manga under their imprint, both in print and online. (Though I’d say that their online manga gets lost at Tokyospace based on the fact that the site is not user friendly and cluttered.)
It’s probably best though (for DC anyway) to keep them separate since their CMX imprint has a shaky relationship with the manga audience. They have a very diverse catalogue, which makes it a shame, but sometimes I wonder if they actually know how to promote their licensed titles.