Webcomics have been part of the strategy for manga publisher Seven Seas (home of Afro Samurai, Hayate x Blade, and Gunslinger Girl, among others) from the beginning, but always as a way to sell a print book. Now they have set up Zoom Comics, an ad-supported webcomics site that will run both homegrown and licensed manga, launching with four original English language series: Amazing Agent Jennifer (a prequel to their six-volume Amazing Agent Luna), Dracula Everlasting, Paranormal Mystery Squad (a followup to another original series, Aoi House), and Vampire Cheerleaders. Coming soon are two licensed series, both from Korea: Witch Hunter and Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries

Seven Seas formed the site in partnership with Pixie Trix Comix, a webcomics portal set up by webcomics creators Gisele Lagace and David Lumsdon (Magick Chicks) that also runs comics by several other creators.

What’s interesting about the new site is that it looks a lot like a bootleg manga site: The comics are simply displayed in the web browser, rather than embedded in a Flash-based reader, and they are surrounded by ads. If you changed the banner, it could be MangaFox. And Seven Seas has something else in common with the bootleg sites, something traditional publishers tend to neglect: They do forums well, with editor Adam Arnold frequently dropping in to make comments or respond to questions.

“These days, people want their content free and they want it fast,” said Seven Seas publisher Jason DeAngelis in his announcement of the new site. He is certainly right about that. The only question is whether this particular content will sell. Seven Seas manga has high-quality art with a house style that is close to traditional manga but a bit smoother; the writing is good, but it’s less noticeably foreign than Japanese manga. Putting his webcomics on the Zoom portal, which has a lot of cross-promotion with Pixie Trix, looks like a shrewd move for DeAngelis, as it will broaden the readership and hopefully help his comics find their natural audience.

One flaw with this plan, of course, is that Benedict has had a rather sedate life compared to the others. Judith saved her people by befriending and then beheading the general of the enemy troops. St. Paul had a blinding vision on the road to Damascus, which could be a real tour de force for a serious manga artist, and he traveled quite a bit, which opens the possibility of some action-packed, if uncanonical, adventures. And the Dalai Lama’s story is filled with battles and betrayal. The pope? Not so much.

This short story captures different moments throughout the Holy Father’s life – specifically as a cardinal working with the late Pope John Paul II, and culminating in the moments leading up to his election as Bishop of Rome. The story also shows how he grows into his role as pope.

So it’s one of those more contemplative manga, then. You can’t argue with the numbers, though: Lin, who has his own publishing company, Manga Hero, plans to print 300,000 copies, which places Habemus Papem! in the same league as Twilight: The Manga, although it sounds like many copies will be distributed for free during World Youth Day in Madrid this coming August.

Tokyopop alumna Svetlana Chmakova

Former Tokyopop editor Tim Beedle has a thought-provoking piece on his blog about the antipathy most publishers still harbor toward manga-influenced art. Back when Tokyopop was publishing global manga, it was fashionable in manga circles to pooh-pooh it on the grounds that it wasn’t Japanese, and some of the books were weak. However, many of the creators have gone on to do very strong work. Unfortunately, they have had to switch styles to do so.

Tim thinks that’s a shame (as do I), and here’s why:

At New York Comic-Con last month, I was introduced to a ridiculously talented manga-influenced artist. She showed me her latest comic (which she had self-published), and after seeing how skilled she is, I thought about a few of the projects I’m working on that are in need of artists. I asked her if she only drew in a manga style, and she said yes. It was the only way of drawing that she really felt passionate about. I remember looking down at some of the comics in front of me, shaking my head, and telling her that unfortunately, I didn’t have any opportunities for her right now. None of the publishers I’m working with are interested in publishing comics drawn in a manga-influenced style. She smiled and said she understood, and that it’s something she’s heard before.

Tokyopop’s original global manga didn’t sell well, probably because the publisher’s audience was only interested in Japanese works, and these books didn’t pretend to be Japanese. Unlike some other global manga, they were mostly set in the U.S. and didn’t pick up on cultural tropes like schoolgirls and ninjas. On the other hand, potential readers (indie and western comics fans) were put off by the manga label. These books probably would have done better if they were published by a Top Shelf or an Oni Press. Here’s hoping the creators get more opportunities in the future.

(Via The Manga Critic)

Coincidentally (or perhaps not), the Japanese series Black Butler, Nabari no Ou, and Pandora Hearts, which had been serialized in the print edition of Yen Plus, are now up on a new online manga site from Square Enix, the Japanese publisher of those series. That site is also in a free-sample mode right now, with an online store projected to open in the fall. Hassler would not comment on the relationship between the two, but the Square Enix site is currently hosting the Yen Press editions of these manga.

I spoke to Kurt about the new Yen Plus, the recent removal of all the online manga from OneManga.com, and Yen’s new line of children’s books.

Brigid Alverson: How will the paid version of Yen Plus differ from the free version we have been reading?

Kurt Hassler: It’s really not going to be different. The experience you have now will be pretty much the same. The only different element will be the PayPal component for getting your subscription.

Brigid: What about the Japanese content?

Kurt: That is something we are working on. We have the first title, but finalizing the contract is always getting down to the wire. It is not going to be a ton of material initially; you are going to see material being added gradually over time as licensors get comfortable with digital distribution.

Brigid: Are Japanese licensors still wary of online manga?

Kurt: It’s very new. It’s something they have been resistant to, and it’s new for everybody. Digital content is a new area for everyone and it is evolving very, very rapidly. I think it has reached a point where licensors in Japan are at least open to discussing it, but because it is so new and it’s something they haven’t done before, they are trepidatious about it—and understandably, to some degree.

The June (print) issue of Yen Plus

Brigid: The Japanese titles you had in the print magazine are no longer there?

Kurt: They are not there.

Brigid: But they are on the Square Enix site?

Kurt: They are not being serialized on Square Enix—I cannot talk about the Square Enix thing. There are ongoing conversations, so it’s a “no comment,” unfortunately. We are supplying materials for it, but I really can’t say anything more than that right now.

Brigid: So Black Butler is not coming back?

Kurt: I can’t say.

Brigid: One of the things Deb Aoki pointed out about Yen Plus is that it is not region-blocked—people can read it anywhere. Why did you decide to do that, and how hard was it to negotiate the licenses?

Kurt: It’s about raising the profile as much as we can. The thing about digital is there are going to be work-arounds, people are going to try to pirate material, and we felt, we know there is demand in other territories for this material so we really wanted to make the push to make it available.

Brigid: Is this the reason there are no Japanese series?

Kurt: No, it’s not really that. It all goes back to the digital trepidation, but territory control is something licensors are very focused on, I don’t think we really understand the concerns in Japan about the territory restrictions. It’s not that they are shortsighted. They do realize there is demand in other territories—that’s the point. They want to foster localization for particular territories, and if there is material in English going in there, it can undermine those efforts. It’s something they do look at and they are very concerned about. They have seen this in other markets in print, where they are trying to build local markets for the material in the language, but then English language material ends up getting in there and it really undermines the effort.

Brigid: I get that, but that’s not how the internet works.

Kurt: It’s a changing world, and it’s going to take time to change with it. Everybody seems to want these things to change overnight, but that’s not going to happen. As much as we would like to go further down this path, we are not pirates. We cannot do what we want irregardless of the feelings of the people creating this material.

Brigid: Speaking of pirates, OneManga.com is now down. [Yen Press is a member of a coalition of publishers that united to fight bootleg manga sites.] How did you do that?

Kurt: It’s nice to see people being responsible about it. It’s not that there was even a question that what they were doing was OK. I got a sense that the people running these sites think no one is paying any attention. Now people are paying attention. The sites that aren’t going that route, they are very much on our radar, and there is a lot of liability associated with what they are doing.

Aaron's Absurd Armada

Brigid: Still speaking of pirates, I know that Aarons Absurd Armada is web-only for now. Why is that?

Kurt: We are not going with web only for that. That will be in print.

Brigid: Oh, that must have been an internet rumor. Would you consider doing web-only series?

Kurt: We would consider it for the right books. We don’t have any immediate plans for that because ultimately we want to drive attention to a property for the purposes of supporting the performance in print.

Brigid: The magazine is rated 17+, and the website actually prompts the user to state whether they are over 17. Why?

Kurt: The magazine was always rated for older teens. It’s a recognition that there may be something that somebody might find objectionable. It’s a callout.

It’s not necessarily about reading levels. I think people misunderstand where the age ratings that come on books came from. They are not “This is the reading level for this book,” it’s really a callout to parents to give them a heads up that there may be content you might not find appropriate for someone this age. It’s a service to parent to help them monitor what their kids are reading.

Brigid: So you are OK with kids under 17 reading the site?

Kurt: As long as their parents are. That’s what it’s there for.

Jack Frost

Brigid: Some people, myself included, found the variety of material in the original magazine problematic—you had One Fine Day next to Jack Frost. I know this was a problem for librarians. Since this is fairly easy to do online, have you considered breaking up the magazine into different publications aimed at different groups of readers?

Kurt: Yes, if we get to that point. This is very experimental, just as the magazine was very experimental. We wanted to cast a wide net, and that’s why there is such a diversity of content. If this works and it makes sense to begin segmenting by age rating, that is something we have definitely thought about.

Brigid: Will you continue to have extras, such as interviews and fan art, on the website?

Kurt: Fan art I believe was already in the first one, and we plan on continuing that. Where there are interview opportunities, we will do that. We want to maintain that magazine experience. That’s why it’s laid out the way it is—I wanted someone to continue the magazine experience rather than select individual chapters and possibly miss something else.

For our purposes this is still very much a marketing tool. This is something we call out new series with. That was to me one of the best things about having the magazine in print: You may be a fan of Maximum Ride, but you might find something else in there you like. It’s that ability to introduce people to new things that they may not already be familiar with—that to me is one of the best marketing values of this whole proposition, and we wanted to maintain that rather than most sites, where you click on this and just read what you want. You have the ability to skip over chapters and navigate that way, but we want to encourage people to experience it as a magazine.

Brigid: Will there be any free content for readers who are hitting the site for the first time?

Kurt: It’s something we are looking at. There is nothing planned immediately, but the purpose of this whole month is to leave it up there for a good long while to let people get a test run. There will be lists of the content, but there are no plans for a test run after this first month.

Brigid: I just received a copy of Gabby and Gator, and I know you have Goldilocks and the Seven Squat Bears by Émile Bravo as well. These seem to be flying under the radar a bit. Why did you choose to go in this direction, and how will you be promoting and marketing them?

Kurt: It’s something we want to explore more of. We want to try more kids’ material, and we have a few things in the pipeline. I wouldn’t say it’s a new direction, but it’s something we are experimenting with.

It’s a lot of library marketing. We are trying to get it positioned in different areas of bookstores. Gabby and Gator is a Junior Library Guild pick. We hear the demand from librarians and educators for graphic novels to use as a rezding tool. It’s pursuing that path more than getting to our core manga fans.

Brigid: I suppose that being part of Hachette, you can get it into bookstores easily?

Kurt: It’s a challenge, because it is a new area: Should it go to a middle grade buyer? The kids’ graphic novel section? Picture books? It gets hard to categorize in a lot of ways, and there are political jostlings about where it should go, and buyers get territorial—if you say “graphic novels,” there is a whole category for that, so does everything go there even if it’s not necessarily the intended audience? It’s not easy, but when you do get the support, that is gratifying.

Talking to Strangers
Written by Fehed Said; Illustrated by Nana Li, Wing Yun Man, Faye Yong, Chloe Citrine, and Sonia Leong
Sweatdrop; $12.99

The cover to Talking to Strangers shows a young girl with a Band-Aid on her cheek. She’s in a downtown area of a large city, but there’s no one around. Her expression is very passive. It’s so wounded that it’s not even sad; it’s lifeless. But she’s leaning forward at you and her hand is pulling back the headphones she’s wearing so that she can hear what you have to say. It’s a beautiful, haunting image.

There’s this theme that keeps coming up in movies and books that I’m experiencing lately. It was in Up in the Air and in a Jeff Daniels/Lauren Graham film I just watched from last year called The Answer Man. It’s an especially powerful message in these days of easy, long-distance communication. It’s about how we’re meant to connect with people. Not just to talk to them, but to share with them and laugh with them and cry with them. To reach out to those around us and help; not just with a charitable donation sent by couple of mouse-clicks, but with our hands and feet and hearts. Maybe it’s just me, but that’s a message I need to hear a lot and I love it when it’s delivered with enough power to push through my complacency.

Fehed Said introduces his anthology with a story about how reaching out and talking to strangers literally saved his life. The book itself is a collection of six stories, all written by Said, illustrated by various artists, and dealing with this theme.

How it does after the break.

Static

Most of the stories do this very well and a couple of them do it brilliantly. “Static,” illustrated by Wing Yun Man and Faye Yong is about a fellow with agoraphobia. He keeps himself shut in his apartment, has food delivered to him, and has only TV characters for company. But when the TV goes out, the oppressive isolation gets to him and he starts watching a young couple who eat lunch every day in the park outside his building. That small step reconnects him to the world outside. How successfully it does so – and what happens when the couple’s drama threatens his new “show” – is something you’ll want to discover for yourself.

“Box” is another excellent one. Illustrated by Nana Li, it’s about a young girl trapped in a box. She thinks she’s completely isolated until she realizes that her tiny prison is connected with another in which a boy is also trapped. At the risk of spoiling something I’ll say this isn’t a serial killer story like I first thought. The boxes are metaphorical for something a lot more commonplace, but no less heart-wrenching. These are people desperate – but physically unable – to connect.

Not all of the stories work as well. “Malignant,” illustrated by Chloe Citrine, takes a symbolic approach that’s a bit heavy-handed. “There once was a boy,” it tells us, “carrying the weight of the world on his shoulder.” And sure enough, there’s a boy chained to a boulder that he drags through a surreal landscape until we find out in a similarly unsubtle way what happens to people who are buried beneath their own problems.

Hero

“Hero” is better, but still failed to grab me the way most of the other stories did. Unlike “Malignant” though, “Hero” fails primarily on a visual level. In “Malignant,” Citrine’s bizarre world of boulders, castles, and chains was effectively creepy. It was the obviousness of the imagery that I didn’t like. In “Hero,” the story is good, but Sonia Leong’s art doesn’t do it justice.

I actually do like Leong’s style. It’s manga-influenced – as is the rest of the art in the book – and very expressive. She captures nicely the scarred beauty of the main character, an abused child. But the other characters are similarly beautiful where something darker is needed. The child-beating father should look more sinister than a douchey frat boy. Similarly, the hooded figure who haunts the family – comforting the boy while threatening the father – ought to look more dangerous and powerful than an average teenager. It’s not bad art; it’s just wrong for the story.

“The Old Man” is the shortest story of the book and another of the weaker entries because it’s forced and a bit preachy. It’s about the international birthday celebration of the oldest man on earth. The question on everyone’s lips though isn’t the secret to the 150-year-old’s longevity, but – oddly enough – what country he’s from. That’s a weird question to be on the top of every reporter’s list, right? And the only reason it’s so important to these reporters is so the old man can respond by telling them that he’s a citizen of the world. It’s a good message and he tells a nice story – effectively illustrated by Faye Yong, especially that last splash page – but it’s too bad that the set up is so awkward.

Flowers

Back to the great stories though, I’ve saved talking about the best for last. Seriously, I’d pay thirteen bucks just to have this one on my bookshelf to go back and revisit every now and then. It’s “Flowers,” also illustrated by Faye Yong. In it, a couple of orphans – a young man and his small sister – live in a future where flowers no longer grow. Or so everyone thinks. When the girl finds a patch of wild flowers growing in the courtyard of an abandoned building, her first instinct is to keep the information to herself, but that nearly leads to disaster and she learns to share. Not in a moralizing, children’s book kind of way, but in a subtle, grown-up, look-how-fulfilling-this-is way.

Like the other stories in Talking to Strangers, “Flowers” encourages readers to reach out to people. To share with them the things that make us happy. Or sad. To see beyond ourselves and look out for each other. Some of the stories do it better than others, but they all deliver the same message and – as a group – they do it powerfully. Don’t be scared, they say. Take a chance. Talk to strangers. It just might save your life.

What’s interesting is that she has kept her comic, Red String, going continuously for six years, growing the audience as she goes; that Dark Horse, a publisher better known for manly manga than for quiet romances, published the first three volumes; and that she is a key member of Strawberry Comics, a collective of like-minded female creators who promote romance comics online.

While almost all the early global manga creators signed contracts with Tokyopop, Biggs chose to put her comic online and build an audience that way. After three volumes she is now self-publishing Red String and she says she makes about the same amount of money and works about as hard as when she was with Dark Horse. And best of all, she looks like she is having fun.

Brigid Alverson: Tell me first about your webcomic, Red String.

Gina Biggs: The theme at its most basic is the exploration of love in all its forms and the path to growing up. Expanding on that, the red string of fate is a Chinese and Japanese myth that says that two lovers destined to marry are bound together by a red string. As they go through life the string becomes shorter and shorter until the day that they two are brought together.

Brigid: Why did you choose the Japanese setting and manga-influenced style?

Gina: My early influences in comics were actually X-Men, Conan, and other very male oriented corporate comics. However, as I hit my mid-teens I discovered shoujo manga and was inspired by the fact that women were creating comics. I was also impressed with the idea that there were comics out there focusing on romance and I think these factors started to shift my artistic influences. The Japanese setting, well, I really enjoy all sorts of folk tales and mythology so when I came across the red string of fate, I really liked that romantic notion. I wanted to write something questioning fate or making your own path. Since it was a Japanese myth, I decided to place the setting there.

Brigid: When the comic launched, manga was still a fairly new phenomenon and you must have been one of only a handful of non-Japanese artists working in that style. How did you feel about that?

Gina: I was definitely a little intimidated. I encountered a lot of resistance and backlash from folks at conventions early on. The American-style comic readers claimed I was just drawing what was popular and that they weren’t real comics, and the manga readers screamed that it wasn’t real manga and I was a poser from trying to draw it. Of course, writing romance stories didn’t help at the time either since shoujo manga wasn’t nearly as popular as it is now. However, I kept pushing forward and learned to just turn a blind eye to them and concentrate on people who were willing to give me a shot. Now that manga is much more normalized a lot more people are willing to give you a chance. It’s great to see people trying new things especially for artists who aren’t illustrating big name titles for the big two.

Brigid: How have you evolved, as an artist and writer, as you worked on the story?

Gina: I know for a fact that my art has evolved by leaps and bounds since I first started Red String six years ago. In the past year even more so since I started taking Figure Drawing Classes. The anatomy and poses have become more natural and easier to do on demand. As a writer I have become much more conscious of dialogue as I have become more comfortable with the characters. There were a lot of places early on where the writing was a bit stiff. I think I’m doing much better on that these days.

Brigid: How has the story evolved?

Gina: Originally the story started out as a one-shot about two kids meeting by chance and finding out that it might be a bit more than mere chance involved. When I decided to turn Red String into a webcomic series it started branching out with more characters and the focus turned toward exploring all sorts of love.

Brigid: What sort of feedback have you gotten from your readers? Have they commented on (or disagreed with) story twists? Does the feedback affect your writing?

Gina: I have generally received very positive feedback from readers. Sometimes people disagree with the story lines, but usually it turns out that a chapter or so later all is revealed and readers see the bigger picture. There was only a small handful of readers who did not like the revelation of lesbians being a part of the story. Soapboxes and eternal hellfire were cited a couple times, but generally I get some of the biggest compliments on that sub-plot. Feedback does indeed affect my writing sometimes. There have been some instances were I have seen their point or realized I had not addressed certain issues and then I go back in to my summaries for future chapters to make sure I cover it. Of course, I still continue to write the story as I wish to write it, but I think if I were to ignore the feedback completely that would be a big mistake.

Brigid: Is there an end in sight for the series, or do you think you will continue to add stories?

Gina: Right now the series is planned for forty-nine chapters, so I have about two years left to go. However, I have left it open enough in case I decided to continue on with it.

Brigid: Red String is formatted like a print manga. Had you always intended it to be a print comic, or did you think of it as primarily a webcomic?

Gina: Since I had only previously worked with print comics it was the only format I was comfortable with drawing. I have discovered since then that I have a decent handle on pacing for a story told this way. The beat for my four panel work seems to still be missing something.

Brigid: You seem to have a number of different income streams from the site‹donations, ads, sale of wallpapers, and presumably, print sales. How did these evolve, and how important is each of them to the overall picture?

Gina: Donations and book sales have been hugely important to keeping me working on comics as a full-time job. I have tried different things over time, but I have found that donations with incentives, books, and more recently, t-shirts are an important thing for a webcomic artist. Lesser so are the wallpapers, prints, and other sorts of merchandise. The money from ads are equally important to the overall picture in that I throw that money right back into advertising for my own site so the more ad money, the more exposure I can afford.

Brigid: Dark Horse published the first three volumes of Red String. What was it like working with them?

Gina: The folks over at Dark Horse are a great bunch. They really are a friendly lot and my editor was always working hard to help me out. I actually went through several cover designs before we got something that they were sure would work for me. I really learn a lot about cover design working with them.

Brigid: How did having a print comic change your audience and your own perception of your work?

Gina: When Dark Horse approached me I had just recently put together a print edition on my own for Red String through a print-on-demand place. Once it was published by Dark Horse it really took the leap from small book sold only at conventions by an unknown to a chain bookstore book with much more recognition. I found folks passing by my booth at conventions would stop and give me a look having recognized the cover. Previous to Dark Horse it was a much harder sell. As for my own perception, I think it definitely helped me feel more confident about my work.

Brigid: Why did you and Dark Horse decide to part ways?

Gina: It was a mutual break up. I realized that I could make enough money with Red String for myself, but not for myself and a big corporation. About the same time, Dark Horse was realizing the same thing.

Brigid: How is producing your own print comic different from working with a publisher—what are the benefits and disadvantages?

Gina: There’s more work involved in working with a printer, but I don’t think that’s really a problem. The disadvantage is definitely having to front the print money myself. However, there are a lot less costs involved with printing the books myself, so there are a lot less books I have to sell to break even. Dark Horse did do some marketing for the book (an ad in Previews, for instance), but I found that I was working just as hard at the marketing aspect as when I was with them. I never really expected that being with a large publisher would mean people would instantly find my work. Knowing that has been a big key to continually growing my readership.

Brigid: What exactly is Strawberry Comics? Who are the members?

Gina: Strawberry Comics is a collective with all-female members creating stories that focus on love and romance. It is designed to promote women comic creators. Our members include myself, Robin Edwards (creator of Cardboard Angel), Amy Stoddard (creator of Patches), Angi Chan (creator of Devil’s Cake), Louisa Roy (creator of Velharthis and collaborator with me on Erstwhile), and Elle Skinner (creator of The Littlest Elle and also a collaborator on Erstwhile).

Brigid: What are the criteria for joining?

Gina: Though we are not currently accepting new members, we generally look for creators who focus character driven stories and some exploration of love.

Brigid: Does the group prefer a single type of comics?

Gina: Oh no! While a lot of our members lean toward manga influenced art, we like diversity in style. Elle, for instance, has fantastic whimsical art very far from what anyone would consider manga. Louisa likes to write historical-fiction romances and fairy tales while Robin enjoys writing coming-of-age and adult dramas. We definitely like to see variety.

Brigid: What was your goal in forming Strawberry Comics?

Gina: My goal when starting Strawberry Comics was to get the word out on talented female comic creators. Even though I knew at an early age that I wanted to create comics, it wasn’t until my mid-teens that I discovered through shoujo manga that women could do it, too. That was definitely an influence on creating the collective.

Brigid: In late May, you made a change in the way you handle print comics. What happened, and why did you make the change?

Gina: To be honest, I was sort of a one-woman show in terms of handling Strawberry Comics. I did everything from putting the books together for print, marketing, sales, invoices, and shipping of books. It became quite overwhelming and since the fall of Wowio, money became a big issue. Originally, the digital books we distributed with them funded the printing of their books. I no longer had the money to front the printing costs for everyone’s books. We are continuing to publish books, but each artist now prints and sells their own book titles. Now you support the members more directly by purchasing their books and merchandise directly through them.

Brigid: Are you working on any other projects, or do you have new plans for the future?

Gina: I am currently working on a series titled Erstwhile with Elle Skinner and Louisa Roy. It is adaptations of the lesser known Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales into full color comics. Currently we have three issues out and are working on the fourth.