>North American manga publisher Viz Media announced plans to launch Viz Originals, a new imprint that will publish original graphic novels by artists inspired by manga and anime. Plans for the new imprint were announced during the Viz Media panel at Emerald City Comic Con this weekend.
>Veteran manga professional Fawn Lau has been named executive editor of Viz Originals, which will release its first titles in 2020. Lau said that Viz Originals is soliciting pitches for new works of manga-inspired titles. She called the announcement “a soft launch of the imprint. We want to hear from artists. We’ve got some things in the works now but we’re not ready to announce.”
>Viz Media executive v-p and publisher Leyla Aker told PW that the imprint will launch with “a handful of titles” but the house does not have an exact number to announce as yet. Aker said “Viz Originals will be an incubator for innovative ideas and storytelling. It’s a long-term initiative and we want to do it right, not fast.”
>One of the largest publishers of licensed Japanese comics (aka manga) in North America, Viz Media is the publisher of such bestselling manga series as My Hero Academia, Tokyo Ghoul, Pokemon, Naruto and One Piece. But Viz has also published original graphic novels in the past.
>“We’ve done some original licensed material but Viz Originals will expand the program,” Lau said. She said the new imprint will feature “mostly creator-owned” works.
Capitalize on market inefficiencies (lol no noncapeshit american comics)
Adam Ross
Ahh going to the Tokyopop route I see, that'll work out wonderfully I'm sure.
Andrew Roberts
>(lol no noncapeshit american comics) This is just objectively untrue, not even just a small amount of non-cape stories, you'd have to be blind retard who doesn't read comics to actually believe that
Parker Gonzalez
>Viz Originals, a new imprint that will publish original graphic novels by artists inspired by manga and anime. TokyoPop tried OEL manga years ago. No one wants that shit.
Owen Young
Artists: READ YO MUTHA FUCKIN CONTRACTS.
Liam Nelson
>inb4 they only release shonenshit
Isaiah Russell
Can't wait to read all the wonderful comics by artists who learned by reading some shitty "manga for dummies" tutorial book.
Lincoln Wilson
>Fawn Lau has been named executive editor of Viz Originals >She >Viz Media executive v-p and publisher Leyla Aker >She
They're appealing to chicks (and basedboys who think like chicks). At best, maybe Viz will attract chicks and basedboys, both as readers and creators, away from Marvel and DC, and thus save the comics industry from progressive bullshit. Thanks Viz!
Robert Wilson
Tokyopop also almost crashed the american market by drastically undercutting costs on manga.
Mason Hughes
THIS
Jayden Thomas
Image already have creator owned works and yet it still can't overtake DC/Marvel.
Elijah Miller
t. incel
Ethan Jones
They never learn huh
Isaac Rodriguez
The chances of this being a success is low unless they put out thorough and consistent quality, but if they kill Marvel and DC then I'm all for it. Or at least this.
Tokyopop mostly failed because they were scumbags who literally stole intellectual rights from their creators, they actually sold quite well in their heyday.
Carter Clark
That's because they're still tied to the direct market and outdated floppy format.
Viz, on the other hand, is the largest comic publisher in the US and has a huge distribution network. The only thing holding this back is the contracts, but I doubt they'll be as scummy as Tokyopop's.
all i can remember is dozens of chicks filling the local barnes and noble to read each new release for free without buying
Jason Kelly
>my personal experience is universal Thanks for your valuable input.
Brayden Miller
its not like you provided anything to back up your claim
Cooper Richardson
I'd hope there'd be people who learn from good manga storytelling, especially in terms of how to use pacing and art to invoke atmosphere, but I'm guessing there won't be a lot of that. It'll just be a lot of people who watched (never read) shonenshit or a few episodes of Sailor Moon.
Kevin Stewart
It really depends on what they consider qualifiers for the series' they pick up. Withouy an inside eye on their selextion process, only time can tell what kind of quality they'll put out.
>I'm definitely gonna be approaching them with a couple of stories >I only hope I can do Yea Forums proud when one gets picked up
Christian Evans
You'd be surprised by the amount of quality manga-style artists that are out there.
Really, the biggest advantage of this is that good artists who can't cut it on a monthly schedule now have a publisher willing to take a risk on an original GN. This could lead to a new indie boom.
