ICv2 does the June and second-quarter numbers, and it’s all about the floppies—pamphlet sales were up, graphic novel sales were down. Manga do not loom large in the top 100 GN list, although Megatokyo cracks the top ten at number 6. Naruto checks in at #15 and Kingdom Hearts at #21. Manga may be the fastest-growing sector of the comics industry, but it’s humbling to note that 18 “traditional comics” sold over 100,000 copies in June, while Megatokyo sold 4,385 and that phenomenon, Naruto, sold 3,222. Of course, that’s just direct market sales—Megatokyo and Naruto probably do better in bookstores—but not to the tune of 100,000 copies. David Taylor has more analysis at Love Manga.
Bento Physics greets us this morning with thought-provoking links and commentary. I particularly liked the excerpt from a piece, which I would never have found on my own, that compares Japanese appropriation of Western music to Japanese appropriation of western baked goods. Also, Queenie Chan talks about shoujo and Warren Ellis explains why size matters, at least for comics.
At MangaCast, Ed is enthusiastic about Fools Gold.
It’s not manga, but a credible second cousin: Purity Brown deconstructs a Bunty annual. Lots of nostalgia for me (I think I have that one somewhere) and plenty of laughs for everyone. The cover alone is worth the click.
I’m always curious about the comparison in numbers between the Direct Market and bookstores, too. I wonder if the fact that floppies have a short shelf life and rarely get reprinted in their original format (single issues) has something to do with the burst of sales upon release. Since manga titles have a much longer shelf life, maybe they still do comparable cumulative sales in the long run.