Tokyopop editor Tim Beedle (Beedlejuice) points out what’s been missing from all the conversation about Tokyopop’s new online exclusives: Any mention of the books themselves.
As the editor of Neck and Neck, Tim is just the guy to change that. Here’s what he has to say about this series:
Neck and Neck is written and drawn by Lee Sun-Hee, and tells the story of Dabin, a 15-year-old high school sophomore who also happens to be the daughter of the most powerful mob boss in Korea. Dabin has a crush on Eugene, who’s an older boy that works for her father, and transfers to his high school to be closer to him. The problem is that in addition to Eugene, the transfer also brings her closer to Shihu, the son of her father’s worst enemy. Shihu’s somewhat of a bad boy, and Dabin fosters an immediate dislike for him. However, at the same time, her competitive nature ensures that she just can’t ever seem to tear herself apart from him (she can’t let her enemy get the last word!). I’m sure you can figure out where the story’s going, but trust me, it’s a fun ride getting there…
Well, why didn’t he say so? After reading Tim’s post, I’m actually willing to give Neck and Neck a chance. This is the upside of the editors’ blogs: They let the editors talk about books they like, but that maybe don’t get noticed enough. And I think posts like this will be key to making the online exclusives a success. I’m more likely to send in my ten bucks if I know a little bit about the book I’m buying.
Well, people have been mentioning Dragon Head a lot, at least I know I have. (Pre-order vol. 6 from Amazon today!)
“After all, the online exclusive books have been advertised on this site for the past month. I don’t know why it all of a sudden seems to be the talk of the industry.”
Maybe that’s a sign that Tokyopop’s online advertising isn’t very effective.
“I have to admit that I’m actually rather pleased that Neck and Neck is becoming an online exclusive. As I mentioned above, at least now people are talking about it.”
You don’t suppose Tokyopop planned all this just to get people talking about their lower-selling titles, do you? Nah, they couldn’t be that devious…
Yes, I talked to Matt Nixon about this program over a month ago, but I think the Kiley interview is what got people talking. I know from my days as a reporter on a local newspaper that people see things selectively. I remember people calling to complain we hadn’t run a composite drawing of a suspect when in fact it had been on the front page the week before.
As for devious, nah. If Dallas Middaugh were running the company, though, I’d consider it a possibility.
I didn’t remember that, and I remember reading that interview (especially the part about fixing the broken links). I probably didn’t give it any attention then because I didn’t click through to see which titles were online exclusives (probably figuring they were new series). I only cared when David Welsh pointed out that Dragon Head was going to be one of the “must buy it through Tokyopop.com at full price plus shipping” exclusives — and he’d just gotten me hooked on it again, too!
You’re like the guy in the saying, John: First they came for the shoujo gangster manwha, and I did nothing because I don’t read shoujo gangster manwha…
I just looked back at that post and just before the broken links part, I asked if this program was a step toward web manga and Nixon said “that’s definitely in our future.” Even I had forgotten that, and I wrote it. I do think that’s the logical place to take this program.
I think including Dragon Head in the list struck a nerve that just having online exclusives did because it affected people’s purchasing habits… especially since Dragon Head doesn’t feel like a struggling series for the buzz its been getting. I doubt any DH fans expected anything like this and now they don’t have the option of ignoring Tokyopop’s online exclusives.
Brigid, I totally hear you about selective hearing. When I worked in marketing for a food service franchisee I had some really interesting complaints about our ads.