Toon Zone Talkback - Dan Vado: Disney Licensed Comics "Not Been What One Might Call a Success for Us"

[Gokou Ruri]

This is the talkback thread for Dan Vado: Disney Licensed Comics "Not Been What One Might Call a Success for Us" (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=15184).

Hasta la vista, Gargoyles comic. :sad:

[GregX]

No need to panic, I asked Vado about this in his blog, and he said this:


Gargoyles does have potential and my feeling is that we are going to renew our license if even just to keep our current titles in print. Gargoyles could be okay if we switched it to black and white, but I would need to get Disney's approval on that since our license and contract specifically calls for a color comic.
He's going to renew the license. It currently expires in August, 2008... we're going to have this comic for a good while, at least.

I told Toonzone to check out the replies in Vado's blog this morning, and they have yet to put the new info in the article. And I know they've been checking stuff because they have posted more news since then.

But, nope, why present all the facts when you can have a nice doom and gloom article. The "no statement" line is a complete lie.

[William C. Maune]

I told Toonzone to check out the replies in Vado's blog this morning, and they have yet to put the new info in the article. And I know they've been checking stuff because they have posted more news since then.

But, nope, why present all the facts when you can have a nice doom and gloom article. The "no statement" line is a complete lie.

The article has now been updated the reflect Dan Vado's further comments. As for "a nice doom and gloom article," we generally don't enjoy those sorts of things and nor do I believe we publish a disproportionate amount of doom and gloom articles by any means. As for the "no statement," yes, we missed that. However, there was no intention to lie. In Vado's initial comments there was indeed to statement, it wasn't until he started responding to the comments in his blog that he made a statement.

I'm sorry we missed your message to us. However, just because we've published additional news doesn't mean we've seen your message. We get News from many sources, not just messages sent to us. Additionally, for us today was focused on covering Cartoon Network's yearly Upfront presentation. Thus, updates to other stories for better or worse were put on the backburner until later (and now we are working on catching up on those).

If you see something on Toon Zone News that needs to be changed, updated, etc. you are much better off trying to first directly get in touch with someone on staff at Toon Zone News (via PM, etc.) rather than making posts like this on the Forums.

[Duke]

If they're going to go black & white to try and decrease costs, maybe it'd be better if they hook up with Viz or Tokyopop or Del Rey or one of the various manga companies and release the comic via graphic novel to try and get some extra cash in the manga market.

[Gokou Ruri]

If they're going to go black & white to try and decrease costs, maybe it'd be better if they hook up with Viz or Tokyopop or Del Rey or one of the various manga companies and release the comic via graphic novel to try and get some extra cash in the manga market. Manga Gargoyles? No thanks...

[wonderfly]

As much buzz as the Gargoyles comic has created, (both good and bad) I almost think SLG would be better off to drop the title and let a more stable comic book company pick up the license and do it right...and I really don't think I'd like a "Black and White" Gargoyles comic.

[GregX]

First off, I would like to publically apologise for my previous post. This whole thing caused drama elseware the other day, mainly because people chose to ignore Vado's follow-up replies. I should not have taken my frustrations about that out on the ToonZone staff.

Once again, I'm sorry, and it won't happen again.

[Duke]

Manga Gargoyles? No thanks...
Not manga specifically, as it would still keep its own art style, but released by a manga company in graphic novel format similar to manga (though obviously it would be the standard left-to-right placement instead of right-to-left). Many anime fans used to watch Gargoyles back in the day, and many of the casual fans probably remember the series fondly. If the artists partnered up with Tokyopop or Viz or one of the other manga companies, then it can help ride off manga's current sales rise, not to mention being in a better format with less advertisements. Yea, the comic would have to sacrafice color, but it'd probably still sell better than it would if it keeps its current format. Probably not the insane levels of Naruto, but still highly profitable.

I mean, hell, if Courtney Love can find success in the manga market, then Gargoyles should be able to as well. It's worth a try.

[Gokou Ruri]

Not manga specifically, as it would still keep its own art style, but released by a manga company in graphic novel format similar to manga (though obviously it would be the standard left-to-right placement instead of right-to-left). Many anime fans used to watch Gargoyles back in the day, and many of the casual fans probably remember the series fondly. If the artists partnered up with Tokyopop or Viz or one of the other manga companies, then it can help ride off manga's current sales rise, not to mention being in a better format with less advertisements. Yea, the comic would have to sacrafice color, but it'd probably still sell better than it would if it keeps its current format. Probably not the insane levels of Naruto, but still highly profitable.

I mean, hell, if Courtney Love can find success in the manga market, then Gargoyles should be able to as well. It's worth a try. I'm just not understanding how Gargoyles can ride on the "manga market express" if it's not a manga. It being in black and white and suddenly published by Tokyopop isn't going to change anything. I doubt many manga fans would bother with an American comic to begin with, regardless who publishes it, so I can't see it succeeding in getting manga fans to buy it (and possibly alienating comic fans).

[Duke]

I doubt many manga fans would bother with an American comic to begin with, regardless who publishes it, so I can't see it succeeding in getting manga fans to buy it (and possibly alienating comic fans).
Princess Ai was one of Tokyopop's best sellers and that was created by Courtney Love. Not to mention that the Original English Language manga has been picking up steam over the past year.

[Conekiller]

I'm just not understanding how Gargoyles can ride on the "manga market express" if it's not a manga. It being in black and white and suddenly published by Tokyopop isn't going to change anything. I doubt many manga fans would bother with an American comic to begin with, regardless who publishes it, so I can't see it succeeding in getting manga fans to buy it (and possibly alienating comic fans).
I don't think it's so much "marketing to manga fans" but more "getting the book in more stores so more people can be aware of it.

I have to HUNT Gargoyles comics down, I would be eternally thankfull if I could just walk into a Borders and pick it up off the shelf. This is what Duke is suggesting. If sacrificing color for wider distribution and the possiblity of higher sales, I say go with it!

[Ed Liu]

If sacrificing color for wider distribution and the possiblity of higher sales, I say go with it!

For what it's worth, the dark, semi-noir mood of Gargoyles seems like it would also translate pretty well into a black-and-white comic. There is conventional wisdom that says that part of the success of manga is the digest sized volumes, but I suspect that's incidental to their success, not instrumental. If there is a real, quantifiable benefit to the digest size, I would think that it makes it easier for bookstores to stock more product at once, making it more likely that they'll have the volumes you want when you happen to want it.

-- Ed