This ICv2 post – and the thinking behind it – fascinates me. In short, it’s a post that posits the idea that, with Borders gone, there’s a swath of manga fans roaming the metaphorical streets looking for a source to feed their manga needs and wondering if the direct market can end up taking that position if it tries hard enough:
We took a look at the number of manga titles in the top 50 graphic novels in comic stores in January and February over the past ten years, and found an upward trend in 2012 for the first time in seven years. The move, while modest and at this point just a one year trend in an imperfect measure, is a positive sign that may point to an opportunity created by events in 2011.
Unless I’m entirely misremembering, manga has historically underperformed in the direct market in part because of the availability in mainstream outlets. I’m not sure whether willing manga to join the American comic industry as a niche market is necessarily the right thing to do, but having the additional revenue stream definitely seems like a plus for the DM, and a way to more easily cross-pollinate the two comic audiences, so I find myself uncertainly, somewhat awkwardly hoping that the DM can take as much advantage of this situation as possible. Thoughts?
March 20th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
I think it’s a great opportunity. Hopefully some of the retailers that are readily positioned for ads or promotions in their community can jump on it. Getting some emails or flyering going . . . selling manga buyers on the virtue of the pull-list discount that many stores offer . . . scheduling a “manga night” . . .
Granted, not all communities that lost a Borders have a comic shop, but it’s not crazy to look at the situation as a chance to reach out to market that had been served at another venue.
March 20th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
whoever it is that keeps mentioning it is right; enough with the questions as titles for posts. it’s ridiculous already.
March 20th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
seriouslky how many time do you need to use a question for the title of a post? you do this here and on CBR…. enough already!!!!!
March 20th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
One of my local comic stores has had a heavy manga/anime presence for quite some time now, and -judging from how many more awkward teenagers are sat between the racks reading manga each week- has become more of a hub for that community since the three Borders stores in the area closed. As obnoxious as I find the manga crowd that settles on the store of a Saturday afternoon, I prefer seeing the shop go for that crowd as opposed to the sad display of 15 dog-eared manga books my other local store keeps shunted down the back of the store.
So should they take advantage of the manga audience? Maybe?
March 20th, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Just what comic shops need, a bunch of teenagers loitering around and not buying anything.
March 21st, 2012 at 1:16 am
Considering a couple of the posts, I would say no.
It’s obvious the comic crowd has an inherent prejudice against manga and the people who read them that they will more than likely force those manga fans out of the store, thus hurting the retailer who wishes to drum up business in order to stay afloat. Then the regular comic crowd will moan and groan about how the industry is dying, and sound the death knell of the direct market.
March 22nd, 2012 at 3:57 am
I have nothing against Manga. I read it myself. The problem is virtually no comic shops will ever be able to stock a large enough selection to rival a Borders. At best they will be able to stock a few of the big name titles which most manga readers will probably have already read. I’ve seen Borders with the manga isle blocked by people just treating it like their local library. Attracting those types of people probably is going to translate into many sales for comic shops.
March 22nd, 2012 at 3:58 am
Should have read: Attracting those types of people probably isn’t going to translate into many sales for comic shops.