Bryan Lee O'Malley: Dealing with Tokyo Pop

Mankoon

I have a few friends who've won the Rising Stars of Manga deal. One of them, really doesn't like Tokyo Pop anymore and passed me this link.
Bryan Lee O'Malley dissects a Tokyo Pop's Manga Pilot program contract:
http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/180842.html
It's pretty terrible, so let it be known.

Apreche

It's pretty terrible, yes, but that doesn't mean you should avoid this at all costs. It is very similar to Zuda.com in that way. If you are really good at making comics, and you want to bust into the industry, by all means submit something to the contest. If you win, do it. The key is to not give them your favorite idea. Give them some other idea that you don't hold so close to your heart. If it wins, you get some moneys, and you can put that on your resume. Then start creating your real comic idea and find a real publisher. They only own the stuff you let them own, so use it as a platform to demonstrate your talent, but not as a way to publish that book you've been thinking of for years.

gomidog

Wow. I was thinking of doing this (I hadn't read much about it, it was just an idea percolating in my head) but yeah, I changed my mind. I agree with Scott, though, for those of you that have free time and lots of ideas, pick one of your second stringers, one that you don't mind sending off into the wild blue yonder, not one close and dear to your heart. Use Tokyopop as a way to get your name out there, because, although they have pretty crummy policies regarding their comic artists, they have a very wide distribution to mainstream book stores. I think I'm going to shop around more, though. If you are trying to make a living off of comic books, I think you can do better.

Funfetus

I submit that however second-string and not-so-close-to-your-heart an idea may be, by the time you've done 36 pages of it, it's gonna be a lot more dear.

gomidog

True dat. However, say you are a college kid, and you do the comic as a lark over summer vacation. You're going to be drawing comics anyway, and this is just a single issue. All depends on how much other stuff you have to do and how fast you work, I guess. I usually want to do my favorite ideas because I don't have time for anything else and there is no way in hell I would whore them out like Tokyopop forces you to.

Kiey

I was looking at this thing about a week ago as maybe a good way for me to do some comic writing, but that contract is ridiculous! I think I'd rather find an artist and do one of my top ideas, then to use a second tier idea for them.

Kiey

I was looking at this thing about a week ago as maybe a good way for me to do some comic writing, but that contract is ridiculous! I think I'd rather find an artist and do one of my top ideas, then to use a second tier idea for them.

Kiey

I was looking at this thing about a week ago as maybe a good way for me to do some comic writing, but that contract is ridiculous! I think I'd rather find an artist and do one of my top ideas, then to use a second tier idea for them.

Kiey

I was looking at this thing about a week ago as maybe a good way for me to do some comic writing, but that contract is ridiculous! I think I'd rather find an artist and do one of my top ideas, then to use a second tier idea for them.

Kiey

I was looking at this thing about a week ago as maybe a good way for me to do some comic writing, but that contract is ridiculous! I think I'd rather find an artist and do one of my top ideas, then to use a second tier idea for them.

Sparkybuzzed

There's a similar trend in RPG writing. Contests that pay very little for what amounts to a full module. For a lower-tier writer like me, it's really frustrating. The contracts offered through these deals are a way for people starting out to get into the business, but are no good for those of us who are somewhat established. Of course, I'm not established enough to get the good deals, so there's a limbo that quite a few of us are falling into.