Forum - View topic

NEWS: Comic Shop's DC-Funded Ad: 'Buy American,' Trade Manga for DC Issue

DC Comics DID NOT create this ad. This is an ad from a retailer. It seems that DC is partially funding for the ads, but through a program that assists comic book dealers with advertising costs. I don't think they have any control over the content. Either way, I think slamming DC for this ad is sending venom at the wrong target. If you want to fling mud at anyone or boycott a company, I'd direct that at A Comic Shop in Orlando, FL (their address is right there at the bottom).

I think they aren't going to get many offers because it's a rotten deal, even if you can't get back anything close to cover price for vol. 1 of a manga. I also think the "Buy American" is meant a joke, but it's easy to misconstrue.

I have no animus toward American comics; I actually think that people who are interested in manga would do well to give them more consideration, but the superhero comics that dominate DC's lineup, and have become the flagbearers for American comics generally, seem to be a sort of cul-de-sac. They seem trapped in appealing to a very particular, fixed audience that might be reliable, but grows little and likes things that are inaccessible to outsiders. Ideally the would be developing a more diverse set of titles or finding some way to make its standard titles appealing to a wider audience. I can't imagine it doing the former, I can't see how the latter could be done and I struggle to imagine either succeeding even if tried.

....Aren't the companies that license, translate, and distribute the manga American? You are buying American when you buy manga, I believe. American jobs and all that.

Quote:

....Aren't the companies that license, translate, and distribute the manga American? You are buying American when you buy manga, I believe. American jobs and all that.

Yeah, I bought like 150 CMX manga. I live in the Netherlands and over 70% of the manga I own was translated in the US by American companies. I guess that's not good enough in the eyes of DC. Oh well.

I don't imagine there's much of a market for manga translated into Dutch. Or am I wrong?

Quote:

I don't imagine there's much of a market for manga translated into Dutch. Or am I wrong?

There is, but it's tiny. We do get some nice things though, like Liar Game and Doubt. The Dutch One Piece translation is amazing. Oh, and Tezuka titles are handled really well.

Since there's so little to choose from, most Dutch manga fans also read manga in English, French or German.

It's the same with American comics. Very few titles are translated to Dutch. If you want to read them, you need to buy imported copies. As a result, manga and American comics tend to sit happily together in the English section of comic shops.

That sounds like a very happy medium. Small, but varied. I wonder what the comics scene is like in Belgium?

I have a cousin in Antwerp, and my family's been meaning to visit... of course, they'll probably all think I'm nuts if I insist on spending time going to comic book stores during my first trip to Europe, but it sounds irresistible to me!

Comics are a rather big thing in Belgium and the industry has produced more than a few iconic characters. For a foreigner to be interested in it, that's a big compliment. (Well, I'm Dutch, so I can only be proud by proxy, but since I grew up with these comics, I'll take it as a compliment too )