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Comic Gear Mag Stops Publication in January
posted on by Egan Loo
The official website of Houbunsha's Comic Gear magazine has announced on Tuesday that it will end publication in the third issue, which would have shipped in January.
Doujin Work manga and anime creator Hiroyuki launched the magazine on August 11 to try a completely different approach to producing manga magazines. In typical manga magazines, an editor and a manga creator develop a manga title over a long series of one-to-one meetings. As a result, even manga creators in the same magazines are isolated and basically have no contact with each other. Comic Gear had all the manga creators working together in the same studio everyday. Hiroyuki hoped that this environment will foster new talent by having creators mentor each other and trade tips.
Hiroyuki and his production team said that they discussed the second volume's sales results with Houbunsha and explored ways to continue the magazine before deciding to cancel it. One of the manga titles, Tomokichi's Good Game, will be revamped and published in another Houbunsha magazine next spring or in early summer. The production team advises readers to check the home pages of the magazine's other artists to learn the fates of the other manga titles. According to a Tuesday blog entry by Hiroyuki, there were plans to continue his own Super Ore-sama Love Story manga in another Houbunsha magazine. However, Hiroyuki asked Houbunsha to delay the manga's return for a little while for personal reasons.
Hiroyuki's Doujin Work manga centered on a group of fanzine-producing artists, while his Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to (The Comic Artist and His Assistants) manga deals with the relationship between a professional manga creator and his assistant. Media Blasters is releasing the Doujin Work manga and its anime adaptation in North America.
Source: Moon Phase Comments
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