Johanna at Comics Worth Reading gave me a heads-up that she has posted more info from the ICv2 Retailers Guide on how they selected the Top Ten Most Powerful People in Manga. Johanna has some good commentary on their selection methods, and she also reproduces their list of the people who almost made the Top Ten:
Robin Brenner, Young Adult Library Services Association
Jim Chadwick, Editor in Chief, CMX
Liza Coppola, Senior VP of Marketing, Viz Media
Jason DeAngelis, Founder, Seven Seas Entertainment
Rika Inouye, Senior Director of Licensing, Viz Media
John Ledford, CEO, ADV Films (with the blurb “Although ADV’s launch of its manga line involved thrusting too many titles into a crowded market, the company still controls a number of great licenses and remains a player.” Which reads to me as wishful thinking)
Kuo-Yu Liang, VP Sales & Marketing, Diamond Book Distributors
Michael Martens, VP Special Markets, Dark Horse
Charles Solomon, Journalist (”the leading commentator on manga (and anime) in the mainstream media”)
David Wise, Editor in Chief, Go Comi
To which I say: Robin Brenner! Yay! Also, I like seeing Jason DeAngelis, David Wise and Jim Chadwick there, as I think they are really influencing the market by bringing over different types of manga. I would like to have seen Asako Suzuki of CMX there as well. And since this is supposed to be a manga list, I’d throw the ADV guy off.
I have to admit “Charles Solomon, journalist” didn’t ring a bell, so I googled him. He’s the film critic for the New York Times, who mostly writes about anime. And I realized that I have read a couple of his articles, I just didn’t recall the name. But ICv2 is looking for “key figures who had influence not just on their own organizations, but also on the market as a whole.” Solomon probably is ”the leading commentator on manga (and anime) in the mainstream media,” as ICv2 says, but who gets their manga recommendations from the New York Times?
I know bloggers tend to overestimate their own importance, but it seems to me that manga is one field where the online community really is key. With that in mind, here are my nominations, in no particular order, for the most important people in the mangablogosphere:
Dirk Deppey, who edited the Shoujo Manga issue of The Comics Journal, which people are still talking about a year later, and who includes breaking manga news and reviews in his blog Journalista, thus putting it in front of a larger audience of comics readers.
Christopher Butcher, the voice of the retailer, who led the recent revolt against the Tokyopop exclusives.
Ed Chavez, whose podcasts at MangaCast bring reviews and con panels to the world through their iPods.
David Taylor, who crunches the numbers like nobody’s business and whose comments section at Love Manga is like a virtual water cooler for creators, editors, and readers.
The people who run LiveJournal, where all the kids and some of the grownups flock to discuss their favorite titles in their own communities.
Chris Beveridge, whose Anime on DVD site, despite its name, provides a congenial home for manga fans with great full-length reviews, obsessively updated release lists, and a truly awesome forum.
Whoever it is that runs Manganews, which puts fans in touch with scanlations and also provides the morning news for the community.
Shawn of ComiPress, another must-click for anyone who follows the business.
David Welsh, whose Precocious Curmudgeon blog and Flipped column relentlessly pimp the most worthwhile titles, like Death Note, Japan and Sgt. Frog.
The editors of ICv2, who certainly set the agenda for all this week’s discussions!
I’ve probably forgotten someone really important, so feel free to chime in with your own suggestions.
A lot of talk this past week has been about the “Top Ten” but the only good I can cull from such inside industry speak is that people know who they are and are that much more accountable to customers now. There’s no hiding in the backrooms of their corporate empires anymore.
Thanks for including me!
As far as additions, well, you, obviously, along with Simon Jones, who always offers insightful commentary, and ChunHyang, who not only delivers great content but does the thankless work of finding the best the blogs at Tokyopop have to offer.
Yes, I realized after I did it that ChunHyang should have been on the list. I expect she will top next year’s, as her blog is going strong and now she’s writing reviews for PopCultureShock.
As for myself, my husband suggested the following disclaimer: “I won’t include myself, out of modesty, but I hope this post will bring so much traffic that my servers melt.”
Thanks for mentionnig me :)
If it was me, I would include three more people in there:
1. Brigid!
2. Pata @ Irresponsible Pictures -IR was one of THE manga news blog to visit a few years go.
3. Littleharlock @ Littleharlock’s Newslog (which unfortunetly is no longer around) – Not sure how many people knew about it, but for me it was one of those morning newspaper blogs that had tons of info on Japanese news, especially on magazine serialization info, which was what inspired Manganews’ serialization news feature.
Kai-Ming Cha, the reporter for PW Comics Week! She utterly rocks, and we’ll have her Yaoi Con report this week.
Good catch, Heidi! No disrespect to this Charles Solomon guy, but I’d put Kai-Ming on the list ahead of him because everyone in the biz reads her articles.
Definitely agreed on Ms. Cha. I’ve particularly enjoyed her pieces on smaller publishers.
Thanks for the mention, but I’m pretty bush-league compared to most of the folks on this list. But you’ve given me something to work for!
I’d like to second Eclipse’s nominations. MangaBlog has been an indispensible part of my manga education; it pointed me to so many other wonderful sites, and taught me what a good manga review looks like. Not to mention all the great one liners… I’d also like to add my name to the list of people saying “Huh?” to Charles Solomon’s inclusion on the list. Compared to The NY Times’ other film, television, and music critics, he’s not the most prolific or distinctive voice in the Arts section. When I think of comics and the NY Times, I still think of Elvis Mitchell’s film reviews.