PW Comics Week has a longish interview (for them) with Jae-Hwan Kim, the artist of Warcraft. Kim drew manwha in Korea but now works directly for Tokyopop, and he notes some interesting contrasts:
PWCW: Did you have to make adjustments to your work regarding depictions of violence? What about acclimating yourself to a different schedule than in Korea?
JHK: Korean editors are very detailed in the beginning. They talk to me before I start working and review my work in the beginning. American editors keep reviewing my work so if they don’t like one part, they’ll ask me to redo it. They’re more involved. If the drawing is too violent, it can be censored. But only the Korean editors do that. I’ve never had my work censored by American editors.
PWCW also has an Otakon wrapup that includes some more information on DMP’s new over-18 yaoi imprint 801:
801 Media titles will be available only at online retailers, independent bookstores and comics shops. “You won’t find [801 Media books] in Borders or Barnes & Noble,” said Rachel Livingston of DMP’s PR department. Livingston explained that while 801 Media is working with distributors, the books will not have a wide level of distribution because of their explicit content. She added that fans will be able to special order the books through Walden or retail chain stores.
I also like the fact that the Kinokuniya booth was only selling Japanese-language books because “Our competitors are selling the books in English already.”
Over at MangaCast, Ed has an interview with CMX licensing manager Asako Suzuki.
