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January 07, 2006
Q&A With Warren Ellis
Warren's having an open session for questions and answers, and here were mine:
1. Do you think that with time, manga readers may become more interested in similarly-themed books but not drawn in the "Big Eye" style? As those readers get older, and the novelty of the foreign aspect wears off, I wonder whether they'll just move on to trying different types.
That's going to be the big question four years from now -- will the first mainstream American manga generation give up manga as it discovers booze, crack and bisexual encounters in nightclub toilets? Will it find or demand more adult work? Will it embrace other comics idioms?
I think that all these things will be true -- as in anything, the audience will fracture as it enters early adulthood. It can't be considered a whole thing.
2. Why such the push for "getting new readers", when maybe it should be "getting back the readers we lost"? That age group that largely stopped reading the books in the late 80's, early 90's are all now working professionals with disposable income. Is there a 'target rich environment' that's maybe getting ignored?
That's a thorny one that begs a few follow-ups. Like, how many of those unit sales were readers and how many were speculative orders? And how do you reach readers from 1990 when there are something like 7000 fewer outlets now? Further, is it possible that we do reach those readers -- but through bookstores, with TPBs, rather than comics stores with singles?
3. How big of a part is the online factor going to play in getting us past the distribution woes we currently face?
I vacillate on this almost daily. I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the big questions of this year.
Right now -- and I'll disagree with myself this time next week, I'm sure -- I think the best thing a lot of indie creators can do is assume that the direct market isn't going to carry their work, and look for a way to take thier stuff to the readers. Now, I'll be the first to admit that that's doing a disservice to the 300-ish progressive comics stores. But those 300 do not have a bottomless budget, and deserving people are going to be kicked to the wayside when those stores consult their runes and decide what they're going to roll the dice on each month. It's time -- way past time -- to start looking at new ways to do things.
4. What's your best advice for people just getting their feet in the industry?
Kill yourselves.
Seriously? Take in as much information as you can about the state of the medium today -- and then make your own decisions. The last thing we need is another creator coming in wanting to be another version of someone already working. Be yourself. Know your own mind. Ensure your opinions are informed, yes -- but think for yourself based on all the available data.
Posted by Schamberger at January 7, 2006 04:48 PM