Official Journal of Tokyopop

Long time, no update!

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 01:21:11 GMT

Hey folks! So after more than six months with no updates, we've got a bit of news to send out, and this seemed like a cool way to do it. Spread the word to people on your friends lists, and anyone who might be interested in getting some feedback on their work:

TOKYOPOP Wants You!

Our crack team of editors will be holding portfolio reviews at several major cons this summer, and if you're an aspiring manga-ka, we would love to see what you’re working on. Please check out our website for details regarding what we’re looking for, and what you can do to prepare your work! http://www.tokyopop.com/aboutus/hints.php#pencillers

First up is Anime Boston, from April 29th-May 1st, where we will be holding a panel entitled "Making Manga with TOKYOPOP" at 5 PM on Friday, featuring three of our current hot artists, Svetlana Chmakova, M. Alice LeGrow and Justin Boring, as well as a post-panel portfolio review.

Future events include Anime Expo, Comicon, Otakon, Wizard World Chicago and Anime Weekend Atlanta.

PS. As much as we love seeing fan art, our priority is looking at original material, so come with your newest, most exciting and original ideas, and some sequential pages of art!

Your humble editors.

Five Drawing Days Until Deadline

Wed, 11 Aug 2004 17:07:20 GMT

Greetings! August 16th is coming up fast, which means our office is getting flooded with Rising Stars of Manga entries. But the small mountain we already have is not enough! We want more. We want *you*! If you haven't sent it already, that is.

Good luck and have fun finishing things up!
Ganbatte ne!

Alas, poor Otakon...

Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:30:52 GMT

A great big thank you to everyone who helped to make Comic-Con a big success! We did over 150 portfolio reviews over the course of three days, and were really excited to talk to so many artists and creators who are interested in working with us. To those of you who weren't able to make it to San Diego, we'll keep you posted on upcoming review opportunities, the first of which I believe will be Wizard-Con in Chicago.

Unfortunately, the editorial staff will not be able to make it out to Otakon this year (and I really wanted to see L'Arc en Ciel, too!). We're going to do our best to increase our East Coast presence in 2005 though, so keep your eyes peeled and your ears open.

In other news, this is your official 19 day warning! Rising Stars of Manga version 4.0 will be closing the doors on August 16th. The next competition will be running in the winter, so if you were thinking of doing an entry this time around but got distracted by the lovely summer weather, you've got about six months to keep refining that brilliant idea for RSOM 5.

In other-other news, for those of you who have seen us at various cons and admired those incredibly cool t-shirts we wear, you now have your chance to purchase them online. There's a limited supply, so act fast! :-)

A quick note

Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:51:06 GMT

I was reading the Friends List this morning, and someone commented that it's really hard to find vol. 1 of Clover. Even with all the space being devoted to manga in bookstores now, it can still be difficult to find earlier volumes, or the more unusual series, so I figured this would be a good time to put in a plug for the new TOKYOPOP online store. It can be reached from our main website (www.tokyopop.com), and it's got everything, plus stuff on sale (CLAMP School Detectives, anyone?). Enjoy!

Unfortunately, it does not have Clover 1, which is currently out of print. But everything else...!!

Everybody ready for Comic-Con?

Tue, 20 Jul 2004 22:10:31 GMT

Hello loyal readers! Between dealing with the aftershocks of Anime Expo, and the preliminary rumblings of Comic-Con, things have been fairly busy around the office lately. For those of you in the area, the TOKYOPOP booth will be up and operational at Comic-Con in San Diego this coming weekend, giving out bags, our famous TOKYOPOP Sneak volumes, and of course dispensing fun and games. If you're attending, stop by Booth 3813 and say hi.

We will also be doing more portfolio reviews for any interested parties. This time around, portfolio reviews will be in a separate location, the official Comic-Con Portfolio Review Area, rather than occupying half of the booth (and stealing the table away from Publicity). So, bring your best work, preferably with some finished sequential art (ie. toned and inked, if you can do it), and we'll give you some comments and criticism. We look at work from all backgrounds and age levels (and I've been told by an independent source that we're very nice and friendly!), so don't be shy!

Review times are Friday and Saturday, 3-5 PM, and Sunday, 2-4 PM. We look forward to seeing your work!

Thanks

Fri, 09 Jul 2004 19:34:58 GMT

Thank you to everyone who came out to Anime Expo and stopped by the booth. We had a great turnout for portfolio reviews, and met a bunch cool and talented people. We'll be at Comic-Con at the end of the month doing reviews and hanging out at the booth. Our tentative review schedule is Friday and Saturday 3-5, and Sunday 2-4. I'll post something more official once we get everything locked down.

Anime Expo Correction

Thu, 24 Jun 2004 00:10:44 GMT

We will be doing portfolio reviews at Anime Expo on Saturday, July 3rd, not the 5th as posted earlier here and on our website. Sorry for any confusion.

Thanks.

Rising Stars

Mon, 21 Jun 2004 16:31:33 GMT

ATTENTION ASPIRING MANGA-KA!!

THE FOURTH RISING STARS OF MANGA™ COMPETITION RUNS FROM JUNE 1st THROUGH AUGUST 16TH!

TOKYOPOP Inc. is thrilled to announce the launch of the fourth Rising Stars of Manga™ Competition. Enter and you'll have a chance at winning:

Grand Prize: $2,500.00

2nd Place: $1,500.00

3rd Place: $1,000.00

Seven Runners-Up: $500.00 each

Read the rules and new mechanical guide

It's important for you to read the rules very carefully so you'll qualify. There are also some very helpful tips and a new mechanical guide with specifications on how to create your digital files and what size paper to draw on.

Manga creators living in America and working in English are invited to submit their work. The top ten entries -- as selected by TOKYOPOP's editorial staff -- will not only receive monetary prizes, but may also be published by TOKYOPOP in the fourth Rising Stars of Manga anthology. In addition, the Grand Prize winner will be invited to pitch a full-length manga story idea to TOKYOPOP executives for possible development as a graphic novel series. The competition begins June 1, 2004, and entries will be accepted through August 16, 2004.

Our quest

As the U.S. market leader in localized manga and the sponsor of the first-ever manga competition in the U.S., TOKYOPOP is on a mission to identify and nurture the artists whose work will define American manga in the years ahead. A manga revolution is sweeping the U.S., and a new generation is being inspired by manga. The essence of manga, while derived from Asian culture, is not restrictive and can embrace Western characters, storylines and concepts. As some of you become successful manga creators, you will express your own particular flavor of East-West fusion.

Manga is different from American comic books

Manga differs from Western comics in many profound ways. Genres range widely from horror to romance, comedy to drama, science fiction to military epics to sports stories and more. Manga artists often combine iconic, stylized characters with realistic backgrounds. Panel design and layout is notably different from other comic forms, as is the use of screen tones and patterns. Artists can depict a character in a very stylized way in one panel and in a detailed, realistic way in the next in an effort to exemplify moods and states-of-mind. Manga pages are also designed to be read faster than American comics which need to fit a lot of information in a single, 22-page monthly issue. The pacing can be closer to real time or, in some cases, can even make time seem to stand still by showing many aspects of a single moment.

What is manga?

The Rising Stars judges take a very broad view when deciding what is "manga-like" enough for consideration. Every artist whose work makes it into the final rounds uses one or more elements of manga style in their work, but TOKYOPOP is not looking for manga stereotypes. As company founder Stu Levy says, "Contrary to popular belief, there is no pre-determined 'manga look.' Manga is a broad Japanese term, literally meaning 'entertaining visual.' The first Rising Stars of Manga winners did not rise to the top by redrawing American superheroes with big eyes and round faces -- this is not what manga means to us. The key to becoming a Rising Star of Manga is passion -- the passion to tell a great story; the passion to bring vision to the written page; the passion to create unforgettable characters; the passion to move a reader."

Start drawing now!

In short, your only limits are your own imagination and creativity. So step up, sign up, and put your manga where your mouth is!

Now, on to the details...

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 20:17:14 GMT

ANIME EXPO PRESS RELEASE:

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

TOKYOPOP AT ANIME EXPO - PORTFOLIO REVIEW ON 7/5/04

Are you an aspiring manga-ka? Will you be attending one of the largest anime events in the country? Stop by the TOKYOPOP booth and show us your talent! We'll be reviewing portfolios on Saturday, July 5 at ANIME EXPO 2004 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

But before you prepare your portfolio, read these important tips:

We want to see sequential art

If you show us a sketchbook or a bunch of pin-up illustrations, we can't tell how well you can visually represent a story. That doesn't help us (or you) in our search for manga artists.

Don't show us anything you'll make an excuse for

"Well, I know my anatomy a lot better, but I was in a hurry to get these pages done for the review" or "The perspective's off because my T-square is broken" won't cut it. You're there to get constructive criticism so you can become a better artist, not defend your weaknesses.

Don't feel bad if we don't look at EVERY page

Put those puppy-eyes back where they came from. Editors can tell whether or not you understand anatomy, perspective and visual storytelling as soon as they see the first page or two. So if you bring a huge, thick portfolio and the editor only looks at a couple of pages, don't feel bad. Besides, sometimes the portfolio line is very long and there's just not enough time to scrutinize every page.

Show us your most recent work

We can't tell you how many times people have shown us old art. We want to see your most recent, freshest work-not something you did over a year ago. As far as we're concerned, you were a different artist back then. You've probably improved a great deal.

Bring something to write notes on

For some of you, this may be the only time you get a chance to get feedback until your next convention trip. Take this opportunity to learn what skills you need to improve.

Leave us with copies of your samples

If you don't leave us with copies of your art and we like your stuff, we won't remember what it looked like. If we don't remember what it looked like, we won't call to see if you want to work on a project. Want to work on a project? Leave us with copies.

Here's our TOKYOPOP Portfolio Review Form. Fill out your information and hand this to us when you come to the review. Note: The bottom half is for the editor to fill out. We keep these so we can have your information on file.

If you can't make Anime Expo, we'll be reviewing portfolios at the San Diego Comic-Con and also at Wizard World Chicago this summer!

Welcome!

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 17:30:38 GMT

Hello! Welcome to Tokyopop's official Live Journal dedicated to Original Manga. This is a work in progress, so please bear with us as we get this thing going. What follows is taken from our web site www.tokyopop.com. We will be keeping this journal updated with information on submission policies, convention appearances, scheduled portfolio reviews and our Rising Stars of Manga competitions.

Thanks,

Original Manga Editorial Group

***
TOKYOPOP WANTS YOU!!!

TOKYOPOP is currently seeking submissions from talented manga-ka. If you think you've got work that combines creative storytelling, compelling characters, innovative graphic design and an understanding of manga, then ... WE WANT TO SEE IT!

If we think you've got what it takes, we'll offer you the chance to publish a series of graphic novels.

You can send us your work by mail following the guidelines on this web site. See Submission Guidelines for details. In addition, you must also include a completed Submission Release Agreement or we will not consider your work.

We will also be reviewing portfolios at conventions and other venues in cities across the U.S. this year.

We encourage submissions from manga-ka around the world. This unrestricted call for work is different from our Rising Stars of Manga™ competition, which is open to U.S. residents only.

Now, check out our featured manga-ka ...

</td></tr>