Summary
The comics industry is notoriously difficult to get into. Everyone wants to work on a comic book, and there is no shortage of talent to pick from. Once the foot is in the door, you, as a creator, aresubject to long working hours, lots of fights with editors, and working on projects that aren’t your own. If you have an original idea, good luck getting it out into the world without signing your rights away. While what was just described may apply to the American comic book industry, when a manga publishing company wanted to create a line of American-made manga, a contest was created to seek out talent to create the business. The talent, in the end, found themselves out of a job and their creations stolen from them. What happened?
Who is Tokyopop?
Tokyopop is a prominent American publisher that played a significant role in popularizing manga in the West (particularly in the United States). Founded in 1997 by Stu Levy, Tokyopop was one of the first companies to bring Japanese manga to a mainstream English-speaking audience on a large scale. The company was a pioneer in the localization and translation of Japanese manga, introducing “unflipped” manga to Western readers, meaning the manga was published in its original right-to-left reading format. This approach preserved the authentic experience for readers and was a key factor in its success.
Tokyopop offered a diverse catalog that included various genres, such as shonen (targeted at young males), shojo (targeted at young females), seinen (targeted at adult males), and josei (targeted at adult females). This wide range of offerings helped broaden the appeal of manga beyond niche audiences. Beyond manga, Tokyopop expanded into other areas, including anime (withvery mixed results), merchandise, and live-action adaptations. One of their biggest projects, though, was an idea that would fit in with their core manga product.
Their Next Big Thing
Tokyopop decided that they wanted to invest heavily in their own original English-language manga (hereby to be referred to as OEL manga). This would be manga that was created by American audiences, telling American stories, but with the visual style that had madeJapanese comics stand outfrom their American brothers and sisters. The problem was, this would not be an inexpensive endeavor. You have to find talent, write stories, and establish viable IP’s to make such a gamble profitable. After doing some brainstorming, Tokyopop realized that to successfully launch this new line of product, they would engage in a tradition that was almost as old as media itself: a national contest.
What Was the Rising Stars of Manga Contest?
In 2002, Tokyopop launched theirRising Stars of Mangacontest. The purpose of which was to discover and nurture new talent in the English manga industry. The contest was specifically designed for amateur creators, offering them a platform to showcase their original stories across various genres, from action and adventure to romance and fantasy. Winners had the opportunity to see their work published in a special anthology, which provided significant exposure and a potential gateway to a professional career. If the title was especially popular, Tokyopop might even turn it into a series.
The contest featured different categories, such as Best Story, Best Artwork, and Readers’ Choice, with cash prizes and other rewards for the winners. The contest was so successful it ran for several years, and helped launch the careers of several successful artists and writers, including Felipe Smith andAmy Reeder, who went on to have significant roles in the comics and graphic novel industry. That said, there were some shortcomings to the whole affair, both during and after the contests were over.
Some of the Shortcomings of the Contest
While Rising Stars of Manga was influential in promoting EOL manga, it was not without its controversies. One of the major controversies revolved around the contracts offered to winners. Many participants and industry observers criticized the terms as being unfavorable to creators, with contracts giving Tokyopop extensive rights over the submitted works, including the potential for long-term control without substantial compensation for the creators. This led to concerns about the exploitation of amateur artists who were eager to break into the industry but might not have fully understood the implications of the contract terms.
Another point of contention was the level of editorial control Tokyopop exerted over the winning entries. Some creators reported that their stories were significantly altered or that they were pressured to make changes that compromised their artistic vision. There were also criticisms regarding therepresentation of certain themesand types of stories that were selected for the winners. Some creators and fans felt that certain genres, particularly those with darker or more mature themes, were underrepresented among the winners. All of these concerns were of little concern compared to what would happen to the creators' creations after submitting them to Tokyopop for the contest.
What Happened to Creators' Work AFTER the Contest?!
While it may have been exciting to enter a contest where your work could be published, if you actually were one of the winners you found out that you had essentially signed away your life’s creation. Your passion project was no longer in control of you, but of Tokyopop. Therefore, concerns about the level of support provided to winners after the contest became a real discussion. As Veteran comic creator Lea Hernandez pointed out, aspiring artists and creators who signed Tokpop’s pack meant that they would:
Agree to give up any ‘moral rights’ they might have.
Scott Pilgramcreator Bryan Lee O’Mally also pointed out that artists wouldn’t actually know what was being offered in form of compensation until Tokyopop offered them a contract, writing specifically on his blog:
I’m going to go through this piece of shit with you, because I’m sure a lot of aspiring cartoonists read my blog and I want to do my part to help you all have a future.Read my bloggy lips: if you sign this contract, say goodbye to THE FUTURE.
I’m not going to speculate about where they’re being untruthful. I’m just going to let them say what they’re saying. It’s bad enough.
Later on, some creators reported feeling abandoned after their initial success, with little guidance or opportunities for further development from Tokyopop. Most winners never received any followup project with the company after their series was selected to be published in book form, and even fewer creators could claim to have received an ongoing book deal. What’s worse, the nature of the contest had artists sign a “work-for-hire” contract, meaning that even though they created the world, they were essentially giving it to Tokyopop to own.
This created a huge problem when Tokyopop went out of business. While Tokyopop has been reborn, they wentthrough a bankruptcy of sortsdue to a myriad of factors. The bottom line is most of the company was shuttered. Years later, the company was reborn thanks to Stu Levy coming in and reviving the company he founded almost 20 years ago. This led many creators to wonder what happened to their creations. Turns out, Stu Levy still owns all the work submitted to Tokyopop. While he has openly stated that he will give the creators their works back if they ask, by all accounts, this wasn’t true. Many creators attempted to reach out to Stu and found getting a hold of the man to be difficult. Those that have reached him have often been told they will have to repurchase their own creations and (despite most of them not being worth much) he’s asking for a pretty penny.
This is just the latest example of the fight between creators and companies. Creatorscreate the product while companies profit from it. The reality is that this is such a difficult business to break into that the idea of giving up your rights to your creation sounds like a necessary evil in order to get your name out there. While it did work for some people who entered the contest, many of those people now regret the rights they had to give up to get more stable work. For others, those creations are all they have from their career, and they would like to have them back. Legally, Tokyopop is notrequiredto give those rights back, however it still seems a bit rotten that they choose to keep them when there is no perceived value. While Rising Stars of Manga may have been a success, it tended to favor the company more than the creators, and there is still a discussion to be had about creators signing away their life work for “a shot” at making it in this business.
