Tokyopop Shutting Down
I’m not a collector or reader of manga, but even I recognize the name Tokyopop, so when the news started popping up on my Twitterstream I had to click over and find out just what was up. And from what I can piece together from the news at Comics Beat, Robot 6, and Comic Book Resources it’s just the comic-side of things that’s closing down.
The company has published several books over the years (Search Amazon.com for Tokyopop books*), and the fact that there’s some question of what happens to the rights — and that one side of the company is staying in business — makes me think there’s a chance the stronger titles will shift to the media company; after all, if publishing problems and Borders’ failure to pay bills are really key problems then it’s smart to find a way to keep the strong sellers on shelves.
But regardless of what happens next, it’s always a sad day when people lose their jobs and fans lose a favorite publisher.
Related articles
- Borders Issues Has Ripple Effect (graphicpolicy.com)
- Amid Slack Sales, The Comics Industry Once Again Tightens Its Utility Belt (npr.org)
- Tokyopop North America shutting down (janaiblog.com)
