I had a surprise meeting with Editors at Comic GUM last night. One of the first people I met after arriving (O-san) generously set it up for me and I was worried about what I'd talk about and what I'd show but it ended up being super informal and just a bunch of dudes talking. A large part of the discussion was devoted to how awesome the Ghost Rider movie was. Cage's head on fire. How could it not be awesome. The editor even took us out to dinner next door and the discussion continued there. We did talk a bit about what I should do and to not hesitate to e-mail them or call them for advice whenever I felt I needed it. I was really surprised that there was no pressure to work them at all and that giving advice to any creative hopeful was just part of their job. In an industry where I thought ideas and properties were closely guarded, it's pretty cool to see them so non-chalant about all this stuff.

The discussion turned to the overseas market and transplanting foreign talent. I asked whether the success of titles in the States and Europe are making them cater to different audiences. The answer was, quite frankly, no. Japan is such a big local market, they are the first readers they aim to please. In the end, foreign volumes don't actually make them much money anyway after rights and costs, etc. so it's considered a small bonus on top of regular J-sales. The discussion turned to having foreign talent work in Japan and what the attitude towards that was. In fact, there are already a number of Korean and Taiwanese artists having success with it it seems and even at Comic GUM, there was a Korean artist who had already published a series through them. So, it's not like they are blocking non-J people out of the market. The logistics involved with quite possibly having to move here and speaking Japanese is the big hurdle that most creators face which make them give up on their own. While most editors and projects are worked out over the phone backhome, a face-to-face meeting is still considered a must here in the beginning, hence, living somewhere close to Tokyo is prefered but not necessarily mandatory.

If you've ever been curious about what a publishing office looks like:

I gotta go pay my rent now. More later.

TAK