tcj.com/journalista/?p=168 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 8/31/2006
Last Visited: 4/8/2007
Not necessarily, says longtime manga translator Bill Flanagan:
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I think Flanagan makes, if not a solid case, then at least an arguable one.I've heard Western comics-industry types claim that manga publishers have an "unfair" advantage over their domestic-comics counterparts because they don't have much in the way of overhead costs like, you know, actually paying writers and artists.As Flanagan makes clear in another part of the linked essay, however, this simply isn't true: Aside from the up-front licensing costs, there's also the costs of translation and production - and since the overwhelming majority of manga volumes sell in bookstores rather than the non-returnable Direct Market, unsold books can cost the publisher, rather than the retailer.