If you follow the news often enough, then you may have heard of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. They’re a group based out of Topeka Kansas who are known for picket-protesting at the funerals of fallen soldiers and carrying around signs like, “God hates gays”(paraphrase) and “Thank God for dead soldiers” and those are some of the tamer phrases they let kids carry around on signs. Their protests have taken places at not just funerals, but Lady Gaga concerts (you know about this one St. Louis) Kansas City Chiefs football games, high school and college campuses, theaters, and just about anywhere they think they can draw the most attention. Recently they made the news for planning to picket the center of all that is truely evil and unholy; the San Diego Comic-Con. Wait…what?

That’s right, the WBC has found the reading of comics to be akin to old testament idolatry and are bringing their message to Comic-con this year. Their contempt for comic-books isn’t anything new to your average comic reader since we’ve been putting up with some of these misconceptions about the medium for the longest time anyway. If only I had a dime for every time I’ve heard someone dismiss comics as strictly, “kids stuff” or watch as the uninitiated wrinkle their nose in disgust at even the idea of comic books, or the number of times that I’ve had to explain that a graphic novel isn’t called a graphic novel because it’s full of violence and smut (although there certainly is that fringe element) but because the word graphic relates to visual arts as in graphic arts. The idea that something like comics garnering the attention of people who would protest at a funeral of all places already gets my dander up, but when you start throwing stones at a community I’m very much involved with, well I find it very difficult to turn the other cheek, so to speak. As stated on their website (which has a word in it that I just can’t bring myself to repeat) the WBC’s stance on comic books:

“Are you kidding?! If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent – so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.”

That is to say that there are people out there that actually worship the characters in comics. I mean, sure, Superman is a metaphor for Moses, but this quote is an overstatement about a culture these folks clearly know nothing about. I can’t wait to see the inevitable photos from this years Comic-Con of cos-playing convention goers along with the sign-wielding WBC folks. Of course, they may not show up due to bad weather like they did here in St. Louis when Lady Gaga came to town. (Aww, too cold outside for your little get-togther?)

Normally I’d say that reacting to this special brand of bigotry and ignorance only empowers and emboldens this kind of bad behavior and satisfies their need for attention, but this situation just strikes me as funny. I mean Comic-Con? Really? COMIC-CON? That’s just grasping for straws for things to feign outrage towards.

Save me Superman! Save Me!

-Jim

About a week and a half ago it was announced that manga juggernaut Viz Media laid off 40% of their staff. I found this especially shocking because during my trip to the Diamond retail summit last April, Viz was there in high spirits promoting their newly licensed anime “Vampire Knight” and the surreal manga Biomega, which they were even giving out free copies of the first volume. Of all the publishers participating at the summit Viz was the only manga company presenting (Dark Horse might be the slight exception). Also, for one of the relatively small publishers, they still had two representatives there discussing their new product line. They both were very friendly and even personally chatted with me about the hard-to-find Ikigami film. There was not even a whisper of a rumor that 40% of their staff was soon to be laid off. Viz had historically weathered the storm with hugely popular manga titles like Naruto and Bleach. So why is this happening?

According to the Viz Media press release:

“VIZ Media is in the process of refining its focus and is restructuring to adjust to changing industry and financial market realities.

As part of the restructuring the company had to refine its workforce by eliminating certain positions and making cuts in other areas.

We are of course saddened by these departures, and sincerely appreciate the hard work, passion and dedication of those that have moved on, but we feel confident that with these changes VIZ Media will be more streamlined and able to withstand the climate of the economy at this time.

This restructuring was not insignificant; however, this was primarily an internal reprioritization to build toward our future. We wish to apologize to our wonderful fans if this news has caused you concern. Be assured VIZ Media remains committed in its obligations to you. We have no plans at this time for drastic measures such as product cancellations or business line closures. Your favorite series are not going away.”

This still doesn’t dispel the the suspicion that many comic readers have now that the manga-boom is now the manga-bust. With increasingly endless series (Naruto and Bleach are both perfect examples) many readers are turning to free manga sites. This is one of the biggest threat to the manga industry because volumes are released in Japan before they are translated for english releases. Bootleg volumes get release months early and eager readers go to free sites to scratch their manga itch, effectively destroying the scheduled release date.

I really hate to see this happen to Viz because I only recently discovered the excellent quality of their Viz Signature line, such as the aforementioned Biomega and Ikigami, as well as books like 20th Century Boys and Pluto. Whether this is evidence for a change in the industry as a whole or just an isolated adjustment for Viz media is still to come. Nevertheless, it still leaves me with an uneasy feeling.

-Jon