JAKE TARBOX RESIGNS AS GROUP EDITOR, CMX

[MattBrady]

Newsarama has learned that, less than a year after the line’s launch, Jake Tarbox, Group Editor of DC’s CMX line of manga titles has resigned his position with the company.

Tarbox came on board the line after living for 14 years in Tokyo where he worked at Coamix, Inc. as the International Affairs Manager and Vice-Editor-Chief of Raijin Comics, administered the creation of the American subsidiary company Gutsoon! Entertainment, and edited the manga magazine, Raijin Comics.

Gutsoon was on of the first casualties, by many accounts, of the manga “war” for bookshelf and market share that has been going on for the past couple of years. At CMX, Tarbox was responsible for overseeing the translation of DC’s manga acquisitions and their subsequent printing for a Western audience.

Most recently, Tarbox was vilified by many fans as the focal point of the Tenjho Tenge editing controversy. As sources have pointed out to Newsarama though, Tarbox himself did not make the decision to edit creator Oh Great!’s (Ou Gureito) work to be suitable for a PG-13 audience, but did find himself in the position of having to implement it, which was strongly opposed by many manga fans. At the recent WizardWorld LA, staffers at the DC booth had to keep an eye on the stack of the Tenjho Tenge sample book CMX had available for free, as occasionally, small notes that said “This manga is edited!” and went on to denounce DC and CMX for changing the material would appear on the top of the stack.

DC never responded to fans' questions or Newsarama's requests for clarification on the editing of the book.

For his tenure at CMX, Tarbox was something of an enigma publicly – all interview requests for the line's Group Editor were turned down by DC, with an offer made of having Jim Lee speak about the manga line (which technically, falls under the Wildstorm imprint of DC, of which Lee is the VP – Editorial Director).

Reportedly, Tarbox will continue working with the line, in a freelance capacity - though this has not been confirmed.

The resignation of DC’s manga line’s Group Editor could be seen as continued weakness in DC’s ability to bring in and fully exploit other publishing lines, as the publisher has recently discontinued publishing plans for the Rebellion/2000AD line and the Humanoids lines of books – both of which were heralded at the time of their debuts as a sign of DC’s commitment to diversifying its product line.

As retailer Brian Hibbs pointed out, CMX was similar to Rebellion and the Humanoids lines from DC in 2004, in that no titles from the three imprints appeared on Bookscan’s best-seller’s chart for the year. Other observers, along with Hibbs pointed that out as a very troubling problem, as the imprints – especially CMX – were seen as being extremely bookstore friendly, even if they would struggle in the direct market.

The view that the manga line is doomed to imminent collapse, however, is at the very least moderated by the mention of CMX in the recent press release announcing DC’s new branding strategy across all lines of Warner Brothers media. The passage from the release reads:

Manga. CMX, DC's new imprint of manga graphic novels publishes all genres of manga including horror, fantasy, science fiction and adventure titles. Later this year, CMX will add the international bestselling Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne to its list, alongside titles such as Gals! and Monster Collection: The Girl Who Can Deal With Magic Monsters (based on the successful fantasy trading card game of the same name).

It appears, for the time being, the CMX line is an ongoing concern at DC.

Officials from DC were unavailable for comment.

[Kolimar]

I have a feeling of impending doom.

[EmeraldGuy32]

Originally posted by Kolimar
I have a feeling of impending doom.

I have a feeling of impending moon

[Doctor_Chronos]

I didn't even know that DC had a manga imprint.

[GCom]

Doctor_Chronos said...

I didn't even know that DC had a manga imprint.

If you weren't familiar with manga, you didn't miss anything. If you are familiar with manga, this might have ticked you off.

CMX is conssistantly making bad decisions, and sporting the low end of quality books in general...the exception being Tenjho Tenge, which because it was edited blew up in a fever of controversy.

If you'd never seen Tenjho Tenge before however, it was ok.

Overall, just a lot of poor decisions.





With Tolerance For The Mismanagement Of The Editorials...

GCom

[Robot H Brian]

I'd totally forgotten that DC had a manga imprint. Then I remembered that there was that controversy about them editing a rape scene in one of the books. Then I remembered that when I'd originally read about the controversy, I wondered why they didn't just have Rags Morales draw Doctor Light into those panels, since that seems to work for the mainstream DCU. Then I forgot again that DC had a manga imprint.

[FIG]

I have an idea, lets release KILL BIll volumes 1 and 2 and edit them down to a G rating for children. BRILLIANT move DC! I feel sorry for this guy, he probably took all the flak for an idiotic move someone made him make. Tough luck.

[Frankfurt]

DC should just get rid of the CMX line. If they can´t do it right, why even bother?

They deserve the backlash. Hell, they deserve MORE.

[Frankfurt]

Originally posted by Robot H Brian
I'd totally forgotten that DC had a manga imprint. Then I remembered that there was that controversy about them editing a rape scene in one of the books.

You remembered wrong. The "controversy" was because they edited 37 (yes, THIRTY SEVEN) different scenes in the first issue ALONE, then marketed an ADULT book for kids.

Because, you know, adding lingerie to those scenes instantly makes it fine for the youngsters...

DC and Marvel have no idea what manga fans want and why it´s so popular. They just want in on the cash.

Same for "Manga Darkchylde" (which is almost as bad as the american manga line from Marvel).

[Reliant]

Originally posted by GCom
Doctor_Chronos said...


If you weren't familiar with manga, you didn't miss anything. If you are familiar with manga, this might have ticked you off.

CMX is conssistantly making bad decisions, and sporting the low end of quality books in general...the exception being Tenjho Tenge, which because it was edited blew up in a fever of controversy.

If you'd never seen Tenjho Tenge before however, it was ok.

I picked up a copy of Tenjho Tenge out of curiosity, since I knew nothing about beforehand. The overall concept and characters were cool, but CMX's execution of the manga left a lot to be desired, for me. It felt and read like something that was heavily sanitized. It's definitely aimed at an older crowd with its definite adult themes and sexual situations, and the edits really disturbed the flow and tone of the story, IMO. It was like watching an edited version of American Pie on ABC Family...

I really doubt I'm going to pick up the second volume, if it's at all like the first volume...

[uberfan]

What's a manga ;>

[SuperturboZ]

CMX really does not know what they are doing. Their first launch of titles would not make a blip on the radar. They are only nitch titles at best.

Tenjho Tenge was their first chance at a hit and they just decided to piss off the fans. When you piss off the fans they won't support the books.

Kamakazie Kaito Jeanne should have been a launch title. It's a magical girl manga that's not that bad. At least there was a popular anime based on it.

If they don't get more of these types of titles it's just going to die. I don't see DC spending a lot of money trying to keep it alive.

[Alex Scott]

I must admit, I'm kinda ticked at how it's turning out for Tarbox. This is the first time DC has released ANY type of response to the criticism thrown its way over TenTen, and it's through the resignation of an editor? And not the editor who made the decision, but the one forced to carry it out? If this is damage control, I don't hold much hope for further repair.

Perhaps if they'd released some statement a few months beforehand, or let Jake do an interview here or there--you know, actually being forthcoming and answering questions thrown their way instead of keeping everyone in the dark--then they just might have cooled the anger a slight bit (not gotten rid of it, though--they'd have to release TenTen uncut to do that). It might have saved Tarbox some grief--just look at how well Dallas Middaugh handled the Negima fiasco.

Their actions so far have made them look distant and uncaring toward manga fans, and as far as I can tell, all this move means is that people will have to send their angry letters to someone else.

What's a manga ;>

Heh, very funny.

[Strike]

Is it possible to get an UNedited Tenjho Tenge with english translation somewhere?

[Alex Scott]

Not legally.

You could get the Japanese version, and look for a translated script online, if you're willing to go through the effort of trying to read it.

[Jed Saxon]

Originally posted by SuperturboZ
CMX really does not know what they are doing. Their first launch of titles would not make a blip on the radar. They are only nitch titles at best.

The problem of DC is that many of the good titles are published by others.
All Shueisha/Shogakukan titles are published at VIZ (a joint-venture subsidiary), the Kondansha titles are published at Tokyopop or Del Rey (the latter is a subsidiary of BMG/Random House who have a cooperation agreement with Kodansha), Dark Horse is publishing some of the best/popular titles there are - Berserk, Trigun and Hellsing.

It's not very easy to licence good titles at this point.

Kamakazie Kaito Jeanne should have been a launch title.

Word. I don't know if the same would happen in America, but here in Germany the manga by Arine Tanemura (Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, Time Stranger Kyoko, ION, Squib Feeling Blue, Fullmoon wo sagashite) are one of the bestsellers.
These titles wouls appeal to fans of Studio CLAMP or Naoko Takeuchi (Bishojo Senshi Sailormoon) IMO.

[Monkey in a Wheelchair]

Originally posted by Alex Scott
It might have saved Tarbox some grief--just look at how well Dallas Middaugh handled the Negima fiasco.

What Negima fiasco? Share, for I am ignorant of that which you say.

[Chief Wahoo]

A small victory, to be sure, but a victory nonetheless. I find it surprising that Jake would even by hired by DC given that Gutsoon was already in it's deaththroes when he made the leap.

[GATSU]

Jake took a lot of flack for the manga in Raijin having its nudity edited. But unlike Tenjho, it didn't really affect the story. Not that Tenjho looks like it's worth reading, even if it was unedited, but the kids wouldn't buy it anyway. They usually avoid the "too Japanese" titles like it and Lone Wolf and Cub.

[Alex Scott]

Originally posted by Monkey in a Wheelchair
What Negima fiasco? Share, for I am ignorant of that which you say.

About a year before DC/TenTen, Del Ray was all set to release Negima, when author Ken Akamatsu mentioned on his web site that he was surprised at the extent of the edits in the US version. Word spread, and things got nasty. Dallas Middaugh was (and I think still is--I forget) an editor at Del Ray, and spent time on message boards answering questions and discussing the matter with fans. In about a week or two, after they caught the fan reaction, Del Ray reversed the decision, and has released every volume of Negima uncut, shrinkwrapped, with a "16+" sticker on the cover; it's now one of the most popular manga in the country.

Heck, if you want to see a success story in the manga industry, just look at Del Ray. I think it's kind of funny that a publisher with no experience making comics can make such a strong and popular manga line in a crowded market, while one of the giants of the comic book industry just drops its manga line on the market like a dead weight.

[johnlayman]

I lettered several books for the CMX line before I, like several other letterers, quit and vowed never to have anything to do with CMX.

It was a disaster, and the single worst experience of my freelance career.


Still, I habor no animousity for Jake on a personal level. I hope his next job goes better.

[SuperturboZ]

Originally posted by Alex Scott
In about a week or two, after they caught the fan reaction, Del Ray reversed the decision, and has released every volume of Negima uncut, shrinkwrapped, with a "16+" sticker on the cover; it's now one of the most popular manga in the country.

This is exactly how DC should have handled the issue. Of course it wouldn't have been #1 regardless but at least the fans would still support it.

[Rich Johnston]

[gon]

Originally posted by uberfan
What's a manga ;>

That's Spanish for "sleeve". No, really.

Originally posted by Alex Scott
Heck, if you want to see a success story in the manga industry, just look at Del Ray. I think it's kind of funny that a publisher with no experience making comics [...]

You don't really need much experience, just some common sense. Actually, maybe it helped DelRey that they're not a comic-book publisher and don't have pre-conceived ideas on how to market/publish something.

[GATSU]

I don't think Tenjho Tenge would do Negima numbers, even if it was unedited. Negima had the advantage of being written by an author already established in the U.S. Plus it's a Harry Potter knock-off. Tenjho Tenge has a no-name(at least in the U.S.) author whose only gimmick is students who fight at school and show off skin, which was already done with Battle Vixens and Real Bout High School-titles which-I might add-have more female-friendly art. Seriously, TT is a guy manga, through-and-through, and covering up the nudity won't hide the testosterone. I should know. At a MadHouse panel where they showed a preview of the anime, girls were not likely to be interested in the series when asked which of the titles they screened was their favorites. DC was probably hoping they could smooth out the wank material and make it more friendly for girls, but they just ended up alienating their core demo: horny males.