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Dan Shahin on East Vs. West in Bookscan Numbers
posted August 7, 2008
 

I'm not sure I follow the logic of your post here.

Why is the fact that more American comics are displacing older series nearing their end (with fewer such megahits left in the Japanese pipeline) as sign of the dominance of Manga? I agree that Manga has dominated bookscan, but that may be as much a function of who reports to them and who controls the merchandising in bookscan affiliated stores as what people are buying. If Borders goes under as has been predicted for some time now, that will deal a major blow to companies like TokyoPop who already seem to be struggling a bit with cash flow issues.

And what makes it gross? I don't understand that part.

Tom Spurgeon Responds: I never thought of it in terms of East vs. West is all.

For me, I figure if it's news that North American comics hit a 50 percent equity with a bunch of material, most of it near the end of its run, during a perfect storm of hit movies, it just show how dominant manga has been.

I don't have any information to know if the bookscan numbers are underreporting western comics sales.