Tokyopop's Pop Comics

[joannekwan]

Yeah, I'm not expecting them to print anything, I'm just saying if they give as much attention to the quality of their app as they did to their books, then... yeah. lol

[Ringarune]

yeah, hoping the quality is gonna be ok. From what I've checked out, it looks pretty good, although there r definitely some weird contrast problems and other stuff, but since it's still in beta, it's too early to say how it's gonna turn out, will just have to wait and see.

[jmhenry]

Is it available for android yet? I signed up to be a beta user way back but couldn't try the beta for that reason....

[Ringarune]

it's available in the google play store and you can upload your comic there at this point

[jmhenry]

Yep, found it randomly in google play a few minutes ago. Guess I'll upload somdtime later

[kambreapratt]

So we are on the new Pop App. They do NOT own anything you do. You can mirror it wherever. It is another publishing outlet like Tapastic and Webtoons. The ad revenue part has not kicked in yet. I don't think they are doing an official launch until summer. BUT, I do know the ad rates are going to be VERY competitive. We were invited early, so we are one of the first non-Tokyo Pop comics on there. We are doing their beta testing.

So far the interface is really good and it's really easy to use. Soon they are supposed to be adding a horizontal orientation for strip type comics. So check it out if you get a chance. You DO NOT have to be exclusive at all so you can be on here and there.

[Kneon]

I dig it. It's crazy easy to use. It's still technically in Beta, but it's a promising platform for sure.

[efdvorsky]

A friend sent me this twitter link

First part
Second part
Third part
Fourth part

TlDr : Popcomics can change copyright holder claims at any moment without your consent and that has shifty written all over it.

Which sucks because having custom format sounds great but......yeaaaah no.

it's just tokyopop all over again

[GoldenPlume]

Ok, our quick take on this POP app situation. First off, Google Play says they have 500 downloads. Umm . . . so who is going to read the comics posted there? So much for ad generation if there's hardly anyone present to see the ads. To give some kind of comparison, Compete.com reports that Tapastic has 600,000+ unique monthly visitors and this does not include app only readers. So, POP has what, 1/1,200th the reach as Tapastic?

Plus, this is the same company that decimated OEL Manga and LNs with really poor quality stuff. Who knows how much damage they really did, but they poisoned an entire generation of readers by taking advantage of them, not to mention creators whose work remain in copyright purgatory, most likely indefinitely. Print OEL stuff is more or less dead because of this company and this is the same leadership now taking a second bite at the apple. TokyoPop did a huge disservice to anyone who enjoys manga, reader and creator alike.

Creator beware.

[Aspie_Gamer]

You forgot to mention Stu Levy is still in charge as CEO of Tokyopop.

sigh They didn't learn squat. :/

You don't keep the guy who ruined your business around, you fire his ass and make it so that he is blacklisted from pretty much every company under the sun.

[efdvorsky]

You forgot to mention Stu Levy is still in charge as CEO of Tokyopop.

Well yeah you had already mentioned that so I wasn't going to repeat it |D

But yeah it's just not worth it and the more we can watch out for each other like this, the better.

[Jrej]

I actually gave it a try after reading this thread.
Come say hello if you're on it!
The app is pretty good for creators, allowing to update on the go.
What's annoying is the ads in the middle of episodes. They really ruin the flow. I think they need to consider removing that.

Anyway... Maybe this new platform will introduce the series to new readers that would then migrate to my main website or to tapastic for a better reading experience. A man can dream...

Anyone that will help promote webcomics and give more weight to the medium within enterteinement as a whole, is welcome.

[kambreapratt]

Then don't do it. We have friends that were personally involved in the old Tokyo pop stuff. We checked with them first. Plus, we had it looked at by legal. We have it in writing from them that they own nothing. It is just a platform...like here. Geez people flipped out when Tapastic started because it was Comic Panda first and everyone was convinced Tapastic was going to steal their IP too. We knew that was ridiculous and we talked to Michael first to make sure it was good and we came on board. THen we shared it with people because we knew it was okay.

If you don't like it don't do it. That's the best advice I can give you. But we looked into it, actually TALKED to people involved in this and the Tokyo Pop books prior (which a bunch of comic people and publishers like Disney and First:02 are using them for distribution) AND we asked questions and got stuff clarified on our own instead of just listening to people (who don't KNOW what the deal is) are saying. As far as TOS or contracts go, don't ever go for a publishing deal or movie deal. This was way simpler and less about taking IP than those were.

If you want to know how it is you should probably ask the people who are actually using it.

Oh and BTW. You might not want to post on Twitter anymore going by the TOS
"By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed)."

[kambreapratt]

Yeah and when Tapstic started it was Comic Panda and everyone told us not to ever come here because they were awful and stole IP.

They were wrong. We were one of the early adopters of Tapastic. We tell everyone to come here because we would NEVER promote it if we honestly thought it was bad. We talked to Michael at length before we agreed to come on here. WE did the same with the team over at the Pop App.

[efdvorsky]

That copyright in twitter exists for their own promotional use because Twitter isn’t a primary artistic platform and it varies on what you want to do. They can post tweets from anyone without their permission, that’s what it means. Whether or not I agree with it is a completely different story because hey, I rarely use twitter anyway except for comichour on Sundays.

Popcomic’s main focus is art. Their ownership isn’t this 1/5000th chance you posted a drawing in its direct platform. Js.

And question really, considering people who published from TokyoPop never got some of their copyright back so they couldn’t continue their stories, does it mean they got them back or is that still up in the air? Considering there hasn’t been a formal apology or even an open explanation about all that, just banished—and the fact that Tokyopop is banned from fairs in SCAD and other art schools, I think we’re very well entitled to be skeptic.

So it's not a matter of favoritism or picking Tapastic over anything else, because I didn't even know Tapastic was Comic Panda, it's merely being cautious out of past experiences.

If you and others want to do it, then hella. More power to you?

[Tanisha]

Yeah I put my comic on there too and I think it's very easy to handle. They have been advertising some of the comics on their Facebook and their rating system is really neat ^^ I just would like a way to connect with people on there s bit more///
I honestly think people should give it a chance. It's not like you're signing up with a big business publishing deal?? You're just posting to a webcomic site like any other.

[GoldenPlume]

efdvorsky brings up a good point. If Pop Comics was serious about repairing their reputation, then they should take actions to do that before launching a new platform. Many publishers offer the rights back to creators once something goes out of print. TokyoPop should release their creators and put the issue to bed. A formal apology to readers "we sold you less than ideal books and we humbly ask for a second chance" would help as well.

And if you read over the TOS you notice that in case of dispute, the matter goes to Hong Kong.

ALL USE OF THE PLATFORM, SUBMISSIONS OF USER CONTENT, THE LICENSES
GRANTED HEREUNDER, CONTENT ON THE PLATFORM AND TRANSACTIONS CONCLUDED
THROUGH THE PLATFORM, SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE CONDUCTED UNDER AND GOVERNED
BY THE LAWS OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION.

Why?

Good luck creators are going to fly there to fight for their rights?

Creator take caution.

[kambreapratt]

Thet didn't get it back because they got advances and the books didn't earn out. You don't get to take 20k, not sell enough, and get your stuff back too. Not unless you have a reversion clause. Some people did. Plus the contracts specified it about paying it back because it was a co-ownership agreement. People CAN have their stuff back. They need to pay back the advance though. I agree that sucks but it was clear. If nothing else ALWAYS READ YOUR CONTRACTS. This is how publishing works. ALWAYS...ALWAYS read it and have a lawyer check it. If you don't like it don't sign it.

Oh and I see you publish OEL books...so you are their competition? Uh huh.

[KaiJu]

Just chiming in with my thoughts on the issue. I've been following this discussion on Twitter and in this thread as well. In the end I decided to compare a few TOS from different companies. I noticed that most companies hold the right to revise their TOS whenever they like, but the difference is whether it's their responsibility to properly inform the user when they are changing it and how long it takes for the new TOS to take effect. For example here's a excerpt of Tokyopop's TOS:

It states that it is the user's responsibility to check the TOS every time before posting, since posting anything means that you agree to their TOS. The new TOS also takes effect immediately and they have no obligation to properly inform you of any changes.

Whereas, here's Tumblr's TOS:

It states that Tumblr can only revise the agreement when they have properly informed their users. Also it takes 14 days for the new terms to take effect, giving the user time to review.

This really got me thinking that I need to be more cautious about any platform that I decide to post on. Even though most TOS are probably subject to change at the companies discretion at anytime, some companies are just a little more ethical about it.

I personally don't think Tokyopop is out to steal IPs, but their TOS is just a little sketchy. And I really don't want to check the terms every time I post something or have to be on edge about it.

[Kneon]

To echo what Kam said, if you don't like it, don't use it.

It's just another option for creators like Tapastic, Tumblr, Webtoons, etc.

Tapastic was slammed for having a "shady" TOS when it first launched, too. In fact, I clearly remember there being a very heated debate about it over on webcomics.com. I took the same position then I'm taking now, which is "I don't think the TOS says what you think it says. In fact, it's pretty boilerplate."

But yet here we all are, 3+ years later. Having the exact same argument about another app.

POP isn't technically"publishing" anything. This is not a Tokyopop OEL publishing deal (and even the details of what actually went down with those are up for debate depending on who you ask.)

I do know that POP in still being soft launched -- so no, they don't have a ton of downloads and they're still working out the kinks before formally pushing it this summer.

I also believe that a future release will be forcing users to acknowledge any TOS changes, they just haven't implemented that yet. (But after this weekend, they might want to push that through ASAP -- ha!)

But hey, I'm not going to play Tokyopop apologist. We have friends who had Tokyopop OEL deals and used the opportunity to move on to bigger, better things. We also know people who were unhappy how everything went down over there and have been very, very vocal on social media. I was working professionally in comics at the time, but wasn't doing creator owned work then so I can't share any personal experiences one way or the other. There are two sides to every story.

However, Kam and I had several discussions with the people over at POP before agreeing to beta test and voiced our concerns early on. We have put over a half a decade of our lives into Shadowbinders, and invested thousands of dollars beyond of all the blood, sweat, tears, and missed family time.

If we thought for one second that it could all be so easily taken from us just by uploading some JPEGs to some comics app, you'd better believe we'd steer clear.

It's actually pretty insulting that people would think we're that naive. We read everything. And re-read it. And kick it over to lawyers to read. We have contracts and NDAs signed all over the place for a variety of different projects.

And I'm really not bothered by the TOS.

But I completely understand if you're cautious. And you have a right to be. No one is forcing anyone to upload their art any place that they don't want to be.