On Tuesday, May 18, DC Comics announced that CMX would cease
publishing on July 1, 2010. CMX had a turbulent start, with the
controversy of editing/censoring of Tenjho Tenge, but with the right
staff behind it, it became a company that licensed and released solid
titles that appealed to everyone. But DC has pulled the plug, citing the
"challenges" in the marketplace right now. So now we must say good-bye,
just as CMX was finding its legs and bringing out some really
interesting titles.
Katherine Farmar: Noooo! Swan!
It isn't finished yet! ARGH!
...okay, I've calmed down now.
This is sad but not exactly unexpected news. CMX was always a Cinderella
for DC -- the neglected, barely-promoted stepdaughter that the bigwigs
didn't seem to know existed most of the time. And that's a terrible
shame from my point of view, because CMX published some seriously good
titles. I have a particular interest in the works of the Year 24 Group
-- the legendary, groundbreaking shoujo artists all born in 1948 who
changed the face of manga in the 1970s -- and CMX was one of the few
publishers/imprints to give us English-language versions of their works.
Swan and From Eroica With Love are classics, and it was a
thrill to see them in English -- though, that said, CMX's translation
of From Eroica With Love was painful to read. Perhaps that was an
early warning sign? Then again, a lot of publishers have produced worse
translations and still survived. There's no justice in the markets.
Justin
Colussy-Estes: I agree about Swan--Not finishing that series
is like a crime against humanity. I believe that series is the most
inventive, innovative, and groundbreaking comic I've ever seen.
But,
overall, CMX was a bewildering company. Unlike every other manga
company, they had no identity. I can spot a Viz title, a Yen title, a
Tokyopop title from a mile away. You get the sense that the editors have
particular tastes or market strategies. Dark Horse, DMP, Del Rey, hell,
even downmarket also-rans and promising never-made-its like Broccoli
and Go Comi! had identifiable approaches to the kinds of manga they
imported. I never got a sense of what CMX was after--visiting their
website leaves me puzzled and confused. I keep coming across titles and
thinking "oh, CMX published that?" or "huh, I never saw that one!"
My
read on this was that half a decade ago, somebody at DC/Warner
corporate said, "hey, I keep hearing about this manga thing, and how
it's kicking our ass in the market. We should get ourselves some of
that." Then, they promptly forgot, never promoting, never even thinking
anymore about the new imprint. This past year has seen a lot of shake-up
at DC, and I'm betting the dust has settled enough that somebody looked
into the dusty corner where CMX lay and said, "hey, what's this thing,
and how does it fit into our strategy of mining intellectual property
for movies, underwear, picture books, party supplies, etc, etc, etc?"
Alex
Hoffman: In that licensing view, I totally agree with Justin. It
seems as this cancellation was more of a retreat by DC to things that
are both familiar and conventional, publishing safe comics and
disregarding an entire population (the female half). It's this "can we
get an option" mentality that is driving the comics industry currently,
and it's stupid. A branch like CMX, which essentially printed some of
the best comics in the industry could have literally PRINTED YOU MONEY
but instead DC was too concerned with Nolan's Batman and men in tights
to really give a flying crap about manga. Poor distribution, nearly no
marketing, and an overall lack of market presence really made CMX seem
like a non-player, but the strength of their releases outshone many of
their larger competitors.
CMX forever found its way into my heart
with three series -
Kiichi and the Magic Books, a really
beautifully illustrated fairytale-like manga with heart,
Diamond
Girl, with its great opening volume, and
Apothecarium Argentum,
the only manga I know that is remotely related to pharmacy (my chosen
profession). The folks at CMX made some amazing manga, and it's with a
deep sadness and regret that I didn't get to try out more of their
content before DC pulled the plug.
CMX enriched my life with some
really wonderful manga, and I know a lot of people who feel the same
way. It was these offbeat, beautiful titles that made CMX one of my
favorite publishers, and it saddens me that they're now gone.
Amy
Grocki: One of the first shojo series I ever encountered was
I
Hate You More Than Anyone and I really hate that I may never know
how the series will end. With volumes being released regularly I don't
think most fans saw this coming. More even so than that it is
disheartening to see the demise of a publisher that brought out such an
array of titles. As someone who is actively seeking a new job I flinch
whenever I hear about jobs being slashed, no matter what the industry.
Justin
Colussy-Estes (um, again): Today I was reading a CMX title I'd had
stashed away until the end of the semester (Dokkaiddo?!), and I took a
look at the copyright page. The publisher is actually listed not as CMX,
or DC Comics, but as Wildstorm, and seeing that really made some of
this make sense. Wildstorm has been adrift as an imprint of DC for
awhile now, maybe even since before CMX was created. There's no real
editorial muscle over there, and I think what's happened to CMX is a
reflection of the fact that Wildstorm can barely see the nose on its
face, let alone be forward thinking enough, and broad-minded enough to
have a publishing strategy.
Lori Henderson: I'll admit it.
I was one of the people who when CMX started was against them over the
censoring of Tenjho Tenge. Not that I read the title, it was the
principle of the the thing. I wasn't until, after new management and the
introduction of three new titles, King of Cards, Key to the Kingdom and
Apothecarium Argentum did I give CMX a second chance, and I've never
looked back since. DC had something really unique with CMX. The titles
they licensed were more on the quirky side, but were really
entertaining. They ran the gambit from all ages titles to mature, and
hit just about every genre. They didn't have any "mega-hit" titles, but
what they did have was fun to read, and about the only thing as a female
that DC put out that I would even look at. I liked their eclectic
collection of titles. Their titles stood out in a good way, that is, if
you could find them.
DC doesn't get how to market to women,
mostly I think because they don't care. They didn't see that CMX should
have been the line they were promoting for girls instead of their poorly
thought out "Minx" line. They didn't get their books in bookstores like
their trades or EVERY OTHER MANGA PUBLUBISHER so girls could see and
buy their books. They didn't get the word out to librarians that they
had this terrific line of books for tweens, so they could stock their
shelves. DC is an example of not just doing marketing wrong, but also
not at all. In one fell swoop, they told the world they couldn't care
less about women or kids as fans. They just want to keep the status quo
of catering to adolescent boys (mentally, not physically). And now,
because of the short-sightedness of some execs who just don't get it,
readers will not only NOT get to finish many of the titles already
mentioned in this post, but new titles that just started like Stolen
Hearts and My Darling! Miss Bancho, and even worse, those titles that
will never see the light of day, 51 Ways to Save Her and Nyankoi! among so many others.
I
give lots of props to the employees at CMX who really cared about the
titles and the fans. They did a great job inspite of the corporate
culture who didn't care about them enough to even let them have their
own table at cons in the DC booth (at SDCC all the other imprints did).
To all of you who fought against the tide of indifference, we love you
and will miss you and all the great stories you brought to us. Thank you
so much.
Lori Henderson