Fan-Created Manga, Japanese Doujinshi To Be Added to DMP's eManga

Now that Digital Manga Publishing has cleared up the rumors about their recent restructuring and confirmed that their yaoi manga 801 Media imprint will continue, the other bits of intriguing news was revealed regarding their new eManga online manga "rental" service.

eManga debuted as a beta release in mid-August 2008, and recently announced that it's fully open for business. But looking through the online store as it stands today, the offerings are modest, and largely dominated by boys love (BL) manga offerings from DMP's Juné Manga imprint. So I asked DMP representative Michelle Mauk the question that many manga fans have asked: Is that it, or can we expect to see more titles and more kinds of manga from eManga?

The short answer? Yes. DMP has big plans for eManga to offer "unique creator-based content" including "doujinshi straight from Japanese creators, available only on eManga." Also on tap to be featured on eManga are "original, fan-created content" and "more mainstream titles, and hard to find/out-of-print titles." That means that eManga will eventually offer a wider selection of manga (i.e. not just BL / yaoi manga). While she didn’t provide examples of the "mainstream" and out-of-print titles that will be added to eManga's offerings, Mauk did provide more tantalizing details of things to come:

Unique Creator-Based Content and Exclusive Doujinshi from Japan
According to Mauk, "There will be content from Japanese manga-ka - that will only be available on eManga."

Many professional manga creators sell their doujinshi at shows like Comitia and Comic Market (Comiket), much like how American artists produce sketchbooks or limited edition comics for conventions. These works are coveted collectibles for fans of these Japanese artists, since these stories and sketches are often not widely available in print, and almost never available in English. This makes DMP's plans to offer Japanese doujinshi online an exciting development.

I initially met Mauk on my recent trip to Japan while she was acting as DMP's "talent scout" at Comitia. Her mission was to review portfolios from pro and semi-pro artists who were exhibiting at this quarterly show for original manga. So it was interesting to find out that this scouting trip was a part of DMP's plans for expanding eManga's offerings.

As Mauk explained it, "One of the big reasons for me going to Comitia was to find more original artists, we're thinking more artists that maybe have never done an official manga before, or maybe only do illustrations/and such. So, it's kind of a way of introducing them to the American public, and maybe seeing how they may be received."

She continued, "Our licensing division is working on licensing titles only for online. So when those become available, we'll be able to let everyone know."

Original, Fan-Created Manga to Be Featured on eManga
DMP is also planning on opening up eManga to feature more than just work by Japanese creators. Mauk also mentioned that DMP has plans to feature original, fan-created content on their online manga site.

"We want doujinishi, original works, things for people to share, and comment on. I'm not sure if fan parodies may work due to licensing restrictions, but we don't want to limit what they work on," said Mauk.

When I asked her if DMP's editorial staff would be vetting the work that would be featured on eManga or if the submissions situation would be more "anything goes," Mauk explained, "We're not thinking of having it juried as of yet, we want it to kind of encompass the heart of what makes doujinshi, which is that it's more fan-driven."

However, she offered this caveat: "We will moderate, and of course, monitor that nothing that breaks the rules of good taste goes up, and maintain general Internet courtesy."

As for the timing of these new offerings, Mauk had this to say: "We're basically still working on the interface, but we're thinking maybe towards the end of the year we'll be able to fully launch that."

YaoiClub.com, DMP's Online Store for Yaoi Manga Goodies Opens
Also promoted at Yaoi-Con 2008 was their new online shop, YaoiClub.com. Besides a selection of yaoi manga graphic novels, YaoiClub.com also has some unique offerings like Otome Road cookies and chocolate pies featuring yaoi manga characters, t-shirts, boys love magazines direct from Japan and buttons. For a limited time, the first 100 people who spend $50 or more at YaoiClub.com will get a free tote bag.

This new store is the latest addition to DMP's online shopping offerings, which include Dream Shoppe for Japanese fashion and Akadot Retail for all sorts of Japanese pop culture goods.

NEXT: In the better late than never department, new manga announcements from DMP from Yaoi-Con, plus actual plot synopses!