Rocket Bomber - article - commentary - manga - Spotlight: Dark Horse

I’m using my manga charts to look at the output of select publishers —

covered previously: Aurora Publishing, ADV Manga, CMX

Today the spotlight is on

Dark Horse

…

One could argue that without Dark Horse, there wouldn’t be a US Manga Industry.

I’m not saying it’s 100% true, or even mostly right, but the point is eminently debatable. Back before the first boom (2004-2006), before the US edition of Shonen Jump (2003), before Mixx [later known as Tokyopop] started publishing Sailor Moon (1997), there was Mike Richardson going to Tokyo and signing artists for his little start-up comics company.

Well, let’s let them tell it:

Around 2001, the comics market changed dramatically as traditional bookstores developed a strong and growing interest in comics in the form of graphic novels. Fueling this newfound interest was manga—that is, comics imported from Japan. Dark Horse was twenty years ahead of the market, having published manga from its second year of operation. Dark Horse president Mike Richardson began visiting Japan regularly in the early nineties and has cultivated many friendships with the creative talent there. As a result, Dark Horse publishes manga by the most respected creators in Japan. The list includes Koike’s Lone Wolf & Cub (over 1,000,000 copies sold) and Crying Freeman; Otomo’s Akira; Shirow’s Ghost In the Shell; Nightow’s Trigun; Tezuka’s Astro Boy; Samura’s Blade of the Immortal; Sonoda’s Gunsmith Cats; and America’s longest running manga series, Oh My Goddess, by Fujishima.

Near as I can figure, among those earliest books were the first edition hardcovers for Appleseed — but I can’t find 20 year old listings to verify that [but others can: see comment #4 from DocWatson] or to discover the other manga in their archives (someone remind me to ask DH personnel at a convention some time). Early efforts must have been successful because six or seven years later, in the mid-90s (note, still pre-Mixx) manga-as-we-would-now-recognise-it (trade paperback graphic novels) started coming out of Dark Horse, the earliest among them (as noted above) Oh My Goddess, Gunsmith Cats, and Ghost in the Shell.

Dark Horse also gets credit (or the blame) for what is now called OEL manga — though at the time they were just publishing comic books and no one thought to make a big deal out of them or to try and sign up impressionable young artists with sucker-bet-contracts. There is the critically-acclaimed Usagi Yojimbo from Stan Sakai, and the critically-… um, well they also cobbled together something called Dirty Pair — which has American artists working with characters originally appearing in a Japanese OVA. (There never was a Dirty Pair manga in Japan.) Oh, and Star Wars Manga. Yes, if you didn’t know already, there were 12 volumes of Star Wars Manga, 4 for each of the original 3 movies.

[the sucker-bet-contract bit is a crack at Tokyopop, obviously — just to be clear, Dark Horse doesn’t trick or trap anyone, so far as I know, and in fact is noted for the care (and generosity) with which it treats its creator clients]

further reading and references:

Mike Richardson interviewed by icv2 and by Comic Book Bin
A word or two about manga from Dark Horse’s Carl Horn (from 2007) — and you should also read what Shaenon Garrity has to say about Carl
and Carl also has a listing on Wikipedia — oh wait, wrong Carl Gustav… hm… unless he has mastered time travel. I wouldn’t put it past him.
…and from a bit further back: An interview (from 2006) with Dark Horse’s Michael Gombos at Dark, But Shining

##

and on to the charts:

I have 192 representatives from Dark Horse on the full chart (of 3,232 volumes as of 20 July: so, about 6% of the total). Let me see if I can parse those even further into more-easily-managed chunks:

##

Headliners:

Berserk: 13th ranked series
67. ↓-12 (55) : Berserk 23 – Dark Horse, Jun 2008 [342.7] ::
158. ↓-43 (115) : Berserk 22 – Dark Horse, Apr 2008 [200.4] ::
237. ↓-47 (190) : Berserk 21 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [137.8] ::
292. ↑74 (366) : Berserk 24 – Dark Horse, Jul 2008 [109.3] ::
451. ↑8 (459) : Berserk 1 – Dark Horse, Oct 2003 [55.3] ::
503. ↑7 (510) : Berserk 3 – Dark Horse, Apr 2004 [40.5] ::
629. ↓-7 (622) : Berserk 4 – Dark Horse, Jul 2004 [20.8] ::
702. ↑97 (799) : Berserk 12 – Dark Horse, Jul 2006 [14.9] ::
738. ↑560 (1298) : Berserk 25 – Dark Horse, Jul 2008 [11.8] ::
773. ↑387 (1160) : Berserk 13 – Dark Horse, Oct 2006 [10.1] ::
1058. ↓-354 (704) : Berserk 2 – Dark Horse, Jan 2004 [3.6] ::
1100. ↓-241 (859) : Berserk 19 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [2.3] ::
1124. ↓-196 (928) : Berserk 10 – Dark Horse, Jan 2006 [1.6] ::
1236. ↑83 (1319) : Berserk 26 – Dark Horse, Dec 2008 [0.4] ::
1265. ↑31 (1296) : Berserk 18 – Dark Horse, Jul 2007 [0.3] ::
1299. ↓-637 (662) : Berserk 20 – Dark Horse, Dec 2007 [0.2] ::
1312. ↓-177 (1135) : Berserk 8 – Dark Horse, Jul 2005 [0.2] ::
1484. ↓-314 (1170) : Berserk 11 – Dark Horse, Apr 2006 [0.1] ::
1568. ↓-76 (1492) : Berserk 16 – Dark Horse, Mar 2007 [0.1] ::
1629. ↑69 (1698) : Berserk 5 – Dark Horse, Oct 2004 [0.1] ::
1649. ↑new (last ranked 22 June 08) : Berserk 17 – Dark Horse, May 2007 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Berserk 14 – Dark Horse, Dec 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Berserk 6 – Dark Horse, Jan 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Berserk 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 15 Jun 08) : Berserk 7 – Dark Horse, May 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Berserk 15 – Dark Horse, Feb 2007 [0] ::

Vampire Hunter D: 14th ranked series
256. ↓-16 (240) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 10 – Dark Horse, Apr 2008 [125.5] ::
429. ↓-66 (363) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 1 – Dark Horse, Jun 2005 [60.9] ::
462. ↓-154 (308) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 4 – Dark Horse, May 2006 [49.2] ::
591. ↑209 (800) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 3 – Dark Horse, Jan 2006 [26.3] ::
689. ↓-138 (551) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 8 – Dark Horse, Sep 2007 [15.7] ::
932. ↓-374 (558) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 6 – Dark Horse, Nov 2006 [5.8] ::
955. ↓-324 (631) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 7 – Dark Horse, Apr 2007 [5.4] ::
1231. ↑68 (1299) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 9 – Dark Horse, Nov 2007 [0.4] ::
1322. ↓-73 (1249) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 5 – Dark Horse, Sep 2006 [0.2] ::
1493. ↓-201 (1292) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 2 – Dark Horse, Sep 2005 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 11 – Dark Horse, Oct 2008 [0] ::

(There are also 2 volumes of an ongoing Vampire Hunter D Manga: those are from DMP; Dark Horse and DMP collaborated on the Vampire Hunter D Novels)

Hellsing: 105th ranked series
363. ↑35 (398) : Hellsing 8 – Dark Horse, Jun 2007 [79.8] ::
412. ↓-6 (406) : Hellsing 9 – Dark Horse, Oct 2008 [66.2] ::
466. ↑79 (545) : Hellsing 2 – Dark Horse, Mar 2004 [48.9] ::
475. ↑5 (480) : Hellsing 5 – Dark Horse, Dec 2004 [47.1] ::
517. ↑12 (529) : Hellsing 7 – Dark Horse, Oct 2005 [37.1] ::
540. ↑43 (583) : Hellsing 6 – Dark Horse, Mar 2005 [33.2] ::
712. ↓-120 (592) : Hellsing 1 – Dark Horse, Dec 2003 [14] ::
772. ↑343 (1115) : Hellsing 3 – Dark Horse, Jun 2004 [10.1] ::
1018. ↓-311 (707) : Hellsing 4 – Dark Horse, Sep 2004 [4.3] ::

Ghost in the Shell: 163rd ranked series
393. ↓-31 (362) : Ghost in the Shell 1.5 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [70] ::
707. ↓-142 (565) : Ghost in the Shell 1 – Dark Horse, Jun 2004 [14.3] ::
1261. ↑9 (1270) : Ghost in the Shell 2 – Dark Horse, Aug 2004 [0.3] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 2 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 3 – Dark Horse, Nov 2006 [0] ::

Trigun: 313th ranked series
886. ↑18 (904) : Trigun Maximum 5 – Dark Horse, Jun 2005 [6.7] ::
990. ↑16 (1006) : Trigun Maximum 12 – Dark Horse, Jan 2008 [4.8] ::
1001. ↑222 (1223) : Trigun Maximum 6 – Dark Horse, Aug 2005 [4.6] ::
1646. ↑new (last ranked 18 May 08) : Trigun Maximum 2 – Dark Horse, Aug 2004 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Trigun 1 – Dark Horse, Nov 2003 [0] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Trigun Maximum 7 – Dark Horse, Nov 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Trigun Maximum 10 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Trigun Maximum 9 – Dark Horse, May 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 30 Mar 08) : Trigun Maximum 3 – Dark Horse, Nov 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Trigun Maximum 1 – Dark Horse, Jun 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Trigun Maximum 8 – Dark Horse, Feb 2006 [0] ::

Akira: 349th ranked series
856. ↓-101 (755) : Akira 2 – Dark Horse, May 2001 [7.4] ::
1232. ↑69 (1301) : Akira 1 – Dark Horse, Feb 2001 [0.4] ::
. (last ranked 15 Jun 08) : Akira 5 – Dark Horse, Dec 2001 [0] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Akira 6 – Dark Horse, Mar 2002 [0] ::

buy ‘em now, if you can find them: as noted elsewhere (credit Chris Butcher for the scoop) DH lost the Akira license, so there won’t be reprints (from Dark Horse, anyway).

Berserk, Vampire Hunter D, Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell, Trigun, and Akira are all notable because each also has a well-known anime adaptation. These can also all be considered to be of a type: Dark, Horror-tinged, Action stories — well, Trigun is not-so-dark, it’s a sci-fi western set on an accidentally-colonized desert planet where ill-prepared humanity hangs on by it’s fingernails, and the main character Vash is a wanted criminal because he destroys whole towns… hm. Maybe it does belong with the others. (But it’s funny, too. ;p I liked it.)

There is one other ‘headliner’ of course, with multiple anime series to her credit:

609. ↓-165 (444) : Oh My Goddess! 29 – Dark Horse, Apr 2008 [23.7] ::
622. ↑366 (988) : Oh My Goddess! 9 – Dark Horse, Jun 2008 [21.7] ::
881. ↑18 (899) : Oh My Goddess! 8 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [6.8] ::
1075. ↑8 (1083) : Oh My Goddess! 28 – Dark Horse, Dec 2007 [3.2] ::
. (last ranked 22 June 08) : Oh My Goddess! 7 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Oh My Goddess! 4 – Dark Horse, Jan 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 27 Apr 08) : Oh My Goddess! First End – Dark Horse, Dec 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 23 Mar 08) : Oh My Goddess! 27 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Oh My Goddess! 30 – Dark Horse, Aug 2008 [0] ::

Oh My Goddess is the longest running manga series — in the States, at any rate — and Dark Horse is sure to mention that any time it can. Why, even in the one paragraph I quoted above they managed to squeeze that factoid in. The series is ranked 204th overall.

##

Horror/Splatter/Action: (with some sci-fi)

110. ↑77 (187) : Gantz 1 – Dark Horse, Jun 2008 [269.5] ::

135. ↑27 (162) : Blood+ 2 – Dark Horse, May 2008 [235.4] ::
399. ↓-62 (337) : Blood+ 1 – Dark Horse, Jan 2008 [68.8] ::
1489. ↓-210 (1279) : Blood+ (novel) 1 – Dark Horse, Mar 2008 [0.1] ::

554. ↑187 (741) : Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 1 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [31.3] ::
1377. ↑135 (1512) : Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 6 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [0.2] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 7 – Dark Horse, Sep 2008 [0] ::
. (last ranked 15 Jun 08) : Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 3 – Dark Horse, Mar 2007 [0] ::

611. ↓-214 (397) : MPD-Psycho 5 – Dark Horse, Jun 2008 [23.4] ::
1238. ↑153 (1391) : MPD-Psycho 1 – Dark Horse, Jun 2007 [0.4] ::
1654. ↑new (last ranked 22 June 08) : MPD-Psycho 4 – Dark Horse, Apr 2008 [0.1] ::
1681. ↑new (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : MPD-Psycho 2 – Dark Horse, Aug 2007 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : MPD-Psycho 3 – Dark Horse, Nov 2007 [0] ::

858. ↑162 (1020) : The Ring – Dark Horse, Nov 2003 [7.4] ::

1079. ↑11 (1090) : Mail 1 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [3] ::

1380. ↑136 (1516) : Museum of Terror 3 – Dark Horse, Nov 2006 [0.2] ::
. (last ranked 22 June 08) : Museum of Terror 2 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Museum of Terror 1 – Dark Horse, Jul 2006 [0] ::

and…

Action: (with a touch of sci-fi and/or horror)

841. ↑185 (1026) : Seraphic Feather 6 – Dark Horse, Jan 2006 [7.9] ::

972. ↑new (last ranked 8 June 08) : Gunsmith Cats Omnibus 4 – Dark Horse, Dec 2007 [5.1] ::
1598. ↑40 (1638) : Gunsmith Cats Burst 3 – Dark Horse, Jan 2008 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Gunsmith Cats Burst 1 – Dark Horse, Mar 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Gunsmith Cats Omnibus 2 – Dark Horse, May 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Gunsmith Cats Omnibus 3 – Dark Horse, Sep 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Gunsmith Cats Burst 2 – Dark Horse, Jun 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Gunsmith Cats Omnibus 1 – Dark Horse, Mar 2007 [0] ::

1199. ↑52 (1251) : Appleseed 2 – Dark Horse, May 2008 [0.5] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Appleseed 1 – Dark Horse, Apr 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Appleseed Hypernotes – Dark Horse, Sep 2007 [0] ::

. (last ranked 6 Apr 08) : Cannon God Exaxxion 4 – Dark Horse, Aug 2005 [0] ::

. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Crying Freeman 2 – Dark Horse, Jun 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 25 May 08) : Crying Freeman 5 – Dark Horse, Mar 2007 [0] ::

. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Eden 1 – Dark Horse, Nov 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Eden 10 – Dark Horse, Apr 2008 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Eden 2 – Dark Horse, Feb 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Eden 4 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Eden 7 – Dark Horse, Apr 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Eden 9 – Dark Horse, Jul 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Eden 8 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Eden 3 – Dark Horse, May 2006 [0] ::

. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Old Boy 1 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Old Boy 8 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Old Boy 7 – Dark Horse, Jul 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 22 June 08) : Old Boy 5 – Dark Horse, Mar 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Old Boy 3 – Dark Horse, Dec 2006 [0] ::

Other than Historical Epics, Horror and Action manga are the niche genres Dark Horse is best known for — though untangling these two can be difficult: Is a title moreso action-packed fast-paced horror, or a blood-splattered horror-tinged action comic? Beats me.

Some of the fantasy/historical titles below could easily be placed in either category above as well, if it weren’t for the obvious sword-play and samurai elements. Speaking of:

##

Samurai, Ninja, and Fantasy:

64. ↑8 (72) : Blade of the Immortal 19 – Dark Horse, Jun 2008 [344] ::
255. ↑21 (276) : Blade of the Immortal 18 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [125.7] ::
354. ↓-2 (352) : Blade of the Immortal 20 – Dark Horse, Dec 2008 [82] ::
1084. ↑68 (1152) : Blade of the Immortal 17 – Dark Horse, Jun 2007 [2.7] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Blade of the Immortal 15 – Dark Horse, Feb 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 4 May 08) : Blade of the Immortal 12 – Dark Horse, Dec 2003 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Blade of the Immortal 10 – Dark Horse, Jun 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Blade of the Immortal 13 – Dark Horse, Aug 2004 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Blade of the Immortal 8 – Dark Horse, Aug 2001 [0] ::
. (last ranked 22 June 08) : Blade of the Immortal 16 – Dark Horse, Feb 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Blade of the Immortal 11 – Dark Horse, Dec 2002 [0] ::

377. ↑36 (413) : Bride of the Water God 2 – Dark Horse, Jan 2008 [75.8] ::
1089. ↑441 (1530) : Bride of the Water God 1 – Dark Horse, Oct 2007 [2.6] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Bride of the Water God 3 – Dark Horse, Dec 1899 [0] ::

834. ↑new (0) : Lone Wolf & Cub 27 – Dark Horse, Nov 2002 [8.1] ::
897. ↑new (last ranked 25 May 08) : Lone Wolf & Cub 26 – Dark Horse, Oct 2002 [6.5] ::
928. ↓-326 (602) : Lone Wolf & Cub 13 – Dark Horse, Sep 2001 [5.9] ::
1206. ↓-187 (1019) : Lone Wolf & Cub 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2000 [0.4] ::
1545. ↓-92 (1453) : Lone Wolf & Cub 3 – Dark Horse, Nov 2000 [0.1] ::
1605. ↑46 (1651) : Lone Wolf & Cub 4 – Dark Horse, Jan 2001 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Lone Wolf & Cub 24 – Dark Horse, Jul 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Lone Wolf & Cub 23 – Dark Horse, Jun 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Lone Wolf & Cub 25 – Dark Horse, Aug 2002 [0] ::
. (last ranked 20 Apr 08) : Lone Wolf & Cub 5 – Dark Horse, Jan 2001 [0] ::
. (last ranked 4 May 08) : Lone Wolf & Cub 2 – Dark Horse, Oct 2000 [0] ::

746. ↓-126 (620) : Path of the Assassin 11 – Dark Horse, Jun 2008 [11.3] ::
1135. ↑new (0) : Path of the Assassin 12 – Dark Horse, Jun 2008 [1.3] ::
1311. ↓-208 (1103) : Path of the Assassin 10 – Dark Horse, Mar 2008 [0.2] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 7 – Dark Horse, Sep 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 1 – Dark Horse, Jul 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 6 – Dark Horse, Apr 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 9 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 8 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [0] ::
. (last ranked 1 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 4 – Dark Horse, Jan 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 5 – Dark Horse, Feb 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Path of the Assassin 2 – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [0] ::

1060. ↓-33 (1027) : 3×3 Eyes 8 – Dark Horse, May 2004 [3.6] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : 3×3 Eyes 1 – Dark Horse, Apr 2003 [0] ::
. (last ranked 4 May 08) : 3×3 Eyes 4 – Dark Horse, Mar 2002 [0] ::

[note: 3×3 eyes, incomplete at 9 out of 40(?) volumes, is also out of print. Occasionally volumes still sell from online retailers — hence their place on this list]

1257. ↓-5 (1252) : Color of Rage – Dark Horse, May 2008 [0.3] ::

1398. ↑271 (1669) : Usagi Yojimbo 21 – Dark Horse, Jun 2007 [0.2] ::
1454. ↑new (0) : Usagi Yojimbo 15 – Dark Horse, Feb 2002 [0.1] ::

1557. ↓-88 (1469) : Shaman Warrior 3 – Dark Horse, May 2007 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 30 Mar 08) : Shaman Warrior 6 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [0] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Shaman Warrior 1 – Dark Horse, Jan 2007 [0] ::

. (last ranked 22 June 08) : Banya The Explosive Delivery Man 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2006 [0] ::

. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Chunchu: Genocide Fiend 3 – Dark Horse, Jan 2008 [0] ::

. (last ranked 8 June 08) : King of Wolves – Dark Horse, May 2005 [0] ::

. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Lady Snowblood 2 – Dark Horse, Jan 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Lady Snowblood 1 – Dark Horse, Oct 2005 [0] ::

. (last ranked 8 June 08) : Monkey King 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2005 [0] ::

. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Samurai Executioner 8 – Dark Horse, Dec 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Samurai Executioner 9 – Dark Horse, Jan 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 23 Mar 08) : Samurai Executioner 6 – Dark Horse, Jun 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 23 Mar 08) : Samurai Executioner 7 – Dark Horse, Aug 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 22 June 08) : Samurai Executioner 3 – Dark Horse, Dec 2004 [0] ::

. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Satsuma Gishiden 2 – Dark Horse, Jan 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Satsuma Gishiden 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2006 [0] ::
. (last ranked 29 Jun 08) : Satsuma Gishiden 3 – Dark Horse, Apr 2007 [0] ::

. (last ranked 25 May 08) : Ohikkoshi – Dark Horse, Oct 2006 [0] ::

Lone Wolf & Cub: been out for 6 years (8 years for the first volumes) and is still selling.

DH was so successful with Lone Wolf & Cub that they made a point of licensing anything else in that genre, or by writer Kazuo Koike, or by artist Goseki Kojima.

Personally, I think I like some of the historical fantasy at least as well as the samurai epics, if not more. (If nothing else this exercise has reminded me again of Bride of the Water God, and given me a couple other titles to check out soon)

##

“wait, Dark Horse publishes that?“

1034. ↑588 (1622) : Megatokyo 1 – Dark Horse, Mar 2004 [4.2] ::
. (last ranked 13 Jul 08) : Megatokyo 3 – Dark Horse, Jan 2005 [0] ::
. (last ranked 13 Apr 08) : Megatokyo 2 – Dark Horse, Jan 2004 [0] ::

[Megatokyo vols 4 & 5 were released by CMX]

1296. ↑new (0) : Harlequin Pink The Bachelor Prince – Dark Horse, Jun 2006 [0.2] ::
. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Harlequin Pink Heart on Fire – Dark Horse, Jan 2007 [0] ::
. (last ranked 20 Apr 08) : Harlequin Pink A Girl in a Milllion – Dark Horse, Dec 2005 [0] ::

1539. ↓-97 (1442) : Haibane Renmei – Dark Horse, Aug 2006 [0.1] ::

1540. ↓-97 (1443) : Hanami International Love Story 3 – Dark Horse, Jan 2008 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 23 Mar 08) : Hanami International Love Story 4 – Dark Horse, Mar 2008 [0] ::

1561. ↓-88 (1473) : Translucent 1 – Dark Horse, Jul 2007 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 6 Jul 08) : Translucent 3 – Dark Horse, Feb 2008 [0] ::

. (last ranked 18 May 08) : Tanpenshu 1 – Dark Horse, Jan 2007 [0] ::

Remember Harlequin manga? Of course you don’t. No one does, and yet, it exists — like some random bit of cross-dimension flotsam washed upon our shores by the time quake that almost fractured the multiverse back in aught-five (wait… ’05? I thought that was in AUC 2758… dammit, which universe am I stuck in this time?)

moving on…

And now I’d like to present a dramatic recreation, from last week when the volume in question first appeared on my charts:

“Haibane Renmai manga? Aw shit yeah, where’s my credit card?”

…but you know, that’s how I roll. (and I’m still waiting for delivery of said volume)

Before I close out (and honestly, this has been a long haul so I don’t know if I have any conclusions) let me just say that Translucent is an excellent series that isn’t getting enough attention.

##

I’m taking these in roughly-alphabetically order (a fact you might have already sussed), which means next Sunday—perhaps sooner—I’ll be tackling Del Rey and/or DMP. In between now and then I think I might highlight some of the smaller, 3rd-tier publishers with this same sort of treatment; not a full-on ‘spotlight’ perhaps, but enough to bring some new titles (and new companies) to your attention.

And maybe I can post one or two conclusions after all:

Dark Horse has always innovated. They’ve gone out on limbs, carved out new markets where they didn’t really exist before, nurtured and rewarded talent, and cultivated relationships even when it didn’t seem to make sense for the bottom line.

Doing well by folks is always good for the bottom line. Making a buck is fine, and money is one of the points of the exercise, but business is about relationships. This is a point that Mike Richardson gets; even if he’s never put it into words in that exact way, it shows in his actions, and through his company. My only complaint about Dark Horse Manga is that there isn’t enough of it.

(Well… and maybe I have some questions about Cannon God EXaXXion, but questions aren’t quite the same as complaints.)