Dmg emanga12/28/2023 ![]() However, when doing so gives me access to books I may like to read but not own permanently-as is largely the case with BL, I’m afraid-I have no complaints whatsoever. True, reading manga on my computer is not nearly as comfortable as curling up on the corner of the couch with a printed volume. Still, I am not peeved at all by the move toward digital distribution. All I have is a Kindle-which, as mentioned, is useless for manga-and a personal computer. MICHELLE: My experience is pretty different, as I own neither smartphone nor tablet. But my space for books is increasingly limited, and it would be relief to be able to just carry them all with me on one small device. High-end hardcover releases from companies like Vertical, Fantagraphics, and (recently) Yen Press would always have a place on my bookshelves. I mentioned to someone at New York Comic Con-Robert Newman, maybe-that if I could read all the manga I wanted on my iPad, in high quality, I’d never buy a print book again. Reading on the iPad-both prose books and comics-is a real pleasure. ![]() But I’m absolutely in love with my tablet. I love the look and feel of print books, and I really dislike reading comics on my computer. And the potential for downloadable PDFs is not even on the table, to my knowledge.Īs far as digital distribution in general… I never thought I’d be a convert. They’re also behind in terms of delivery-their flash-based reader doesn’t work on my tablet, and though their Android app has been live for a month or so, their iOS release lags behind. Though not specifically (or even significantly) a BL publisher, JManga’s BL releases have been some of my favorites this year. I have high hopes for the upcoming revamp of eManga-and I hope easing off their print schedule is helping to move that along more quickly-but for the moment, SuBLime is absolutely in the lead.Īnd then there’s JManga. I’ve been endlessly frustrated by the fact that I can’t read books from my eManga account in the iPad app (and vice-versa), and though downloadable PDFs wouldn’t be my first choice for delivery, they are at least transferrable from one device to the next. ![]() While manga delivered by way of DMP’s iPad app looks like a million bucks, their Kindle releases are far from it (see this article for an example), and eManga’s built-in reader is an incredibly limiting choice for those of us who don’t enjoy reading comics on our computers. Though I haven’t been a fan of SuBLime’s licenses, they crush DMP so far in terms of both visual quality and ease of delivery. I’m inclined to believe it’s a little of both, and I agree pretty strongly on the first bit. So does fan disappointment with DMP stem from the quality and delivery method of their digital releases, or digital in general? In our “fannish highlights” thread, for example, a reader named Lee named DRM-free digital BL as her most significant fan experience of the year, crediting SuBLime as the leader of the pack. Part of my surprise, I think, is due to the largely positive feedback from BL fans regarding Viz’s SuBLime Manga-a mostly-digital imprint whose print releases make up a relatively small portion of their catalogue. Though comments run the gamut from reluctant understanding to pointed rage, at least half of the fans who took the time to weigh in specifically mentioned how little they like the company’s digital releases. Given the North American BL industry’s overall shift to digital distribution over the past year, I admit I was a bit surprised by the level of vitriol aimed at Hikaru Sasahara’s recent announcement regarding DMP’s print hiatus. So before we get down to naming favorites, let’s talk a little about the genre’s move to digital. We’ve seen a wealth of new BL titles hitting the shelves in 2012, though our “shelves” have been largely virtual, thanks to new digital publishers like SuBLime, JManga, and the Digital Manga Guild. MELINDA: As BL discussions have cropped up in comments over the past couple of weeks, both in the 2012 fannish highlights thread and in this week’s Manga the Week of, Michelle and I thought we’d use this month’s BL Bookrack column to open up some official discussion on our favorite BL of the year.
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