Scanning… that’s a very ugly word in some reading circles. Mainly because creators lose out on short-term profits. How? Putting an entire picture story on the internet has smarter people say: why bother buying this? But what if I told you that putting up cease-and-desist or copyright infringement orders is thinking too small?
Are you saying that the only people who can make money on something we worked hard for are more entitled?
Again- that’s thinking too small. If your publisher is more willing to spend more time and money to put something down than build you up; doesn’t that mean there’s something wrong? What if instead of seeing this as just stealing, turn this into a new reader friendly market? Because that’s exactly what Viz Media and Webtoon did!
Scanning Comics Everywhere
So what exactly is scanning? Putting comic pages on a photo copier? That and putting the pics on the internet without permission. The average internet goers probably more familiar with scanlations. It’s essentially copying the original piece and translating the text into another language. That’s big with manga, especially the ones without official translations. For example, my country has never heard of the manga Holyland. Not casually anyway, just the niches looking for great stories with street fights. In fact, Italy has more exposure to it in the West. And since it’s too expensive to import the Italian editions over, why should I bother to learn Italian to read it? Sure the reception is great, but I need more convenience. And no, I can’t find the K or J-Dramas, besides they’re a step down in quality. Partly because there’s too little material.
Motto baka nishitai!
Can’t People Just…
Alright, so what about the stuff that actually does have permits to get around? Marvel and DC basically outsource everything to get their way. Personally, I look for the stuff that’s not sold anywhere anymore, like most of the old Wildstorm stuff. That way it’s less of a kickback from the makers. Especially for the really old stuff in the public domain that might be a little dated.
As for everybody else… well you can’t deny that most people who go onto these scan websites read popular stuff. I still see Invincible and the Walking Dead topping these. Not to mention some of these websites have ad revenue, so it’s not ideal for creators to miss out on profit. But then again, how many creators actually profit off of traditional outlets?
The Problem With Publishing
Frankly a lot of people are asking the wrong questions. Instead of “why are these websites putting our stuff up for free”; ask “how many people know about our comic?” In an earlier post, I mention how the turn to speculation has cut the average person off from western comics. It’s scientifically proven that hypermarket retail like Wal-Mart is still people’s go-to place to buy anything. And that’s despite ranking low on grocery chains. Ask anyone what traditional American comic book you’ll find in a Target, chances are it’s the TMNT: Last Ronin and its follow-ups. How come? Anybody’s guess.
You don’t see anyone putting up the latest Spider-Man or Batman albums that aren’t aimed at kids or young adults. The issues that make them up tend to be the best-sellers at comic stores, unlike the graphic novels. And that’s if someone can find a comic store. Do a search on this link, chances are the closest one is 10-20 miles away if you’re not in a city. And if some data from these stores is any indication, the marketing for quality titles is terrible. With that infrastructure, it’s no wonder there’s a sense of elitism in American Comics.
What About Digital?
Even worse, creators get the easiest time with payments from these physical sources. Digital might have a longer reach and Amazon is probably the most convenient place for these, but they usually have to reach certain thresholds. Plus with so many sources, it’s hard to centralize payments this way. And those international markets… it’s a bureaucratic mess. Often you need to ask permission from different people that can take forever. Most of the time, they only act to protect an image out of convenience.
Is Scanning Good?
Here’s another question people don’t bother to ask. What do publishers do to get around this scan problem? Cuz let me tell ya, copyright strikes aren’t working. Most of the time, people just find an international server to work on. So instead publishers decided to work this to their advantage. Viz Media noticing the high amount of scanlation websites learned first-hand that these places where fans relieve their anime cliffhangers got people interested in their content. This pushed Viz’s parent company Shueisha to develop a service meant to rival these sites.
Granted Weekly Shonen Jump was a trial-and-error process to be as accessible and affordable as possible. At first translation took two weeks away from the current issue. But after a year of that hurdle, Viz’s brand became highly sought after, often being a top performing app. Before that had to stop with its next evolution Shonen Jump+ as an expansion where the latest issues are available for free. With this a very casual friendly service as an ad, if anyone wanted to experience the whole package, all they needed was a 2 buck-a-month subscription. Or better yet, the backup service Manga Plus which offered a wider scope of titles in addition to a backlog. All at affordable rates with flexible means like ad walls or subscriptions.
It’s Great Marketing!
This isn’t just manga either. South Korea’s Naver didn’t just see their webtoons are on scanlation websites, they saw a demand in a market they didn’t think was possible. It helps that their best titles were often in the same hot lists as Japan’s best. So with a global launch, they opened a few offices to spread their content officially. All the while giving the best experience possible on phones. Nowadays, even Japanese manga apps use the infinite scroll and unlockable issue combo.
With people more aware of their content than ever both Viz and Webtoon could go beyond people’s devices. Solo Leveling, Hooky, Chainsawman, and more decorate popular store shelves. Regular best-sellers on Amazon too.
What Did America Do To Fight Scanning?
Now let’s compare that to the United States. The most famous players Marvel and DC basically just wave cease-and-desists around. Sure they’ve got apps and services, but compared to above, Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite just aren’t as functional. The scans have them beat in both convenience and up-to-date content that they don’t promote. In laymen’s terms, they’re not putting in the effort to be anything other than for an existing fanbase. And most of these fans don’t want to waste their money. Marvel at the very least has an advantage with Unlimited and showing up on search results for “comics”. Even then, it’s still behind on the more convenient services of GoComics.
You don’t see any scans for these strips because there’s no pressure to. Besides translation, there’s no reason anyone can’t go onto the website and read. Navigation might not be ideal for serialized strips like Dick Tracy, but that’s a nitpick.
Even pay-for strips in Comics Kingdom are still high earners thanks to good deals and IP like Popeye. Just the Hoopla library service gets someone a month’s worth of strips for two weeks on a borrow. More than enough time for people to consider a full subscription.
When newspaper strips can adapt more easily than comic books, you have to ask who’s really doing something wrong.
Scans Scare Big People
So while scanning might be a minor inconvenience to a publisher’s next paycheck, it’s anything but an attack. It’s a wakeup call to change an approach in how people interact with comics. Because you can’t fault a customer for wanting a few less extra steps. Heck, there are still websites dedicated to scans of Chinese manhua. Not to mention a surprisingly regular Google trend of Chinese scan sites. FYI, China bars Google and has its own search engines. With that in mind, scanning is probably the best form of preservation and advertising a comic can get. It’s way more market effort than most publishers do.
If those publishers want people off of these scan websites, they can’t keep being lazy. Frankly they’d be better off hiring the scanners for ad campaigns. Even with services like GlobalComix, a little more marketing and visibility could go a long way.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.