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Cel Shaded
Jason Yadao
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Magazine fizzles after 4-issue run
On June 11, I was browsing the magazine racks after work when I came upon the latest issue of PiQ.
Now, you have to understand that I've been meaning to write about PiQ ever since its first issue came out in mid-March. This was publisher ADV's much-ballyhooed replacement for Newtype USA, after all, the anime- and manga-focused magazine that was killed off by the company in January. PiQ, however, was supposed to appeal more to the pop-culture masses instead of just anime and manga fans.
The latest issue, with its cover image of the robot WALL*E from the upcoming Disney/Pixar movie, was about as far from the Newtype model as I could imagine. I figured the time was right, with four issues in print, to give it a fair review.
The publication folded three days after I picked up that issue.
"It's unfortunate that we'll never get a chance to see how successful PiQ could have been, but a combination of low advertising revenue, poor business management, and a lack of proper marketing and promotion all hamstrung the magazine from the start," a message posted at the magazine's Web site read. "We, the editorial/creative/production staff, did the best we could to put together a quality publication, but as we've discovered, without a good financial backing, it's all an exercise in futility."
I thought PiQ was a decent alternative to Newtype. Then again, I like reading in general, so you can get me to try reading pretty much anything at least once.
Perhaps what doomed PiQ from the start was that it wasn't Newtype version 2.0. Granted, it was never pitched as such, but when Newtype subscribers were rolled over into PiQ, I'm sure they had certain expectations of the magazine. Having previews of new anime series "Appleseed Ex Machina" and "Code Geass" sandwiched between looks at the Marvel Comics "Secret Invasion" crossover and the live-action TV series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," as the first issue prominently featured, likely did not meet those expectations ...
Pups on the road
I had a chance Wednesday to catch a talk that Audra Furuichi and Scott Yoshinaga, co-creators of the online comic "nemu*nemu," gave at the Mililani Library as part of the state library system's Teen Summer Reading Program. I highly recommend going to one of the remaining talks if you have a chance - watching Audra sketching characters live is alone worth the experience.
This week they're on a four-island tour to discuss the process of creating and posting comics online at the following locations:
» Thelma Parker Memorial Public & School Library (Big Island): Tomorrow, 11 a.m.
» Kailua-Kona Library (Big Island): Tomorrow, 4 p.m.
» Lihue Library (Kauai): Wednesday, noon
» Hanapepe Library (Kauai): Wednesday, 3 p.m.
» Kahului Library (Maui): Thursday, 2:30 p.m.
» Wailuku Library (Maui): Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
» Manoa Library (Oahu): Saturday, 2 p.m.
Cel Shaded, a look at the world of Japanese anime and manga, appears every Monday. Reach
Jason S. Yadao at
jyadao@starbulletin.com