Pulp (manga magazine)

Pulp was an American manga magazine and literary imprint published by Viz Media from 1997 to 2002. The magazine, which primarily published English-language translations of seinen manga, was the first English-language magazine that published manga aimed at an adult readership.

Pulp
Cover to the first issue of Pulp, with artwork from Dance till Tomorrow by Naoki Yamamoto
Editor-in-ChiefAlvin Lu
CategoriesManga (seinen)
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherSeiji Horibuchi
First issueDecember 1997 (1997-12)
Final issueJuly 2002 (2002-07)
CompanyViz Media
CountryUnited States, Canada
Based inSan Francisco, California
LanguageEnglish

History

During the anime boom of the 1990s, the initial wave of manga and anime titles localized for English-language audiences were aimed at children, such as Sailor Moon and Pokémon. Upon launching in 1997, Pulp became the first English-language manga magazine to publish manga aimed at an adult audience,[1] and emerged as one of several magazines (along with Raijin Comics, Animerica Extra, and others) to publish manga titles aimed at demographics outside of children's manga.[2]

Pulp published editorial features, media reviews, and longform articles in addition to manga.[1] The magazine expanded in February 2000 to incorporate a wider range of content on Japanese culture, such as photography from Nobuyoshi Araki, reviews by Heinz Insu Fenkl,[3] and "Vulgarity Drifting Diary", a column by sex worker Hikaru Natsumi,[4] nearly doubling the size of the print edition in the process.[5] Pulp also published Pulp Books, a line of non-fiction books created in partnership with Cadence Books.[6]

Sales for Pulp were consistently low.[2] In May 2002, Viz announced that Pulp would cease publication with its August 2002 issue, published in July of that year.[1] The final issue of the magazine focused on contributor interpretations of the theme of "Manga Hell", including the erotic comics of Osamu Tezuka and the horror comics of Kazuo Koike.[7][8] The magazine's unfinished serialization of Banana Fish continued in Animerica Extra (which itself would fold in 2004),[9] while other titles were published directly as graphic novels by Viz under their Editor's Choice imprint.[10]

Serializations

The following titles were serialized in Pulp:[4][11]

Titles serialized in Pulp were also published as collected editions by Viz under a Pulp-branded literary imprint with its own unique trade dress.[2]

Reception and legacy

Pulp has been noted as being "instrumental in disseminating manga culture" in North America.[12] The magazine was regarded positively by critics and commentators, with Warren Ellis calling the magazine "amongst the best things currently being published in the English language" and Wizard describing the magazine as "some of the coolest, most subversive manga being translated into English today."[13] Reflecting on the magazine's commercial failure, Viz editor Shaenon K. Garrity described Pulp as publishing "manga most people just weren't ready for, stuff that was too smart, sexy, bloody, creepy, surreal, or just plain untranslatable for prime time."[8]

In 2010 Viz launched the literary imprint Viz Signature and the digital distribution platform SigIKKI (an online English version of Monthly Ikki), both of which publish manga aimed at adult audiences. Pulp was noted by Viz as a forerunner to both platforms, with Viz editorial manager Leyla Aker stating that SigIKKI was jokingly referred to as "Pulp 2.0" in internal planning discussions.[2]

See also

Notes
  1. Published under the title Black and White.

References
  1. "Viz details cancellation of 'Pulp: The Manga Magazine'" (Press release). Comic Book Resources. Viz Media. May 1, 2002. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  2. Alverson, Brigid (February 9, 2010). "Viz Signature and Manga for Grownups". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  3. "Anime News Briefs". Anime News Network. February 22, 2000. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  4. Arnold, Adam (June 2001). "PULP: The Other World of Manga". Animefringe. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. "Pulp Magazine Reviewed". Anime News Network. July 24, 2000. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  6. "Pulp Books". Pulp. Archived from the original on November 20, 2000. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  7. McCulloch, Joe (April 12, 2011). "THIS WEEK IN COMICS! (4/13/11 – Thank you, Mr. Taro)". The Comics Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  8. Garrity, Shaenon K. "Overlooked Manga Festival Special Event". New Smithsonian. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  9. Macdonald, Christopher (December 17, 2004). "Animerica Extra Canceled". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  10. Dacey, Katherine (April 22, 2012). "An Introduction to the VIZ Signature Imprint". Manga Bookshelf. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  11. Kinsey, Christopher. "The Best Anime Magazine You Never Read: PULP". Anime Outsiders. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  12. Yadao, Jason S. (2009). The Rough Guide to Manga. Penguin. p. 242. ISBN 978-1858285610.
  13. "Pulp Hype". Pulp. Archived from the original on November 20, 2000. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
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