From the 1970s onwards, a huge number of Thai children have grown up reading Japanese comic books that formed a big part of their pop-cultural upbringing. Thai publisher Vibulkij led the charge by becoming the first to actually acquire licenses to publish comic books in Thailand in 1992. Adopting the Japanese model of releasing weekly magazines containing single chapters from various series, Vibulkij launched Friday, Thailand's first weekly manga magazine. These magazines gave readers the advantage of reading ahead of the collected volumes, of which only several were released each year for each series.
Photos courtesy of Siam Inter Comics and NED Comics
But times have changed and the structure of the comic book market, like other book markets, is going through a drastic shift due to technology and consumer behaviour. For a start, and to the sadness of many fans, two of Thailand's veteran manga magazines, Boom and Viva Friday, were recently discontinued by long-time industry titans NED (Nation Edutainment) and Vibulkij respectively.
, which has been in publication since 1994, released its final issue in March to the disbelief of their followers, many of whom have been buying and collecting their licensed Japanese comic books for decades. The popular magazine, which held licenses to iconic, era-defining titles such as Dragon Ball, Naruto, Doraemon, Slam Dunk and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, was stopped due to declining sales. These are titles that Thai children from the 80s grew up reading and loving.
Boom
"Over the past few years we've seen a noticeable contraction in our market," says Wongsiri Sankhavasi Miyaji, editor in chief of NED.
"The decline in sales isn't even because less people are reading comics, but that less people are buying them."
The cause is all too familiar. The fall in sales experienced by all comic book publishers can be attributed to the growing popularity of "scanlation" or "fansub" websites, which upload translated scans of comic book chapters on the internet as they are released weekly. These pirated episodes are also released at approximately the same time as the original episodes are published in Japan, unlike the licensed translated volumes which are often released months behind the original Japanese episodes.
The company discussed with the license owners in Japan regarding the issue of the delayed release schedules and whether it could do anything to bridge the gap.
"However, it was concluded that we would not have enough time to properly translate the chapters in time for them to be published on the same day as in Japan and that's very important to us," says Wongsiri.
"At NED, we don't just translate the original Japanese text verbatim; we always try to add in more meaning and Thai-appropriate humour to our comics and that takes more time."
While the situation seems dire for NED and Vibulkij, publisher Siam Inter Comics doesn't seem as affected by the same problems as its competitors. Its weekly comic magazine, C-Kids (recently rebranded as C-Kids Express), has become the first Thai comic magazine to successfully release episodes at the same time as Japanese magazines.
"We've long been aware of the negative factors that play a part in the purchasing decisions of our readers" says Wichai Limsiriphothong, managing editor of Siam Inter Comics.
"Acting on information we've gathered from our readership, we managed to convince the copyright holders in Japan to let us publish their comics at the same time as they do. Readers have no reason to read amateurish translations online if they have an up-to-date source to read comics translated by professionals."
According to Wichai, a common mistake made by Thai comic publishers is the fact that they expend too much effort into increasing their readership (which they hope will in turn raise sales) by trying to appeal to people who read comics online or from rental stores. To Wichai, these non-buyers aren't going to start buying the actual comics books.
"A majority of people who choose to consume comics illegally online or through rentals aren't people who are interested in buying comics in the first place. Those who buy comics but can't wait for the most up-to-date episodes no longer have any reason to go online, as they can get a better experience buying the comics legally. Basically, there are people out there who would be more than happy to pay for properly licensed comic books. They just don't want to wait."
Growing popularity in e-book products has also had an effect on the comic book industry, as more and more people now consume their books via their tablets or smart devices. Traditional ink-and-paper books are no longer the way to go in a generation where everyone has an e-book reader in their hands.
Publishers NED and Siam Inter Comics are aware of this new medium of media consumption, though breaking into the new market is easier said than done.
"We've actually been offering our licensed comics in e-book format for the last three to four years," says Wongsiri of NED. "The growth of e-comic books has been slow in large part due to the Japanese copyright holders' fear of piracy. So far, we've only received permission to sell less popular titles digitally, as our Japanese partners continue to discuss the feasibility of putting their most prized titles on the digital market, where it can be pirated even more easily."
The slow growth of the E-book market is not exclusive to NED, however.
"Siam Inter Comics has been selling its licensed comics as e-books for the past couple of years," says Wichai. "The Japanese are very sensitive about which titles can be sold in this manner, which has so far limited the content we can provide to our readers."
The saving grace of traditional, ink-and-paper comic books, according to Wongsiri, could very well lie in their nostalgic value among adult readers and collectors. Series like the pirate epic One Piece have been in publication for decades, with over 70 volumes released so far.
"Nowadays, there are less people who collect comic book issues as they are released, opting to wait till the series concludes before buying the whole collection," Wongsiri says.
"Comic books are now collectors' items; our way of seeing it is that our readers will go to read the more up-to-date chapters online, then buy the licensed volumes for collection purposes."
The same sentiments can be heard from Wichai.
"During our process of collecting reader opinions, I received many photos of readers' bookshelves, lined with volumes of comics dating back decades. Some of these people have collected these comics since they were children. They may not even be reading the books any more, but many of them are determined to finish their collections."
"Comic books are now collectors’ items; readers will go to read the more up-to-date chapters online, then buy the licensed volumes for collection purposes"
Manga through the Ages
Thailand's comic book industry as it is today actually began before Vibulkij's acquisition of the license from Japanese publisher Akita Shouten.
Ever since the late 80s, iconic series such as Dragon Ball, Perman, Slam Dunk, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Berserk have been floating around Thai comic book stores, gaining the attention of children and adults alike. Dragon Ball in particular has sparked an entire generation of comic books that mimics its format of storytelling: the protagonist faces defeat from a stronger foe, receives intense training to become more powerful, before ultimately defeating the foe thanks to his increased powers, rinse and repeat.
The industry, however, cemented its status quo as a major part of Thailand's pop-culture in the 90s, with help from popular children's' television show Channel Nine Cartoons. Airing every Saturday morning, the show featured episodes from various Japanese animated cartoons, including iconic series such as Doraemon, Digimon, Sailormoon and Conan The Boy Detective. The show became an access point for children, who seek out the volumes of their favourite series to sate their excitement till the next airing of Channel Nine Cartoon.
The 90s also saw the beginnings of many comic series that have become massive cultural icons today, such as the pirate epic One Piece and the ninja series Naruto.
The appeal of Japanese comic books has always been the fact that there is something for everyone; no matter your age or gender, there will be a comic book that fits your taste. Light, colourful children's series like Doraemon populate one end of the spectrum, while more mature series like Berserk populate the other end.
Unlike cartoons from the West, Japanese cartoons tend to be more liberal with their use and expression of violence, even in child-orientated shows such as Conan The Boy Detective, which has had its fair-share of violent deaths and bloodshed. This allowed Japanese comic books and cartoons that seemed to appeal mostly to children to have relevance for an adult audience as well.
