The publishing and reading landscape is changing beyond recognition, yet many publishers are missing exciting opportunities thanks to their fixation with the twentieth century publishing model.
France and Belgium are of course the home of comics, superheroes aside, so it should come as no surprise that they are itching to embrace the webtoon model as it trends to mainstream in the west, after a decade or more of consolidation and expansion in the east.
Many western publishers are wary of the webtoon concept, because it follows the oriental style of reading vertically rather than horizontally, meaning standard western-format comics do not easily transfer to the webtoon system.
Belgium’s Editions Depuis sees that as an opportunity, not a problem, and has partnered with Banijay Kids & Family to turn the “Totally Spies!” franchise into a webtoon for the digital platform ONO.
From Kristin Brzoznowski at WorldScreen:
“Developed for digital smartphone reading, the vertical comic strips will bring the characters of Totally Spies! to a new medium. The webtoon will be available as a weekly serialization in French and available for foreign rights.”
Annick Bizet, new business and strategic alliances director at Banijay Kids & Family, explained:
“Webtoons offer a new and modern reading format for young audiences, and this project will ensure we continue catering to our audiences and the changing ways in which they consume their entertainment.”
Stéphane Ferrand, senior publishing director at Editions Dupuis, concurred, saying:
“The webtoon is now a favored medium for reading content among young people around the world, and the marriage between this and such a strong IP was inevitable.”
Read more at WorldScreen.
Per the on-going study by Rüdiger Wischenbart, the publishing and reading landscape is changing beyond recognition, yet many publishers are missing exciting opportunities thanks to their fixation with the twentieth century publishing model.
#Belgiumpublishing #Belgiumbookmarket #Comics #Webtoons #FilmandTVpublishing
