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TOKYOPOP history
TOKYOPOP company history timeline
Tokyopop was founded in 1997 by Stuart J. Levy.
Tokyopop launched its first "Rising Stars of Manga" contest on August 15, 2002 and ended it on December 16, 2002, with more than five hundred American artists submitting their 15–25 page, English-language stories.
Tokyopop launched their Global Manga publishing program in 2003 via the introduction of its "Rising Stars of Manga" talent competition.
By 2004, it boasted the largest market share of manga sales in the United States, reaching as high as 50% of manga exports to the United States, according to Nissei Weekly.
Series like King of Hell by Kim Jae-hwan and Ra In-soo, and the Gothic vampire tale Model by Lee So-young are both Korean, but could easily be mistaken for manga." In 2005, Tokyopop began a new, free publication called Manga (originally Takuhai) to feature their latest releases.
In March 2006, Tokyopop and HarperCollins Publishers announced a co-publishing agreement in which the sale and distribution rights of some Tokyopop manga and books, under this co-publishing license, would be transferred to HarperCollins in mid-June 2006.
The first line of Tokyopop-HarperCollins OEL manga was released in 2007 with the goal of publishing up to 24 titles each year.
They released the first volume of a series based on the Hellgate: London video game in April 2008.
In June 2008, Tokyopop announced that it was being restructured, with its name being changed to Tokyopop Group, a holding group for several new subsidiaries.
In the years leading up to 2009, the number of Kodansha titles licensed by Tokyopop decreased.
In February 2011, the president and chief operating officer, John Parker, resigned from the company and took the position of vice president of business development for Diamond.
On April 15, 2011, Tokyopop announced that it would close its Los Angeles, CA–based North American publishing operations on May 31, 2011.
On December 10, 2012, Tokyopop's website relaunched with a letter from management stating that the company was down to a few select employees who were starting a 'new incarnation' of the company.
A letter from Levy on January 6, 2013 stated:
Tokyopop's "Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero's Journey" was nominated for two 2018 Diamond GEM awards in the categories "2018 Best All Ages Series" and "2018 Licensed TP or HC of the Year".
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TOKYOPOP competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film Roman | 1984 | $21.0M | 220 | - |
| Creative Age Publications | 1971 | $7.1M | 35 | - |
| Rosen Publishing | 1950 | $40.9M | 100 | - |
| Paste Magazine | 2002 | - | 116 | - |
| Timber Press | 1976 | $3.6M | 57 | - |
| Archie Comic Publications | 1939 | $280,000 | 6 | - |
| Trailer Park | 1994 | $14.0M | 400 | 9 |
| Madavor Media | 2004 | $930,000 | 50 | - |
| Rocky Mountain Student Media | 2008 | $5.0M | 15 | - |
| Olympusat | 1997 | $7.5M | 132 | 5 |
TOKYOPOP history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of TOKYOPOP, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about TOKYOPOP. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at TOKYOPOP. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by TOKYOPOP. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of TOKYOPOP and its employees or that of Zippia.
TOKYOPOP may also be known as or be related to TOKYOPOP, TOKYOPOP Media LLC, Tokyopop and Tokyopop, Inc.