Advanced Schedule of Articles

By TDmonthly Staff
January 2005

Check out what you’ll find over the next couple of months in TDmonthly Magazine.

Coming in February:

For Fans, Anime is Way of Life, by Kimberly Lau: Fans of Japanese animation, or anime, are becoming participants in the art they admire. The anime magazine Animerica hosts contests for fan art to highlight the best work, while anime blogs have united fans worldwide. Blogs have allowed American fans to explore newly-made Japanese cartoons, with anime projects either watched "raw," without subtitles, or subtitled by fans, known as "fansubbed."

Beyond the Cartoon: Top Anime Products, by Dennis Foley: Anime is riding a wave of popularity with a slew of video releases that include “Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex,” “Full Metal Alchemist” and “Helsing.” New action figures feature Prince SS Vegeta from “Dragon Ball Z” and “Ghost in the Shell” cyborgs. Fans anticipate the release of Full Metal Alchemist and Hellsing in video game form in February.

Little Guy Publishers, by Cicely Enright: Japanese comic books, or manga, have seen a rise in popularity in the United States. DC Comics recently introduced its CMX manga line, while publishers like Del Rey and Scholastic added graphic novel sections to their lineup. Other publishers include Top Shelf, SLG Publishing and Fantagraphics.

Taking Heroes Home: Licensing Trends, by Tricia Toney: Superhero products account for one of the largest players in the licensed products category, thanks in large part to successful feature films like “Spider-Man” and its sequel, as well as “X-Men,” “Daredevil” and “Blade.” From these popular movies spring action figures, like X-Men Wolverine, and video games, like that being developed from the early 2005 release “Constantine,” as well as posters and other collectibles.

Book Publishers Zone in On Specialty Market, by Tom Franck: At February´s American International Toy Fair, expect book publishers to woo specialty stores because of the success these stores have in selling educational toys like books. Increasingly, publishers combine books with children´s favorite television characters, attempting to utilize existing characters like Harry Potter rather than personally creating them.

Coming in March:

Trends in Die-Cast Vehicles, by Lisa Durante: Die-cast vehicles have been popular in the toy market since the first 1:64 cars were produced in England in 1947. Today, street vehicles are the trend, with the Dub City line by Jada Toys Inc. surfacing as the No. 1 seller for pre- and mid-teens and Playing Mantis´ Johnny Lightning achieving all-around top-selling status.

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