America: My Time

Chapter 15 Phoenix Comics
Chapter Fifteen Phoenix Comics
As news of the success of the Japanese comic book company reached the United States, the Bayard family was once again shocked. John's repeated successes had long convinced them he was a genius, the very genius the family had been hoping for. However, they still didn't have high hopes for John's investment in Japan, considering it a major blunder! In their view, an American trying to challenge the culture of an Asian country like Japan was arrogant and overconfident. Now, the success of Phoenix Comics Weekly left them dumbfounded, realizing they had underestimated John's abilities.

Comics are regional, and each region has its own unique characteristics! Phoenix Comics breaks through regional limitations. Whether it's Dragon Ball, Fist of the North Star, or Saint Seiya, they can all get people excited.

Before its launch, John had already set the goal for the weekly comic book magazine: global distribution, not just limited to Japan. After its great success in Japan, it quickly began to expand into surrounding markets!

Phoenix Comics has a presence in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and its expansion will continue into Southeast Asia—this is John's development plan. Before entering the European and American markets, Phoenix Comics must first seize the Asian market. Only by consolidating its core market can it withstand any storms. The entire Asia region is Phoenix Comics' core market!

In less than two months, the members of the Bayard family realized that supporting John was the right decision. They believed in John's talent in business. He had won over the entire family in just two months. If this was not genius, then what was?
Phoenix Comics' success is just the beginning, and its distribution is limited to Asia. Such a bestselling weekly comic book will inevitably be introduced to Europe and America. Phoenix Comics cannot proactively reach out to these companies; they must wait for them to come to them. While the Asian comic book market can be controlled by Japan, this approach won't work in the European and American markets. To develop independently, they need to continue expanding, requiring enormous capital that Phoenix Comics cannot afford. Any market shift could be devastating for the company! Actively negotiating partnerships with European and American distributors would only result in them exploiting them.

Even in the US, John never considered publishing Phoenix Comics himself. It wasn't that he lacked the ability, but rather that it wasn't worth wasting precious time on such trivial matters. The US comic book industry was controlled by a group of old-timers, and getting Phoenix Comics approved wouldn't be easy. Rather than wasting time and energy arguing with those old fogies, it was better to proactively give up and have a comic book publisher handle distribution. Although it would mean earning a little less money, it was much easier!

Judging from the circulation and trends of the Japanese comic market, as long as Phoenix Comics Weekly doesn't encounter any major problems, global sales are not a dream. It can sell 500 million copies in Japan alone, and that might be even higher over six months; globally, tens of millions is not out of the question.

A weekly magazine with a circulation of tens of millions would incur astronomical advertising fees. Phoenix Comics has been successful in Japan, and some advertisers have already contacted them, but unfortunately, they've been refused. Phoenix Comics will not accept any advertising for the next six months; everything will be discussed again after six months!

The more Phoenix Comics disdains advertising, the more desirable it becomes. If an advertising agreement could be signed when Phoenix Comics was just starting out, advertising companies would undoubtedly benefit immensely, reaping huge profits. Unfortunately, no matter how these people tried to persuade them, Phoenix Comics remained unmoved. As the president of Phoenix Comics, Matsumoto Taro wasn't a fool; he naturally saw the enormous potential of Phoenix Comics, which was now being gradually realized. Why would he agree to their offer?

One week, two weeks, three weeks. When three weeks had passed, Phoenix Comics' potential was already evident. Sales in Japan reached 350 million copies, and with promotion and distribution in other Asian countries, the total circulation in Asia exceeded 600 million copies, making it the leader in Japanese comics. It directly reversed its fortunes and became the king, suppressing other comics!

In just three weeks, it achieved a meteoric rise to become the king of the Japanese comics market—a feat few could believe. The facts are undeniable; you can't argue with that. At this point, European and American distributors also recognized Phoenix Comics' enormous potential and began negotiating with them about distributing the comics in Europe and America!

The sudden explosion of Phoenix Comics had a huge impact on the entire Japanese publishing industry, making them see the gap between themselves and Phoenix Comics and begin to reflect on their own shortcomings!

Some say Phoenix Comics' success is due to opportunism, attributing its popularity to its use of color publishing. True experts understand this isn't the whole story. While color publishing can increase sales, it can't dominate the Japanese market, or even the Asian market. Phoenix Comics has now virtually swept the entire Asian comics market and attracted the attention of its Western counterparts—something color publishing simply couldn't achieve!
Almost the entire Japanese manga industry was studying Phoenix Comics' success, hoping to replicate it. However, they were quickly dumbfounded. A group of Japanese manga artists realized they simply couldn't meet Phoenix Comics' standards. Phoenix Comics was fundamentally different from them. Phoenix Comics was a large collective; everyone worked together to support the main storyline, not a single artist making decisions. This was something Japanese manga artists couldn't do, especially established artists who wouldn't accept it. One person's time is limited; in a limited time, they simply couldn't achieve such high-quality production!

The successful experience is right there, but it is very difficult to actually replicate it. Even if a cartoonist can solve it, the concept of the comic becomes another big problem. Not everyone has John's terrifying ability to create outlines for more than a dozen comics by himself!
Although Phoenix Comics has only published a few issues, none of its dozen or so comics have received negative reviews. Whether in Japan or other Asian countries, they have not attracted any negative reviews; almost all of them have received positive reviews. Anyone who likes comics can find their favorite works in Phoenix Comics Weekly. This is one of the reasons for Phoenix Comics' success: it has a wide audience and can fully adapt to the global market without geographical limitations.

Many Japanese comic artists, though unwilling to admit their inferior skills, are forced to concede the truth. Phoenix Comics' sales figures speak for themselves; you can't help but admire them. If you're so capable, try sweeping the Asian comic market like Phoenix Comics. Most importantly, the Asian comic market isn't saturated; it still has enormous untapped potential. Add to that the ongoing negotiations with the European and American markets, and in short, Phoenix Comics is poised for explosive success, virtually unchallenged in the comic market!
The popularity of comics has accelerated the development of animation and the expansion of light novels and fashion magazines. Initially, many people were not optimistic about Phoenix Comics and did not take the invitation from Phoenix Comics seriously. Now, things have reversed. The booming sales of Phoenix Comics have forced these people to reconsider. Even though it is a newly established publishing house, it has unimaginable potential, which is very attractive. After all, every writer longs for a big platform!

Seeing a bright future beckoning them, the employees of Phoenix Comics Company are even more enthusiastic, working overtime to complete their tasks and contributing their share to the development of Phoenix Comics!
If overtime were a problem in the US, it's unthinkable; no one would work overtime for the company, even with bonuses. In fact, guilds might even cause trouble. This isn't a problem in Japan. Everyone is fully committed to the company's development. That's why John chose to locate Phoenix Comics in Japan—the difference in employee quality is enormous!

If Phoenix Comics' situation were to occur in the United States, Phoenix Comics would likely face not accelerated development, but rather obstruction from employees and unions. Phoenix Comics' great success would naturally lead employees to want more benefits, and strikes might be possible. However, this would not happen in Japan!

Even with the same cost, no one would choose the United States, let alone the fact that the cost in Japan is far less than that in the United States. The choice is obvious!

(End of this chapter)