Questions for digital Manga fans

[AnemicOak]

I haven't read Manga for years, but I used to enjoy reading things like Record of Lodoss War, Ranma 1/2, Tenchi Muyo!, Fushigi Yugi (sp?), Cowboy Bebop and You're Under Arrest. Also some scifi/fantasy type titles I can't remember.

I'm interested in the idea of digital manga. Is it sold in formats like CBR/CBZ, ePub, etc.? Stuff I can use on various devices and not worry about the need for a specific store app? I looked at Viz's site and it looks like digital manga from them has to be used in their proprietary app. I tried searching Kobo, but the selection didn't look like much and most of it didn't look like something that would interest me.

I guess I'm looking for both a little guidance and maybe some title recommendations.

[rkomar]

I was hoping that you'd get an informed response, so I left off answering for a while. Since no one else answered, here's my two cents: (also, many people won't answer a question, but they'll jump right in if a wrong answer is given )

When I last checked about a year ago, DarkHorse only sold "app" versions of their books which would require a desktop or tablet to read. I guess ADE-style DRM doesn't work with CBR/CBZ files. I read somewhere (maybe here on MR) that this was common practice in the industry. I left in disgust and haven't gone back since, so I don't know if they've changed anything since then.

[steven522]

I went through the same thing recently looking for a good manga distributor for translated-to-English versions. It looked like 90% or more of the translated versions were fan-based scans and edits and thus only available in what would be considered "pirate" versions in the CBZ/CBR packaging. Any other versions available are each going to be in some proprietary format of the distributor (example: Amazon's would be readable only on the Kindle or Kindle app).

Edit: Oh, and I really gave up on it because most of the current stuff I found was really weird "romance" novel type stories or extremely violent demon/vampire hunter type stories. Nothing like the classic Lodoss series.

[Amy_k]

After jmanga's shutdown, I really wanted to support Download to Own manga so I also did some research. As far as I know the only manga publisher allowing digital downloads is Digital Manga and Sublime. Digital Manga supports multiple formats (epub, mobi, cbr...) although you do have to pay $1 for each additional format. Sublime sells watermarked PDFs. They also only sell yaoi/boys' love and the majority of Digital Manga's selections are also yaoi, hentai, and strangely enough Harlequin manga. From what I see on Digital Manga's website, they do have other genres but very slim pickings in SF/F.

I'm more of a Viz manga reader so I was waiting for them to have some sort of download option on their website (also waiting for Dark Horse too). I do know Viz has uploaded their catalog to the Nook store. I downloaded a sample and was able to get an drmed epub. I don't know if a purchased book would get you a different format but it may be worth looking into because backlist titles are being added each week. Fushigi Yugi is already in the store. I wouldn't be surprised if Ranma 1/2 shows up. Yen Press has also uploaded some of their titles and Vertical has started as well.

Hope this helps.

[Rbneader]

I have downloaded a graphic novel from B&N, and they are downloaded as DRM'd ebooks not as apps. That said, I had to root my tablet to grab the file for backup. So it's still not exactly buy to own.