Inside Out
by Maria Weiskott -- Playthings, 5/1/2004
It's an art; Manga, that is. It's still quite the phenomenon, judging by its steadily rising popularity. And speaking of judging, TokyoPop just announced the winners of its third Rising Stars of Manga competition. Nathan Maurer, 22—a musician/artist from Goleta, Calif.—took the $2,500 grand prize for his "Atomic King Daidogan." In addition, he gets to pitch his full-length Manga series to TokyoPop's team of creative execs…Distribution; now there's another "art." The winners here have got to be those folks at Cranium who are continuing to keep their successful distribution strategy brewing with another Starbucks deal. The company's new game, Cranium Zigity, recently became available exclusively at the upscale coffee bar. Another game company, Patch Products, is taking a different distribution route—this one, contributory. Recently becoming an official USO sponsor, Patch has offered its games and new Imperial Patriotic Poker playing cards to all domestic USO Centers...And in the game of industry musical chairs, Susan Spiegel, formerly of Mega Bloks, is now director of marketing with Funrise.
