A chat with United Publications

Written by Ross Locksley on 05 Aug 2014

UKA Publisher Ross Liverside chats with Martin Dudman of United Publications about serving the anime fanbase (among others).

Those of us with long memories will remember that United Publications has been going for 20 years (that’s 2 more than UKA) – firstly congratulations on the milestone!

Thank you.

For newer fans, tell us about how and why UP got started.

United Publications originally got started in Furry (Anthropomorphic) comics and books, as they were hard to find and cost a lot to get from the US where most titles are released (This is before the explosion of the internet). This lead us to supporting Japanese books and animation, as anthropomorphic stories/characters feature a lot in Japanese titles.

UP never seem to miss a show or convention, what are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the market regarding trends, fans and events, and how has that impacted the business?

We try to make as many events as possible during the year, preferring to support fan based Japanese culture and Manga/animation events over more commercial events.

Japanese culture has much fan support (and always will), we have seen over the years more new fan events setting up and introducing people to wonders of Japanese culture, art, books and animation. This brings new customers to the market not just for my business but for others too, so more retailers are supplying them now.

With more fans and changes in the way Japanese regard selling their titles outside of Japan, we now see titles released a lot quicker after Japanese or US releases.

Also DVD and now Blu-Ray formats are more suited to Japanese animation, allowing more than one soundtrack (i.e. English or Japanese) and subtitles to be on option, not hard coded onto pictures like old video tape releases.

How much anime/manga do you and the staff get through? Are you still fans of the genre or has it become more business than passion over the years?

I am personally very selective/fussy over what I read and watch, having seen so much anime over the years it's harder to find something with new ideas and interests.

I still get through one manga a week and about one episode a day in new anime. At weekends it's down to a complete series which is on my watch list, which grows alarmingly quickly with number of releases each month from around the world.

But I'm still as much a fan as the day I watched my first Japanese animation, just harder to please now. :)

20 years of trading in any industry is hugely impressive, especially given recent economic events – what has been the secret of UP’s success?

Run by fans for fans, keeping pricing competitive (why should I expect you to pay a price I would not pay myself?), and most important supporting fans in finding the things they want.

You also stock items outside of anime/manga, such as a personal favourite of mine, Sabrina Online. How do these deals come about?

Eric W. Schwartz is a furry artist and there are many artists we have talked to over the years which have lead us to publishing work by them. Eric continues to release Sabrina Online and we continue to support him.

This also comes from originally tracking him down when he was releasing animation on the Commodore Amiga.

What plans do you have for UP going forward?

Going back to our roots and publishing more books, and to continue to enjoy our work with Japanese culture.

Let's get a little more personal - what was the series that first caught your attention and made you a fan?

Laputa, when it was originally aired on TV here in the UK (in the 90s?) out of the blue, then Akira (in Japanese) when first shown at cinemas in the UK - the atmosphere is hard to explain if you have not seen any Japanese animation before.

Which anime would you personally recommend?

Any anime fan I think would recommend Studio Ghibli's series of films; Eden of the East, which is on my list as it's hard to be original these days; any films by Makoto Shinkai and Mamoru Hosoda.

With your time so tied up in the business, do you watch as much as you want to or used to?

I watch a lot of animation, not just from Japan. It is harder to find hard-hitting stories outside of anime though. Felidae is a good but old example.

Martin, thank you for your time, and your service for the past 20 years. Good luck in the next 20!

You can visit United Publications at their online store, www.up1.co.uk