Interviews

Interview with Ron Scovil

(he was editor in chief for Mixx but he left)

1)Why did you leave?

I had grown uncomfortable with the direction Mixx was going in at the beginning of the year. I also was having a hard time respecting and communicating with now CEO/President Stuart Levy.

One thing was being said to the fans another was being said inside of company doors. When we started all of you know. Mixx was not a fan magazine. It was a mainstream venture. I was the connection to the anime fandom. Mixx later took a posture of being "fan-friendly" when its mainstream audience wasn't there.

This convient attitude of liking otaku ripped at me inside because inside of the company it is the furthest thing from the truth.



2)What's the deal with SM and Mixxzine? Will all the SM fans get screwed?

Sailor Moon is getting published as its own single $2.95 comic book and a progressed storyline is moving into Smile for $3.99 This way you get to spend an additional $7 to get Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon was not moved out of Mixx because of Parasyte or any other story. If it was this would have happened last year not now.



3)What IS gonna be in Smile besides SM?

Smile is going to be a pseudo-teen magazine for girls with tech and fashion and other information.



4)Is it true that you guys skipped chapters of Ice Blade?

Yes we skipped 3 chapters from the first book and then from books 2 to book number 6 where the current storyline is from.



5)Why was Ice Blade replaced?

Ice Blade wasn't replaced. It originally was going to be cancelled but the story was a favorite of the publisher so he made sure it never died. It was going to get buried for 3-4 issues but he brought it back earlier.



7)While you were at Mixx..were they planning to censor Haruka and Michiru's relationship?

I do not think it ever came up because we are not there. I do know that it was said any "gay" scenes would not be published.

I remember having a big fight about this once. It also played into the reason why I never got the Earthian series. I wanted to do it. But it was going to get cut by the publisher So I let it stay unreleased.



8)While you were at Mixx was Mixxzine doing well?

It was doing what I thought it would do.



9)Why the "hip hop" style in Mixx?

There was a certain feeling that this is what the mainstream audience wanted and the publisher was very anti otaku so he went to the other extreme in an effort to be cool. Anyone who knows me knows what I think of this. There are many types of people that make up anime fandom. I don't think you need to pander to anyone.



10)How did you guys chose the manga to translate?

The only manga that I got through that I wanted to see done were Bakuretsu Hunter and Parasyte. the rest are all chosen by the publisher and he doesn't listen to you but he does listen to retailers it is based on sales. Not what the actual fans want.



Ok,sir. Just answer the questions! Then maybe all the fuss will be cleared up and I won't have to read so many fanfics about you getting killed or at least hit with a "clue by four" Some of those are pretty funny but enough is enough. :)

1)Why is the magizine written in such a hip hop style?

Why not? Those of us who write the magazine enjoy hip-hop. That's why.



2)Why isn't MKR in SMILE?

We are just launching Smile now. Sailor Moon SuperS will be in Smile. We don't have room in Smile for MKR.



3)Are you really Ted Woolesy?

Who is that?



4)Mixx annouced SM was going to be in SMILE before the subscibers could cancel their subscrictions. was that a "bait and switch"?

Subscribers can cancel their subscriptions at anytime. Of course it's not a bait and switch.



5)What is the reason you have an editoral intern who doesn't answer any questions?

Andy's doing a great job--give him some credit. He's an "editorial" intern, not a PR intern. But he's been working very hard.



6)Wouldn't it be better PR for you to answer these questions in your magizine so you don't lose subscriptions?

Thanks for the advice.



7)Did you know that people are planning to write your advertisers to get them to stop putting ads in your magizine?

Is the goal of those people for us to have no magazine, and for all the stories in it to not be published in English? If so, it sounds like a personal vendetta from someone who personally has something against me.



8)Are you really going to dub Creamy Mami with child porno voice actors?

Now, now...



9)Does all the mail annoy you?

Not really. 99% of our mail is positive.



10)Do you hate anime otaku?

I don't "hate" anyone. I have no reason to hate people.



11)Why has the number of pages of manga in Mixx decreased?

We have more pages of manga than any other manga magazine in the US.



and now for the question I have wanted to ask since the 1st Mixx PM came out...

12)Are you planning more MKR,Parasyte,or Harlem Beat PM? Will they be out anytime soon?

Yes. They all should be out as soon as we reach the end of their respective chapters are done in Mixx. I would say around March or April. Ice Blade will be out in December, as well as Sailor Moon #2.

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