From: bruce@ATTO.EE.CORNELL.EDU (Bruce M. Hahne)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: Part of the real ANIMAG story
Date: 2 Oct 92 16:29:16 GMT

I've recently begun my quest of trying to get my subscription to Animag
continued and have received some information which may be of interest to
others doing the same, so I'm reproducing it here.  Even if you don't
find it useful, it makes for good gossip.  :)

Background: In April '92, Jeff Okamoto (contributing editor to Animag)
posted an article saying that to continue Animag subscriptions people
should write to the subscription address in Animag vol.  2 issue 1.  In
June somebody else posted the snailmail address from that issue, and
just this month I finally got around to writing a letter to that
address.  In addition to asking for my 4 remaining issues, I took Malibu
to task for doing a lousy (i.e.  nonexistent) job of transferring over
the subscriptions when the publisher changed from Pacific Rim to Malibu
and for their irregular publishing schedule.  I signed the letter as
president of Cornell Japanese Animation Society, which I am. 

A few days ago I received a reply from Jeffry Tibbetts, who is NOT with
Malibu but rather with Pacific Rim.  I'm going to repeat it here
verbatim, with the only changes being a few typo fixes and a few other
deletions noted by me in square brackets.  Keep in mind that this is
only one person's side of the story.  I don't know what Animag/Malibu
claims really happened. 

----------------------- begin letter received by me ------------------------
Pacific Rim Publishing Company
3833 Lake Shore Avenue
Oakland, California  94610
[their phone numbers here]

September 24, 1992

Bruce Hahne
41 Woodcrest Avenue
Ithaca, NY  14850

Dear Mr. Hahne:

Thank you for your inquiry about your subscription to ANIMAG: The
Magazine of Japanese Animation. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately), you have directed that letter to the
address printed in Animag Volume 2, #1 - Post Office Box 23651, Oakland,
CA 94623 - which is not the address of Malibu Graphics, but the address
of Pacific Rim Publishing Company (we're the publishers of the "old"
Animag - when Toshi Yoshida and Matt Anacleto stole the magazine from
us, they forgot to change that address). 

Because of your important position within the anime fan public, I will
make the following statement of our position:

1. Pacific Rim Publishing Company entered into an agreement in writing
with Mr.  Yoshida, Ms.  Patricia Ledoux (and through them, their
associate, Mr.  Anacleto) to publish between four and six issues of
ANIMAG, The Magazine of Japanese Animation during calendar 1991.  This
contract was signed by Ms Ledoux in Mr.  Yoshida's presence;

2. This agreement was extendable at Pacific Rim Publishing's sole
option for a further term - this would be minimally through issue #19
and December 1992;

3. Only issue #12 of ANIMAG was published under this agreement;

4. Only July 10, 1991, Mr.  Yoshida sent me a fax containing the
content list for ANIMAG #13 so that I could solicit wholesale sales and
continue to advertise for subscriptions - those contents are virtually
the same as the actual material in Animag Volume 2, Issue I;

5. At the same time that Mr.  Yoshida was promising the issue to me for
September publication, Mr.  Anacleto was negotiating with Malibu
Graphics to publish that selfsame issue;

6. When Ms.  Ledoux, Mr.  Yoshida, and Mr.  Anacleto informed Pacific
Rim Publishing that they were not going to provide any more Animag
Magazines for Pacific Rim to publish, it was expressly demanded by
Pacific Rim Publishing that they formulate an offer to provide for the
continuation of the subscriptions.  This they promised to do and did not. 

It is my belief that Ms Ledoux and Mr Anacleto and Mr.  Yoshida - who
have refused to respond to inquiries from Pacific Rim Publishing's
attorneys in this matter - were of the belief that the deduction of
ANIMAG from Pacific Rim would put us out of business and leave them free
to pursue other publishing possibilities.  It does not seem to have
concerned them that such a demise would also have cost thousands of
dollars in subscription funds from the very same, very loyal subscriber
base which made Animag the focus of Japanimation that it was. 

I think that it would be very much in the interests of the Anime
community if you and your Society could create a public forum on these
events.  I will be happy to provide whatever support I may. 

Very Truly Yours

Pacific Rim Publishing Company

Jeffry Tibbetts
Publisher
------------------------ end letter received by me -------------------------

Well, obviously this is exactly what he WANTS me to do; post this thing
in a public forum, though I suppose I should at this point give the
mandatory disclaimers that I'm not affiliated with Pacific Rim, Malibu,
Animag, or any of that lot, except that I'm a (former) subscriber who
has yet to receive copies of either of the Volume II issues. 

I'm left with the suspicion that new Amimag decided to dump its old
subscribers as a way of footing the bills.  Sure, there was that post
from Jeff Okamoto back in April, but asking old subscribers to track
down the new address and send in a copy of the cancelled check you used
to pay for the subscription is hardly what I'd call fair business
practice.  I STILL don't have that address; could somebody post the one
from Vol. II #2, which is hopefully the CORRECT Malibu address?

Anyway, I'd welcome responses from anybody who knows more, especially if
you're affiliated with Animag/Malibu.  And, if you guys are out there, I
would in particular appreciate it if you'd send me my copies of Vol. II
1-2 and reset my subscription so it expires with issue #4 as it should. 
Then MAYBE I could start to have some (small) amount of RESPECT for Animag. 

Bruce Hahne
President, Cornell Japanese Animation Society
Internet: bruce@atto.ee.cornell.edu
Bitnet: qdny@crnlvax5

"Who wants to be toast first?"
- Lum, preparing yet another lightning blast