As for cynically filling a niche market, I wouldn’t suggest that either. I think actually selling out is harder than you think. Getting people interested in that thing you do is hard enough when your heart is in it and you really love what you do. Doing it when you secretly think it’s crap is even harder, and a lot of people can smell that.

But I do think artists and other creative folk have to make choices about what idea they’re going to work with or persue. Do I want to go with this idea or that idea? I would consider the question “who besides me will care?” to be part of that decision making process.

That’s all you need. Then you can tell your manga story with all your fave manga devices, plots, locations and characters- but you’re bringing something new to the table. This makes sense with trying to sell manga to a non-comics reading market too. Perhaps keep the style the same but shift the target audience or subject matter. Manga Shakespeare was a heartbeat away from Japanese Shojo romances, as was Dramacon, but that heartbeat was enough to justify its existance VS japanese imports.

Would I advise an artist to cynically fill a niche market with their work? Probably not- that’s YOUR job, Willie, as a publisher out to sell a product. Otherwise, why would anyone BUY itch products when there’s Naruto for five quid one shelf over?
The sorry secret behind OEL is that we all suck compared to Japan. We need to deal with it if we want to make money from the manga we love to make.
~John~