Are Manga Fans Only Fans of Manga?

[rudy]

I've not read very much of manga, but I'm starting to get into more as I've found that there's more to manga than the stereotype suggests. However, my question to long time fans of manga is: do you read only manga titles or do you read a wide range of comics?

My question stems from a discussion I had with another fan about an impression we had about comic fans. One feeling that was expressed was that fans will often stick to a certain style of book without even consideration given to another style. That is, spandex hero fans will only buy spandex hero books, artsy-fartsy fans will only buy artsy-fartsy books, and manga fans will only buy manga books. These are massive generalizations to be sure, but I got to wondering if it was indeed the case. Do we, as comic fans in general, tend to segregate ourselves into little comic "communities"?

I have to admit that I do see this in my own comic buying habits over the years. I began as a spandex hero fan, only to tire of that and become an artsy-fartsy fan while completely shunning spandex comics. And I've only recently started giving manga a try, but for the life of me I don't understand why I didn't give 'em a try sooner. The answer I came to was that there's an invisible wall that existed in my mind which prevented me from even considering manga titles before, and I think there're a lot of fans that have trouble getting past that wall. Which brings me back to my question, does that wall exist from the other side too? Do long-time manga fans, who grew up as manga fans, scan the manga section of their shop but ignore the other titles out there? Do manga-zombies exist?

[Captain Sarcasm]

I've not read very much of manga, but I'm starting to get into more as I've found that there's more to manga than the stereotype suggests. However, my question to long time fans of manga is: do you read only manga titles or do you read a wide range of comics?

My question stems from a discussion I had with another fan about an impression we had about comic fans. One feeling that was expressed was that fans will often stick to a certain style of book without even consideration given to another style. That is, spandex hero fans will only buy spandex hero books, artsy-fartsy fans will only buy artsy-fartsy books, and manga fans will only buy manga books. These are massive generalizations to be sure, but I got to wondering if it was indeed the case. Do we, as comic fans in general, tend to segregate ourselves into little comic "communities"?

I have to admit that I do see this in my own comic buying habits over the years. I began as a spandex hero fan, only to tire of that and become an artsy-fartsy fan while completely shunning spandex comics. And I've only recently started giving manga a try, but for the life of me I don't understand why I didn't give 'em a try sooner. The answer I came to was that there's an invisible wall that existed in my mind which prevented me from even considering manga titles before, and I think there're a lot of fans that have trouble getting past that wall. Which brings me back to my question, does that wall exist from the other side too? Do long-time manga fans, who grew up as manga fans, scan the manga section of their shop but ignore the other titles out there? Do manga-zombies exist?

Well, I'm a manga fan, but I don't read most super hero comic books. Not becuase I don't like spandex comics, it's just that you need over 50 years of backstory to get the full experience, and that's a lot harder to come by than with a manga. Also, the fact that most manga runs don't change authors or artists usually makes it easier to follow and cuts out all the 'He's dead, but now he's alive, and they're both dead now, but they were really sleeping with each other' crap that you get in most superhero comics, without the benefit of that crap actually affecting an ongoing story.

'cause, y'know, there usually *isn't* one.

[Jack]

I imagine I've read several hundred individual mangas by now (though not completed all of them), so I consider myself a manga fan.

But I also have read a hell of a lot of western comics.

I'm just a fan of graphic storytelling in general. Don't consider myself a comic fan or a manga fan specifically.

[Dizzy D]

I read American, European and Asian comics/manga. And I can find both good and bad things about all of them. None of them is 'better' than the others.

And yes, a lot of readers do segregate themselves into little comic 'communities' (just check out one of the seemlingly endless Marvel vs. DC debates)

And I'm sure there are also manga-zombies. In many cases, this closing of their own mind, may be some form of self-preservation though: they will never be able to buy all comics and therefore limit their options to only one of many different branches within comics.

[pirulaso]

constiering the number of comics and manga out there, and the so little that i read.......i would have to say neither really. i am a big JLa fan and lone wolf and cub along iwth a few others but yeah i dont like most comics or manga.

[DoubleWide]

While reading more manga these days, I still read other comics, although not as many as I used to. Savage Dragon is one of my favorites. :D Unlike many DC & Marvel titles, when a change is made in a storyline or charcter, it usually isn't retconned out of existence with in six months to a year.

[Ayo]

I read minicomics and artcomics, predominantly.


I like Planetes and a few other little mangas that are coming out though. I'm not picky, I have examples of almost every kind of comics known to mankind.

I'm trying to get my hands on some Fort Thunder comics, at the moment...but manga is always welcome in my household.

[Sanagi]

I read everything, and then sometimes I sleep.

[Scubbily]

Hell no! I read manga and also have bigger interests, like videogames, movies, computers,.....andthe female body(if you know what I mean LOL).

[davelevine]

I started reading comic books about 25 years ago. I never gave manga a try until early last year and now I am hooked. Currently I am in the midst of reading my way through Marmalade Boy, Kare Kano and Phoenix. I've tried about a dozen different series but those are the series that I have gotten the most pleasure from reading.

I used to be a superhero zombie and I still read a few superhero books (Justice League Elite, She-Hulk, Hawkman) but I now buy quite a few non-superhero books (Y: The Last Man, Losers, Queen & Country, Rex Mundi, Ballad of Sleeping Beauty).

Unfortunately I think most readers tend to unnecessarily pick sides. Indie or mainstream. Superheroes or Not. Manga or comic books. Why decide? Read 'em all.

[Scubbily]

I like manga because of the style of it attracts me to it. That and because I'm really into anime and that got me into manga.

[Insanekitten]

Well, I'm a manga fan, but I don't read most super hero comic books. Not becuase I don't like spandex comics, it's just that you need over 50 years of backstory to get the full experience, and that's a lot harder to come by than with a manga. Also, the fact that most manga runs don't change authors or artists usually makes it easier to follow and cuts out all the 'He's dead, but now he's alive, and they're both dead now, but they were really sleeping with each other' crap that you get in most superhero comics, without the benefit of that crap actually affecting an ongoing story.

'cause, y'know, there usually *isn't* one.

I have to agree with you on that...

Also, it's hard to sorta keep up with the storyline from start to...whenever it's supposed to finish?... With mangas, it's basically like a book...or a graphic novel... there's a beginning, and an end, and the whole series is usually easily obtainable. With comic books these days you can get so many different versions of one title, it gets confusing on where to begin!

Also for me, artwork can be a major factor, so I think that with some people it's just a matter of personal preference with what they choose to read. I myself will read pretty much any manga title, as long as the story is engaging, and that the artwork is consistent (really annoying trying to read some amateur stuff when they don't have thier character designs fully down, therefore making it hard sometimes to tell who is talking...etc.)

[Rachel Grey]

M&M. Manga & Marvel. :D

[Inkthinker]

I read a very wide range of comics, though I've tended to read less of the mainstream US stuff (i.e. the "spandex books") over the last decade or so... mostly I read various indies, a lot of old classics like Will Eisner, Walt Kelly and Winsor McKay, a couple of superhero books (Powers, Ultimates, Invincible), and several manga.

I've gotten really picky about manga lately, too... I'm not just interested in it because it's "manga", it needs to be the best to hold my attention and get my nickel. I want artists like Yukito Kishiro, Takehiko Inoue, Oh! Great (don't buy the CMX books! They're butchered!) and Hiroaki Samura to really get my Pavlovian response kicking in. The "manga boom" means that it's a lot easier to get what I want, but I have to sort though about 80% of the mediocre stuff to get to the gold.

It's worth it.

[DrewTheXenocide]

I read whatever I think is good (and what I can afford). Sorry if that sounds arrogant or snotty, but I'm pretty open minded in what I read. It kinda bothers me when I see someone who reads manga and doesn't give american comics a chance, or vice versa.

[Inkthinker]

I think any intelligent reader of comics understands that comics is comics... different countries produce different works with different themes and styles of art and storytelling, yes, but there's as much brilliance in American works as there are in Japanese... it's just rarely seen on the racks because it's rarely being produced by Marvel and DC. You have to dig a little to find it, just as I have to dig a little to separate the best from the rest on the manga shelves at Borders.

But the mentality that some fans seem to have, to treat manga as though it were some separate entity from "comics", strikes me as ignorant and short-sighted. In the end, it's all sequential art and storytelling, regardless of it's land of origin, and to slavishly adhere to only one type of comics is like deciding that you'll only eat McDonald's and nothing else.

[Tobei Miyake]

...my question to long time fans of manga is: do you read only manga titles or do you read a wide range of comics?

Do long-time manga fans, who grew up as manga fans, scan the manga section of their shop but ignore the other titles out there? Do manga-zombies exist?I mainly read manga, and a few European comics (mostly from Humanoids).

As for American comics (i.e. the "spandex books"): I always dug Batman and used to read Detective; I haven't since I was around 15, though. I will read any Frank Miller written and drawn Batman, though -- Dark Knight Returns, Dark Knight Strikes Back and the upcoming Holy Terror, Batman...

And that's kind of become my "thing" over the last few years -- I find that I don't read anything that isn't written and drawn by the same person. (I guess it goes back to growing up with manga?) Of course, it can be argued that I'm maybe missing out on this or that, but I find that I'm really, really comfortable with this decision. The singular vision. The purity.

One thing that I know that I'm really excited about is Darwyn Cooke's upcoming giant robot graphic novel. It's supposed to be around 150 pages and hopefully be out by the end of the year. I've never read anything by him; I didn't read New Frontier because the story didn't interest me, but I love his artwork and so I'm definitely looking forward to his giant robot book.
(Another book that comes to mind is Dave Gibbons' The Originals (http://www.dccomics.com/features/originals/). I still wanna check that out.)

And that's my deal.

I don't only read manga... but at the same time, I've developed this preference (with very few exceptions) for only wanting to read something if it's written and drawn by the same person.

[Ayo]

I don't only read manga... but at the same time, I've developed this preference (with very few exceptions) for only wanting to read something if it's written and drawn by the same person.


I think you'd probably enjoy U.S. artcomics.

[Tobei Miyake]

I was going to ask about that; Rudy mentioned it too -- what exactly are art comics? Are they listed in Previews?

I know I read Ashley Wood's (http://www.ashleywoodartist.com/) Popbot, is that considered an art comic?

[Ayo]

Not even slightly; not "art" as in fancy paintings, art as in literary. Like "art films," except we're talking about comics. Whereas the majority of comics (and films. And books) are genre works, sticking to various conventions and tropes, "art-comics/films/etc, etc" tend to work outside of genre. I mean, one can attach a genre to nearly anything, but as far as slavishly being devoted to the trappings of a genre, artcomics would be outside of that.


I suppose one could say that they were the natural progression from underground comics, which were mostly bursts of raw energy--art comics were more focused...harnessed. Love and Rockets and Chester Brown's work could be placed at the forefront of the movement, followed quickly by Art Spiegleman, an underground cartoonist who became classified under this general concept when he made Maus.



Nowadays, I guess people just say "alternative" comics, but that gets confusing, because (a) there's an alternative publisher that specializes in them with the NAME "Alternative Comics," and (b) most people think of "alternative" as Strangers in Paradise or even Vertigo comics, which don't even approach what's going on in alternativeland.

The better known/liked artcomics/alternative comics can be easily found in many chain bookstores, and most likely in Previews:

Chris Ware's books Jimmy Corrigan the Smartest Kid on Earth, Acme Novelty Datebook, Quimby the Mouse.

James Kochalka's American Elf, Monkey Vs. Robot

Craig Thompson's Blankets

Dan Clowes' Ghost World, David Boring, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron

Jim Woodring's Frank

Adriane Tomine's 32 Stories, Scrapbook, Summer Blonde, and Sleepwalk

Seth's It's A Good Life if you Don't Weaken, Clyde Fans

Julie Doucet's My New York Diary, Long Time Relationship

Chester Brown's Louis Riel, I Never Liked You

The Hernandez Brothers' Love and Rockets

And of course, there's the minicomics scene. Art comics started in the form of self published comics that you can make at any copyshop. A number of the above creators worked their way up through the ranks by putting out their own self-assembled books. There have been, over the years, some publishers and distributers who've made it their business to get minicomics in stores around the country. Not Diamond, mind you...I'd try Cold Cut distribution, for some minis. Spit and a Half, also. In addition, Highwater Books (completely defunct as of last year) worked with a lot of the most prominant minicomics cartoonists to get their minis out there, and also to compile their works into proper books.

While we're talking about minicomics, I'll direct your attention to Fort Thunder, the arts collective at the bottom of the food chain; they have to be about as far underground as one can go. The complete opposite of the polished and refined self-published comics from twenty years ago (see: Chester Brown, Hernandez Brothers), the Fort is probably the most esoteric and least accessible movement of comics ever. Best way to see their work now would be in Sammy Harkham's anthologies Kramer's Ergot vol. 4 and Kramer's Ergot vol. 5. About $30 and $35, respectively. Oh right: Mat Brinkman put out a book Teratoid Heights on Highwater Books before it closed down. Brian Chippendale's book Maggots should be out later this year (with all luck) from another publisher.


Selfpublished artists of note that you can easily check out in NYC:

Brendan Burford
Jessica Abel
Matt Madden
Tom Hart
Dave Roman
Fly
Hans Rickheit
Ben Snakepit
Justin Madsen
Megan Kelso
Dean Haspiel
Jack Turnbull
Elenor ("E.") Davis
Adam Suerte
Lonnie Allen
Todd Webb
Raina Telgmeier
Meathaus
Jamie Tanner

and stuff that I haven't yet found in the boroughs:

Fort Thunder: Mat Brinkman, Brian Chippendale, Brian Ralph (ie, self published), Jim Drain, Leif Goldberg, Paul Lyons....good luck.

USS Catastrophe: Kevin Huizenga, Dan Zettwoch

Sammy Harkham, Jordan Crane, Jason Shiga, Drew Weing



Um...uh...behold! Artcomics!

[Tobei Miyake]

Ah. Now I see.

Yeah, I'm familiar with a few of these -- the only one that I've read is Seth's Clyde Fans; and I really liked that.
(That was selected as one of Time Magazine's top ten of the year (http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,660285,00.html) this past year.)

I guess calling them "art comics" is what threw me. To me they're just comics. Good comics, but just comics. Or I guess: Graphic Novels or, yeah, alternative comics or whatever.
(Heh. Labels. I guess we need them, though... )

***
A quick thought on the term "art comic": I would guess that anything that's creator-owned, regardless of genre or subject matter, would qualify as an art comic, wouldn't it...

Or not, I guess. Because is Frank Miller working on Batman any less valid an expression of art than him doing something creator-owned?

Heh. Never mind.

[Ayo]

A quick thought on the term "art comic": I would guess that anything that's creator-owned, regardless of genre or subject matter, would qualify as an art comic, wouldn't it...


Not really. There's a lot of things that are the furthest thing from artcomics that take on similar distribution, and formats.

[Tobei Miyake]

Heh. Waitaminute.
(And I hate to stray off topic. And no, I'm not trying to be combative or anything; I'm just trying to pin this down... )

The distribution and format that you speak of...

You say that Spiegleman's Maus is an example of an art comic, right. That's about the Holocaust and has talking mice and cats as the Jews and Germans.

Ash Wood's Popbot (See: Popbot #1: Beauty in the abstract from Ashley Wood (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=496) and Talking 'Popbot' with Ashley Wood (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=608)), that you say isn't an art comic, is a... quote/unquote:Popbot is a postmodern, stream-of-consiousness joyride, a glorious hodgepodge of ricocheting ideas that slowly unravels into a suspenseful story of lust and revenge.

A semi-regular ongoing series, Popbot will change the way you look at comics. Straight from the mind of Ashley Wood, Popbot features an eclectic cast of characters including a rock-star kitty cat, his robot bodyguard, Sherlock Holmes, Andy Warhol, and sexy groupies.

Popbot is the winner of the Communication Arts 2002 Award of Excellence for Illustration, and has won 2 Spectrum Gold Awards for excellence in Advertising and Comics....Popbot is basically a "stream-of-consiousness" mish-mash that has a Andy Warhol clone as a TV talk show host and a talking cat who was once the lead singer of a Punk band.

So, I'm trying to understand what's the difference? (And no, I don't mean to use talking animals as any kind of criteria or anything, I'm just saying... )

Popbot doesn't really fit into any kind of genre that I can think of -- it's pretty far outside of a lot of things. And... I don't know, it's obscure. But I know you're not using obscure as any kind of criteria. Because obscurity doesn't mean art, obscure just means nobody knows about it.

As for distribution and format... that I don't really follow. Zines... mini comics. Self publishing. What does that have to do with anything? (Oh, a self-published comic that I really liked was David Choe's (http://www.davidchoe.com/) Slow Jams. That was cool.)

And literary. A lot of them are slice-of-life stories, aren't they. Or at least that was kind of the trend. I'm quite sure most are onto something else now. And I'm quite sure they, "art comics," run the gambit on any and all subject matter...

Anyway, is it basically what someone says is an art comic is an art comic? Is that how it works? Because I honestly don't see any real distinction.


(Heh. And yes, Azangel and Darkblade, I guess just let Ayo respond and that'll be the last word on art comics. We've already gone far enough off topic as it is... )

[Inkthinker]

I think the term "art comic" is a misnomer... all comics are "art", and attempting to set some as a "higher form of art" is both misleading and insulting.

"Art" is not defined by medium or content, only by how it's recieved by the individual, and THAT is entirely subjective.

[Jonathan Bogart]

I think the term "art comic" is a misnomer... all comics are "art", and attempting to set some as a "higher form of art" is both misleading and insulting.
The way Ayo was using the term, it's not a value judgement, it's a generic identifier, like "art film." And like "art film," it's a very small piece of the entire medium. There's crappy artcomics, and there's great comics that aren't artcomics.

I'd say that Popbot isn't an artcomic in the sense that, say, Spielberg movies aren't art films. Sure, they're personal, well-crafted, intelligent, and maybe even profound ... but they have a general audience in mind, and (one hopes) they're reaching it.

[Ayo]

The way Ayo was using the term, it's not a value judgement, it's a generic identifier, like "art film." And like "art film," it's a very small piece of the entire medium. There's crappy artcomics, and there's great comics that aren't artcomics.

I'd say that Popbot isn't an artcomic in the sense that, say, Spielberg movies aren't art films. Sure, they're personal, well-crafted, intelligent, and maybe even profound ... but they have a general audience in mind, and (one hopes) they're reaching it.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

[Tobei Miyake]

The way Ayo was using the term, it's not a value judgement, it's a generic identifier, like "art film." And like "art film," it's a very small piece of the entire medium. There's crappy artcomics, and there's great comics that aren't artcomics.

I'd say that Popbot isn't an artcomic in the sense that, say, Spielberg movies aren't art films. Sure, they're personal, well-crafted, intelligent, and maybe even profound ... but they have a general audience in mind, and (one hopes) they're reaching it.Yeah, that's the ticket.Ah. Okay, I'm following you two now; I got it.

Because I was thinking of Spielberg too.

I was thinking: I don't consider Schindler's List any more an art film than I consider Maus any more an art comic. But of course that's all personal and subjective and an opinion and so on...

Of course, I would say that Kubrick's 2001 aproches art, yet Clarke's 2001 doesn't. And of course one can argue that neither is, or both are, or whathave you...

And yeah, I got the generic identifier immediately -- but of course you can argue that anything has a general audience in mind and hopes that reaches it. Thompson's Blankets has a general audience in mind and hopes that it reaches it. Is it not an art comic then? Heh.

Either way, I learned something that I didn't know before, so... yay.

[rudy]

Some interesting replies so far, there are a few points I'd like to address particualarly:

[Captain Sarcasm]: "... the fact that most manga runs don't change authors or artists usually makes it easier to follow and cuts out all the 'He's dead, but now he's alive, and they're both dead now, but they were really sleeping with each other' crap that you get in most superhero comics"

I hear what you're saying. I've described the superhero genre as soap operas for teenage boys. I'm not making a value judgement here; I'm saying that the plots of the long-running superhero titles have a lot in common with the long-running television soap operas. Of course, I've also seen some of the same devices used in some manga titles, but I'm not knowledgable enough to say whether it's as pervasive as it is in the superhero titles.

[Dizzy D]: "And I'm sure there are also manga-zombies. In many cases, this closing of their own mind, may be some form of self-preservation though: they will never be able to buy all comics and therefore limit their options to only one of many different branches within comics."

That's a good point. I'm sure there are people who spend enough money (and time) on comics as it is that they just don't need (and can't afford) to explore what's on the other side of "the wall". Especially when there are so many choices.

[Inkthinker]: "But the mentality that some fans seem to have, to treat manga as though it were some separate entity from "comics", strikes me as ignorant and short-sighted."

That's true, but part of the blame (or credit?) for that belongs to the manga publishers (at least those in North America), as they market manga as a separate entity. And perhaps that works for them as they probably get a lot more attention from the non-traditional comic fan in North America that way, which is a much larger demographic than the traditional comic fan.

[Tobei Miyake]: "I don't only read manga... but at the same time, I've developed this preference (with very few exceptions) for only wanting to read something if it's written and drawn by the same person."

I can definitely see the reasoning behind wanting the creators of the title to remain consistent. In fact, when the original creators of a title remain on the book, you can see a quality in the stories that you don't often find in the rotating-creators model. So why is it that North American mainstream comics have adopted that model? I suppose the answer to that lies in the coorporate culture in which the largest publishers operate. I'm assuming that the comic industry in Japan evolved differently since it appears to have avoided those kinds of corporate policies. I don't know that for sure though, as I'm fairly ignorant of the history of Japanese comics.

[Tobei Miyake]

I was reading in the April Newtype, and they offer-up a few new books on that subject: primarily, Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1856693910/104-5619545-5958354?v=glance).

A quick description from the Newtype write-up: More a manga primer than Schodt's (Frederick Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics and it's follow-up, Dreamland Japan) in-depth, insider's view of the industry, it is a thoughtful and engaging look at the history, inner workings and diversity of manga.(When I read about this I was thinking: I'm Japanese American and I can speak and read and write Japanese. But I don't know anything about how the manga industry works; I just read the stuff. Maybe I should get this so I can learn something. Heh.)

Anyway, the other two that they listed were: Wrong about Japan (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400043115/104-5619545-5958354?v=glance) and Manga Design (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/3822825913/104-5619545-5958354?v=glance).

Manga Design I own (because I love Taschen books (http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/books/popculture/all/facts/03822.htm)), but that one doesn't really give any insights on the industry or it's history.

A thought on the rotating-creator model that you mentioned: I recently read about Bob Kane and Batman and how in reality it was really more so Bob Kane Studios that did Batman and Detective early on (other writers and artists), as opposed to just Bob Kane. But of course it was only Bob Kane's name on Batman. Similar in a way, at least to my understanding, that some manga-ka work; most likely the more famous ones. In that, they have assistants. And I think I've read that their duties range from merely assisting/apprenticeship to actually doing the work on that particular title themselves. (And someone please correct if I'm wrong, but it seems like read that before.)

Either way, yeah, there's similarities, but vast differences as well. And, yes, that's not exactly the rotating-creator model that you're talking about, but... y'know.

[Alex Scott]

So why is it that North American mainstream comics have adopted that model? I suppose the answer to that lies in the coorporate culture in which the largest publishers operate. I'm assuming that the comic industry in Japan evolved differently since it appears to have avoided those kinds of corporate policies.
I always figured American superhero comics were like that because it allows them to retain the rights to the characters. As I understand it, a lot of comic book companies in the 30's and 40's were small operations that wanted to make a quick buck, so the creators were just hired help. Just read Kavalier and Clay to see what I mean.

Japanese publishers, on the other hand, have always been publishers first, manga companies second, and there tends to be more respect and recognition for the author in that kind of corporate culture on both sides of the Pacific. The manga industry kind of followed suit. Heck, I have a Japanese-English dictionary from the same publisher as Sailor Moon.

As for me, I do read American comics occasionally--I have an almost complete Sandman/Death trade collection, Scott Pilgrim v. 1, and I got the Bone One Volume edition for Christmas, not to mention all the webcomics I read--but only very rarely do I dabble in superheroes. Why should I have to? It's a genre, and there are genres that I do and don't like, and part of the reason I stopped reading superheroes to begin with was because I felt like I was expected to read them. I also don't read yaoi, watch cop shows, read harlequin romances, or play sports video games. I don't feel like I'm missing anything, as long as I have other genres to dabble in.

Another reason why is what everyone's been talking about: I just dislike the whole system of creating superheroes. It just seems designed to hurt story momentum and character development. And the books themselves have become either so self-referential, so self-consciously hip, or so depressing that I just can't stand to look at them anymore. And I seriously don't like the high prices for the floppies.

Tobei: The Manga book is actually a collection of write-ups and art samples from a crapload of creators from pre-Tezuka to the present day. It's great if you just want to be blown away by page after page of incredible art, but if you really want a look at the manga industry, you might be better off with the Schodt books--I've always wanted to read them myself. Matt Thorn (http://www.matt-thorn.com/) also has a lot of good essays on the manga industry.

[Inkthinker]

they have assistants. And I think I've read that their duties range from merely assisting/apprenticeship to actually doing the work on that particular title themselves. (And someone please correct if I'm wrong, but it seems like read that before.)



That's pretty accurate... many manga are created not by one person, but by a team of 3-5 people, with one person who is the "name", the creator who runs the show, and who's name goes on the cover (though in some cases, like CLAMP, the group is credited). And it differes from creator to creator how much of the work is done by the "name" artist and how much is done by his assistants. But while the assistants may rotate in and out, there's at least one person who's always there (the creator), and that shows in the final results.

I have a tiny but pervasive fear that one day I'll discover that my favorite artist (Ogure Ito) in fact is a conglomeration of people, rather than one skilled mother.

[Tobei Miyake]

Heck, I have a Japanese-English dictionary from the same publisher as Sailor Moon.Yep. Sailor Moon is published by Kodansha, right. They're huge! And they've been around for like 100 years. They publish books and magazines. And yeah, Japanese-English dictionaries (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/4770024800/qid=1114203815/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-5619545-5958354?v=glance&s=books); among, obviously, other things. The manga that's been licensed here (off the top of my head)... Planetes is Kodansha. Beck -- that's coming. Blame! is Kodansha, of course.

DC is kind of like the manga that Kodansha publishes (in a way), only of course Time-Warner does everything: TV, music, movies, books, magazines... comics. And I say DC is like them because of DC's imprints, their "variety" (Vertigo; etc.); they don't just do super heroes.

***
And yeah, add Akira to that, too. (Duh.)

And Vagabond and Blade of the Immortal... (Heh. And I'll stop.)

[Inkthinker]

Kodansha also publishes Air Gear and (I believe) Tenjho Tenge.

[Alex Scott]

They also publish Haruki Murakami's novels, which makes them unbelievably awesome.

I've noticed some interesting trends in crediting assistants in manga. A lot of shoujo creators will talk about them in their sidebar columns, and occasionally do small strips about funny situations in the studio as extras for the paperbacks. Akira Toriyama and Masakazu Katsura both credit their assistants as collectives: "Bird Studio" for Toriyama and "Studio K2R" for Katsura. And a few, like Mine Yoshizaki (Sgt. Frog) and Shin Takahashi (Saikano) will credit their staff individually.

Then, of course, you have collectives like CLAMP. This may be more common in doujinshi circles (which is where CLAMP got started) than in the professional manga world, but I don't know enough about doujinshi culture to know if it's true or understand why.

[Inkthinker]

The assitants on Hellsing often get their own little omake in the back, usually centered on some in-house silliness.

[Scubbily]

What's omake? Is that like manga?

[Inkthinker]

Little extra comics, usually 4-panel strips centered around some in-house gag or some side joke related to the story. It's different for various books.

[Scubbily]

OHH, I have a lot of those at the end of my mangas but have never known WHAT they were or what their name was. Thanks.