# Why Are Manga Succeeding and Comics ... Not Succeeding **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2006, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410 "2006-02-28T03:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/61 "2006-03-01T13:38:40Z")
One other thought I have had – there is no American equivalent of doujinshi, which I think is the secret of the fan base of manga in Japan. Anyone in Japan who wants to can be a part of the publishing industry. They can create their own versions of comics about their favorite cahracters and lines and sell them at special fairs held every year. US comics publishers are so obsessed with copyright, like a lot of folks on the Dope and US folks in general, that they’d strangle their fan base rather than let them have a little freedom to experiment. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/62 "2006-03-01T13:56:11Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Um, no, you are being insulting. And judgemental, and passive aggressive. You have no idea how much I do or do not know about this particular subject; why should you? I don’t hang out in comics threads. But if this is the only way you are able to feel superior, knock yourself out. **Maureen** and **VCO3** , let’s stop this right now. If you want to continue this fight, move it to the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/63 "2006-03-01T14:15:56Z")
Seconding **fluiddruid** and adding a footnote of further explanation: it’s perfectly OK to challenge another person’s comments or taste or information (or lack thereof.) It’s not OK to insult the person. Example: Acceptable: What you said was factually incorrect. Not Acceptable: You are a moron. Acceptable: Your statement implies an incomplete knowledge of the topic. Not Acceptable: You don’t know what you’re talking about. Get the diff? ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/64 "2006-03-01T14:50:14Z")
Let me amplify my previous answers to Askia. > [@Askia](#): > > 1. They withdrew products from their previous ubiquitous market spaces like supermarkets and drug stores to delve into the direct market. In the early 1980’s, newsstand comics sales had dropped to periliously low levels. The direct sales model sold books at a discount in exchange for not being able to return unsold copies. Less risk on both sides. It revived the industry. This, along with the specialized markets allowed for smaller companies and less popular genres to find self space. I daresay most of the American titles I and others have been listing (as well as the lion’s share of superhero titles) simply wouldn’t exist if comics had stayed on the supermarket rack. I agree that it’s a shame that it’s harder to find comics now, but it’d be impossible to find the variety we have now without the direct market. Hopefully the bookstore and online markets will provide the best of both worlds. The missteps of the 1990’s were immense, but they’ve already beeen corrected. And the industry has already recovered to the levels it had before the boom and bust. The boom was unsustainable and created by the same practices that led to the bust. It’s one of those things that happen to every market, and it will happen to Manga in America at some point. > [@](#): > > I don’t see how the American comics market will ever fully recover from the missteps of the 80s and especially early nineties. I’m buying almost exclusively trades now, and I see a time where even that will stop. (.cbr format anyone?) You just answered your own question there. Joe Quesada and Paul Levitz don’t care if you buy the books as pamphlets, TPBs, or in an electronic format, as long as you buy them. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/65 "2006-03-01T14:57:30Z")
> [@Menocchio](#): > > The one genre that sold really, really well for them. It was the obvious choice to make. It was the obvious short-sighted choice to make. You never deliberately limit the kinds of stories you tell in an entire publishing company, let alone an entire storytelling medium. Further, with the fall of EC companies, essentially two companies, Marvel and DC, both had 70% of the comics market tied up between the two of them. You don’t stock a media format year after year with only one type of story – eventually your readers will get tired of it and will move on. A comparable example is (let’s pretend this happened) for ABC, NBC and CBS at the same time period to have decided that “Hey, these nighttime soap serials are doing really well for us! Let’s ignore every other storytelling possibility and be the undisputed kings of nighttime soap characters!” Then, let’s assume that these other TV stations were dumb enough to follow suit and cancel their other programming to make new superhe-- I mean, nighttime soap series and virtually NOTHING else but. Effecting thought to deed, imagine further that they produced these kinds of shows for the next twenty-five years almost nothing but permutations of Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, The Bold and The Beautiul, and prime time versions of General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, and exciting, unprecedented TV crossovers like “General Hospital visits Dallas” and “Passions versus The Young and The Restless.” Sure fans of that genre would love it, but how many other millions would be turned off to the medium of television completely if that had happened? I see a similar backlash brewing with the gaming industry, successful as it is, if they don’t diversify from the current hunt and shoot type game format that predominates now. > [@](#): > > Thus saving the comics industry. It was the correct choice at the time. As a short-term goal of shoring up profits, yes. But look what they lost in terms of marketplace visibility and distribution. Comics used to be everywhere… drug stores, supermarkets, gas stations, newsstands, home subscriptions, educational supplements in schools, book fairs, doctor’s waiting rooms, etc. In pursuing a more lucrative distribution venture, they deliberately neglected and withdrew comics from the wider marketplace. Other magazines instantly filled the void with no chance of returning (because as faddish as comics are, profits had always been small.) Today only a few comics companies (Archie and maybe Disney) have remained in this wider market. Quiet as its kept, they’re selling better than superheroes, too. > [@](#): > > It was made in 1940, when they introduced Robin and lightened Batman considerably. Comics eventually became “for kids” have the public perceptions of that have remained ever since. Comics became “for kids” in the 1950s after Wertham seized on public hysteria surrounding gore in comics and attacked EC for its horror line and other publishers fell in line with the restrictive “Comics Code Authority.” But at the same time you still a diversity of genres well up into the 1980s you simply still don’t see in the so-called “mainstream” of today: heavily sanitized horror comics, sci-fi, comedies, war, romance, mystery, educational comics, etc. Superheroes were profitable, but even the least selling genre titles of those days had more sales that the highest ones of today. DC has finally made some diverse story successes with the VERTIGO imprint which still has vestiges of superheroes in it but appeals far more to women, and publishing its Archives editions. Marvel’s MAX line deals with crime and deadlier vigilante justice and I see stuff like I (heart) Marvel comics. Superhero romance comics, but a half-assed attempt at romance comics nonethless is better than nothing, I suppose. /On Preview? Oooo. I gotta go to work. Later. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/66 "2006-03-01T15:19:12Z")
Comics companies didn’t stop distributing to newsstands. Newsstands stopped buying comics. They’re unatrratcive for newsstands because they get beat up so easily and they require a lot of maintenance. Marvel and DC would have loved to be on spinner racks over the last decade, but no one would have them. Now in the last couple years some of the chain bookstores (Borders in the vanguard) have started stocking them again, presumably as a result of comics’ success in collected format off the shelves. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/67 "2006-03-01T16:33:00Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > Comics companies didn’t stop distributing to newsstands. Newsstands stopped buying comics. They’re unatrratcive for newsstands because they get beat up so easily and they require a lot of maintenance. Marvel and DC would have loved to be on spinner racks over the last decade, but no one would have them. Now in the last couple years some of the chain bookstores (Borders in the vanguard) have started stocking them again, presumably as a result of comics’ success in collected format off the shelves. > > –Cliffy Okay, then, maybe the solution is black-and-white full size mags like the old Warren magazines, stuff that can be placed on the regular magazine racks instead of a spinner. Concentrate on genre stuff and stay away from the long underwear characters, and maybe you can attract some new readers who otherwise would never have touched a comic. (Say, has anybody reprinted the old Warren mags? They did some great stuff.) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/68 "2006-03-01T16:44:59Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > I guess to put this in perspective I’d need to know what happened to the comic sales when they stopped newsstand distributions. When I was a kid, you couldn’t go into a grocery store or a drug store without seeing a rack of comics along with the magazines. But the last time I remember that happening was in the 90s at a now-defunct drugstore chain which has a rack of (what I now know to be) Image comics near the prescription window. And the thing is, I noticed it because it was noticeable – it had been awhile since I’d seen comics in a drug store or grocery store. First, comic sales have been been on a long-term downward trend since the late 50s. In 1960, Superman was selling over 800,000 copies per month. In 1980, it was 200,000 a month. Comics shops existed by 1980, but they were still relatively uncommon (I wouldn’t discover them until 3-4 years later but still bought most of my comics at the newsstand for years afterward), so they can’t be used to explain this trending. Also, looking at that era, you have to look outside Marvel and DC. The late 70s/early 80s was where comic book companies curled up and died. Harvey, Gold Key, Dell, Charlton, Disney/Gladstone, Warren, and Atlas all stuck to non-superhero genres and to newstand distribution and went under. The sole exception is Archie, which has an even narrower range of material than DC/Marvel, but thrives mostly because of its choice of format (reprint digests rather than 32-page monthlies). There’s a reason DC went outside the (very clannish and insular) comic industry in the 70s to hire Jeanette Kahn as Publisher and Marvel had a rotating door for editor-in-chief in between Stan Lee and Jim Shooter. Insiders thought the industry was in dire straits. I’ve heard that Marvel’s bacon was saved by the acquisition of the Star Wars license for comics. Sales figures certainly were higher then, but are deceptive since non-direct sales are subject to returns for unsold material. If you’re printing and shipping 4 or 5 copies of a comic to sell one, you’ll have a hard time making a profit. As it was both DC and Marvel had a lot of titles that COULDN’T make a profit on newsstands and thus we had the implosion of the late 70’s, which is when Marvel and DC cut most of their non-superhero titles. By 1980, there were well under 100 monthly titles total from all publishers available on newstands. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/69 "2006-03-01T16:55:30Z")
> [@bmoak](#): > > Also, looking at that era, you have to look outside Marvel and DC. The late 70s/early 80s was where comic book companies curled up and died. Harvey, Gold Key, Dell, Charlton, Disney/Gladstone, Warren, and Atlas all stuck to non-superhero genres and to newstand distribution and went under. Dunno 'bout the others, but I understand Warren went under because Warren’s personal financial difficulties distracted him from his publishing business. And Charlton was always a marginally profitable outfit which basically just published a lot of inferior stuff (though there were some exceptions). ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/70 "2006-03-01T16:59:36Z")
But if bmoak is right, what happened to cause the implosion of newstand and magazine rack sales in the decade from 1975 to 1985? Competition from other media? Bad marketing decisions? Distributors decided profit margins on comics weren’t good enough to justify fooling with them? What? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/71 "2006-03-01T17:18:41Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > I know this board is full of fans of both art forms, does anybody have any theories about why Japanese manga are kicking ass and US comics are getting their asses kicked? I’m not sure you’re comparing apples to apples… are you asking why graphic fiction is more popular in the US than it is in Japan? Or are you implying that US consumers are buying more Japanese manga than they’re buying comic books? Either way, I think it comes down to entertainment value. Manga tend to be longer hand have more story. You buy an American comic for $5, you’ve bought 10 minutes of entertainment and a collector’s item. You buy a manga for $5, you’ve bought a couple hours of entertainment. In America you’re tapping a collector’s market of a small demographic, in Japan you’re tapping an entertainment market of all ages. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/72 "2006-03-01T17:27:14Z")
> [@Gozu Tashoya](#): > > **VCO3** will probably have my head on a platter for saying this (or at least have half a dozen titles that prove me wrong), but American comics generally aren’t _soft_ in the way shoujo manga (and even much of the more shonen stuff) are. Superhero comics require the men to be strong and powerful, and the women strong, voluptous, or both. In comics about love and relationships, I get the feeling that these tend to be gritty and realistic (or pessimistic, depending on your baseline for how hard/shitty relationships are) versus shoujo manga’s more romantic and idealistic bent. Either way, I’m inclined to say there’s less of a place for the soft, willowy, long-haired men of shoujo manga, though I’m willing to argue that a number of comic-book artists could do it if they were so inclined. That’s always been my impression of American comics. Those that aren’t superhero based try really hard to be socially relevant. I read manga for entertainment and most of mine are relatively fluffy love stories. Plus, the value things definitely counts for a lot. I get my manga directly from Japan and I pay (including shipping) about $15 a book for over 200 pages. My magazines which are the thick phone book sized volumes with usually between 10 to 15 stories (around 300 pages) run about the same. That’s an awful lot of comic compared to the thin American monthly or even graphic novels. I also don’t care about color, I’d rather get lots of story and dialogue in B&W. I probably spend around $100 or so on manga monthly but that gets me five or six manga, a magazine and around _1500_ pages of new material. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/73 "2006-03-01T17:29:26Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Okay, then, maybe the solution is black-and-white full size mags like the old Warren magazines, stuff that can be placed on the regular magazine racks instead of a spinner. Concentrate on genre stuff and stay away from the long underwear characters, and maybe you can attract some new readers who otherwise would never have touched a comic. > > (Say, has anybody reprinted the old Warren mags? They did some great stuff.) There ARE reprints like that, Marvel’s _Essential_ titles and I know DC does b&w reprints in full-size mags, too. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/74 "2006-03-01T18:04:59Z")
I think there’s another factor involved, too, in the shift between manga and comics. It’s not that comics can’t, or don’t tell engrossing stories with deeply affecting characters. It’s not just that manga are hot, now, either - since they became that way by having stubborn fans asking for them, among other reasons. One of the big differences between the two formats is that the ideal of a comic book is to be completely open-ended. The characters go on and on and on. One way that this is done is to keep bringing in new artists and writers. Sometimes the switch is handled seamlessly. More often than not, in my experience, it was a jarring dislocation from the characters that I come to like, and enjoy to some new characters with the same names. To my mind there’s also the large issue of creative control. When I get into a manga, I may not have the same backstory, or depth of history, that comics often have. But I also don’t have to worry about having my favorite characters retconned out of existence. Most manga I’ve read were produced by a single creative team, often just one artist. And that makes for a more cohesive offering, I think. While I was into comics, I read a large number of titles, and over a period of about four years **all** my titles got attacked by “the bodysnatchers.” They still had the nominally the same characters, but they had a dramatically different “feel” than they had had when I first fell for the title. I’d give the new versions a chance, but often they wouldn’t grab me. And it would often work that way when a writer, or artist I liked took over a title they hadn’t been doing. YMMV, of course. But I think it’s a factor. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/75 "2006-03-01T18:10:47Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Okay, then, maybe the solution is black-and-white full size mags like the old Warren magazines, stuff that can be placed on the regular magazine racks instead of a spinner. Solution to what? Is there a problem? Why do comics need to be something more than what they are? I like the American dichotomy. Let comics be comics, let books be books. To me, manga combine the least appealing aspects of those two media (thin storyline, inadequate artwork). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/76 "2006-03-01T18:22:43Z")
I’m a forty-something male. I grew up reading superhero comics. During the 80’s and 90’s I was on the periphery of the indie comics scene. I own all the Love & Rockets books, hard cover reprints of Little Nemo and classic EC horror, as well as books by Jim Woodring and Chris Ware. But I don’t read American comics anymore. I read manga instead. Here’s why: 1. Above all, manga is FUN. American titles seem to equate “adult” with dark, edgy, angsty, and tortured. When I was in my 20’s and 30’s I enjoyed stuff like that. But now I just want a good story with some amusing twists and turns that doesn’t insult my intelligence. The last American title I read that seemed to capture the same playful spirit that I often find in manga was Mark Crilley’s _Akiko_. But most American comics are either stupid or overwrought. 1. I find the standard American comic art style graphically sterile. Too much detail too unformly distributed across the page. I find my eyes just slide right off it. I prefer the cleaner, simpler lines of the manga style. (This obviously isn’t true for all American books – you’ll notice that the artists I list above – Woodring, Ware, Crilley – don’t draw like that.) ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/77 "2006-03-01T18:27:04Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > One of the big differences between the two formats is that the ideal of a comic book is to be completely open-ended. The characters go on and on and on. One way that this is done is to keep bringing in new artists and writers. Sometimes the switch is handled seamlessly. More often than not, in my experience, it was a jarring dislocation from the characters that I come to like, and enjoy to some new characters with the same names. To my mind there’s also the large issue of creative control. When I get into a manga, I may not have the same backstory, or depth of history, that comics often have. But I also don’t have to worry about having my favorite characters retconned out of existence. > > Most manga I’ve read were produced by a single creative team, often just one artist. And that makes for a more cohesive offering, I think. Huh, that’s an interesting aspect I hadn’t considered. American comics are character-based but manga are artist based. For instance, I’ll buy anything my Yamada Yugi, no matter who the characters are or what the storyline is. With manga, it’s satisfying to reach an ending point or even just read a series of one-shots. > [@Brain Wreck](#): > > Solution to what? Is there a problem? Why do comics need to be something more than what they are? I like the American dichotomy. Let comics be comics, let books be books. To me, manga combine the least appealing aspects of those two media (thin storyline, inadequate artwork). I guess the problem is that American comics (even including translated manga) have no where near the market penetration manga does in Japan. So if comics could be more appealing there’s potential for enormous growth and a much larger comics industry with more jobs for American artists. I think we’ll see that tho’. Manga’s introducing a new generation to comics. If American companies can create a product that appeals to manga buyers, there’s a ton of potential. Although one reason manga’s so ubiquitous in Japan is the economy. Being a manga artist is a aspiration for millions of school kids who are constantly drawing. This creates a huge pool of artists, many of whom are willing to work for not much money, hoping to hit upon a best selling series like Inuyasha and gives the magazines editors a steady supply of new talent. Maybe the current manga fad in America will inspire new artists here. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/78 "2006-03-01T20:09:16Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Huh, that’s an interesting aspect I hadn’t considered. American comics are character-based but manga are artist based. For instance, I’ll buy anything my Yamada Yugi, no matter who the characters are or what the storyline is. With manga, it’s satisfying to reach an ending point or even just read a series of one-shots. Keep in mind there’s plenty of zombified manga series that just. Won’t. Die. Like _Inuyasha_ and _Ranma 1/2_. Or series like _X/1999_ which seemingly will ne’er see resolution in our lifetime. But yes, I have noticed that creators tend to be a lot more important in manga than in American comics, just as _seiyuu_ get more attention than American voice actors. I may be a Peter David fan, for instance, bt that doesn’t mean I’ll buy everything he ever writes. Manga fans seem to follow their favorite manga-ka, while comic fans stick with their favorite characters. > [@tremorviolet](#): > > I guess the problem is that American comics (even including translated manga) have no where near the market penetration manga does in Japan. So if comics could be more appealing there’s potential for enormous growth and a much larger comics industry with more jobs for American artists. You know, I’ve always wondered what the Japanese make of the _amekomi_ series like _Spider-Man_ or _Supreme Power_, etc. I know _amekomi_ has only a tiny, tiny fanbase in Japan, but the animated _X-Men_ series was popular over there, so who knows. > [@tremorviolet](#): > > I think we’ll see that tho’. Manga’s introducing a new generation to comics. If American companies can create a product that appeals to manga buyers, there’s a ton of potential. Marvel, at least, has attempted to capitilize on the manga craze with the Mangaverse, which sets classic characters like Spider-Man in a manga-style universe. I’m not sure how popular they are, but more mainstream readers like myself tend to ignore the mangaverse stuff. If I want manga, I’ll go buy CLAMP or something. Marvel also put a Japanese artist on the _X-Men_ title for a time who drew in a manga-esque style. The fans were not happy. I especially had a problem with the way he would leave out random facial features, such as drawing a character with only one eyeball. Very annoying. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/79 "2006-03-01T20:25:13Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Keep in mind there’s plenty of zombified manga series that just. Won’t. Die. Like _Inuyasha_ and _Ranma 1/2_. Or series like _X/1999_ which seemingly will ne’er see resolution in our lifetime. But, have they ever continued a series without the creator? Inuyasha is still by it’s originator (although I would bet he doesn’t do much of the actual drawing anymore). > [@Mississippienne](#): > > Marvel, at least, has attempted to capitilize on the manga craze with the Mangaverse, which sets classic characters like Spider-Man in a manga-style universe. I’m not sure how popular they are, but more mainstream readers like myself tend to ignore the mangaverse stuff. If I want manga, I’ll go buy CLAMP or something. Marvel also put a Japanese artist on the _X-Men_ title for a time who drew in a manga-esque style. The fans were not happy. I especially had a problem with the way he would leave out random facial features, such as drawing a character with only one eyeball. Very annoying. See, that’s the exactly wrong way to go about it and why American companies won’t catch up. They don’t know _why_ people like manga. It’s not the drawing style, it’s the stories. :rolleyes: I think we’ll see some American manga-influenced comics become popular but they won’t be from the big companies. They’ll be from the smaller companies who actually figure out why manga appeals to readers. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410/80 "2006-03-01T20:28:49Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Marvel, at least, has attempted to capitilize on the manga craze with the Mangaverse, which sets classic characters like Spider-Man in a manga-style universe. Yeesh. That’s the exact wrong lessons to be learning from the success of manga. There’s something to be said for opening up other genres and making reprint books more accessible. But if manga’s success is because kids like reading from right to left and art with big eyes, then it really is just a trend. Then again, I’m only moderately fond of the stereotypical manga art (although some stuff, like Lone Wolf and Cub, is just gorgeous), and I find translating the Japanese visual idioms distracting. Which I guess is another reason why my faorite mangas have a more realistic (as opposed to cartoony) tone, like Lone Wolf and Cub. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-manga-succeeding-and-comics-not-succeeding/346410.md?page=5)