[merylsilverburg]

Good topic Aubrey.

Originally Posted by Aubrey McFatum

Who reads comics? As I said, with comics I mean anything that is not Japanese like manga.

I used to read American comics but now I mostly read manga. The American comics I used to enjoy were "X-Men" (before they changed artists...the series now are just ugly!), "Witchblade" (same thing...I used to read it before Michael Turner quit to do "Fathom"), and "Danger Girl." Right now, I'm reading a Sherlockian-type mystery comic called "Muse."

Originally Posted by Aubrey McFatum

What kind of comics you prefer?

American-wise, I don't mind the action and thriller/mystery stuff. Manga-wise, I don't mind the girlish romance or the guyish action stories.

Originally Posted by Aubrey McFatum

Is there anybody who collects them?

I don't really collect American comics as much, except maybe "Witchblade." Unforunately, I haven't been able to finish up the whole collection.

Originally Posted by Aubrey McFatum

What do you think of the most recent movies taken from comics?

Well, the recent films such as "X-Men", "Spider-Man", "The Hulk" and "Hellboy" aren't so bad (except I didn't see "The Hulk" which I heard was terrible) and I think they did a good job with these. Of course, they had help with all the CG...I think I admire the comic book movies of the past, such as "Batman" and "Superman" because they created the worlds before the major use of 3D effects.

Originally Posted by Aubrey McFatum

For those who read both comics from other countries and manga, which one do you like most and why?

This is a good question. I think I may prefer manga even though both types have their own uniqueness and styles. American comics are more action-based and more superhero-based and these are done very well. But, some of them don't focus on the emotional level as much...at least to me. Manga has its own very unique style because of the different culture. The jokes are different, the actions/movements are different, and the story is even a bit different. But, I like manga because of the way the story is held...there are many situations mangakas create where I go, "Oh..." as in "I've never thought of that before." Not only that, but manga also has a lot of the shoujo genres which I personally like a lot. And not all the shoujos are necessarily about love and relationships...a very popular shoujo such as Bara no Berusairu ("The Rose of Versailles") is an action-shoujo that focuses on the struggles of the French Revolution and Maria Antoinette. Plus, the art of manga is a little more detailed than American comics, which is probably why I enjoy it a lot more.

Originally Posted by Aubrey McFatum

Do you think manga is more influencial for comics nowadays or viceversa or do you think they are completely different and indipendent things that have nothing in common?

Nowadays, manga is a definite influence on the American comic industry (much to my annoyance, sorry people). Nowadays, there are comics in the American market popping up with very manga-ish style, such as huge eyes, thin and tall bodies, and small noses. What is sad also, is that the American comic industry feels they have to adopt this manga-style in order to keep up with the trend.

I was shopping at Target one night and I came across a comic featuring "Heros" or something like that. It was from Marvel Comics, but on the side of the logo was a huge logo with the Katakana lettering "マンゲール" or "Mangeeru" next to it (if the quoted section comes up in blocks, you have to have Japanese encryption on your computer). I don't even know if "Mangeeru" is even a word in Japanese, but yet it was on the cover. It pissed me off for some reason and I think it's because I don't like how the American market is trying to adopt this manga-style (because they're not even drawing it properly...they think the basic elements is just huge eyes, small nose, and huge hair... ). I mean, this comic from Marvel was very...traditional Marvel superhero elements (with the masks and the capes and the buff bodies) but it had a manga-ish style to it (with the face and the hair). What the hell is that?

Even though it's nice that manga is getting popular in the American comic industry and that many artists and companies are trying to adopt this style, I feel somewhat angered by it. Why? Because for people who have loved this sort of art style for as long as they can remember (like me), they were criticized and ridiculed beyond reason when they mentioned it or drew it (before it was accepted in the US). Now, just because it's getting popular or getting accepted, the motto is "If it ain't manga, it won't sell! So everyone, draw manga-style!!" Okay, what about people like us? Now, when we go around drawing this style (that we have drawn for years), the comments are, "Omigawd, that is soooo cool! You like drawing manga-style? Me too!!" when, 9 years ago, it was all "What is that?! An alien?!"

Also, nowadays, it seems there are more American shoujo comics on the market, thanks to manga. I remember around 7 years ago, I was reading about this one Irish (I think) girl who was drawing this comic where it's about a bunch of teens in high school and their adventures of everyday life. She drew manga-style. It would be considered shoujo...which I think was probably the first to really be loved by Westerners. But, it was because this comic was in reference to the American lifestyle. The most popular shoujo manga at that time were Sailormoon (which had to be changed drastically to fit the US) or Video Girl Ai.
A slapstick, shoujo comedy that was popular was Ranma 1/2, which people enjoyed because of the comedy and the wild dysfunctional family. That was accepted a lot in the US because
1) even though it was a Japanese manga, a lot of the stuff had to be changed to fit the US audience
2) the story had a dysfunctional family, which many of us can relate to...but this was a totally outrageous story of dysfunctionality
3) while the original Japanese storyline was Japanese...it wasn't a pure Japanese story in the sense of real Japanese jokes and traditions
4) it was a comedy with a lot of slapstick in it
Now, if people wanna read a genuine Japanese shoujo story based on a somewhat dsyfunctional family, one manga to read would be "My Neighbor, the Yamadas" (Hohokekyo Tonari no Yamada-kun). These actually are comic strips and not actually manga, but there are so many, they became serialized in a manga form. Of course, some people may not enjoy it because it's not comical enough (comical in the American sense) and because there's a lot of jokes that are just too confusing.

Um...I lost my train of thought...oh yeah! So, what I was saying was, there weren't many shoujo American comics in the past, but because manga came along, now there are more popping up. Particularly on cartoons too (I know this topic is on manga, but I just want to point this out). Stuff like "Totally Spies" (what a disgrace) or "Braceface"...these cartoons are heavily drawn with the manga/anime influence. Would "Totally Spies" had done well in the past? I don't know for sure, but I highly doubt it.

So, yes...manga is definitely an influence on the American comic industry now.