I've thought about form factor & presentation quite a bit in recent months. Perch, remember in the '80s when we could get comics in a digest format, with black & white newsprint interiors? It's almost like manga publishers took that idea and...hey, wait a minute! 😏
The thing that makes manga more appealing is that it isn't bogged down by continuity. It begins and ends with the creative vision of one person. If someone wants to read attack on titan or my hero academia they know to start at the very beginning with volume 1. If I want to read superman people are afraid to jump into a character whose history dates back over 80 years and there are many authors who've written the character which makes it difficult for a new reader to keep track of. I think the greatest advantage manga has over the comic industry it's cohesive nature to tell a singular story by one person that people can stick with. When it comes to buying manga also, the price point is also a large factor. Most books are from 10-15 range depending on the format and company, but I know what I'm getting is worth that amount in page count and the art. When it comes to how comics are collected in trades, it feels like the paper is thinner, the page quantity is lower even though the pages are larger, and the art can vary if there is a filler artist, the price is around 20-25, and trades also have a hard time standing out on a shelf because of how thin they are.
Berzerk, Jojos and Dragon Ball says hi. But aside from a few long-running mangas, you are correct. Most mangas are relatively short and self-contained.
@Tom The Fish I agree, books like walking dead and invincible are great because they are strict to continuity from a singular creative team. When you pass the reigns to another team that's when continuity becomes selective which can make a story feel disconnected. I think this is an advantage of indie books and manga have over the mainstream superhero comics but the some other problems I outlined still apply even in the indie scene.
I got some manga feelings when I am reading old UK comic books, where the writer had to go to the point in the 10-12 pages. Marvel and DC has to relearn the lost art of complete history in few pages, while keeping a big overall plot in the background.
Considering manga are basically graphical novels just read from left to right and usually printed in black and white, that no surprise they feel like books.
When I first started reading Marvels they used to have a caption on the splash page that summarized the origins of the series and characters while at DC, if you never saw the characters on TV you were lost!
I've found your channel recently, so I don't know if this has been said but in addition to your points, I think the price is a huge factor. The big 2 are trying to fixate on selling to younger audiences. The issue is younger people can't afford to buy a bunch of comics like we could when I was young. You could get your 5 dollar allowance and mow a couple lawns a month and stay on top of all of the stories. Now the average kid can afford a comic or two per week.
I'm not from The USA so I was never exposed to comics much, but they never appealed to me. And you hit one of the reasons on the nail. (I think this can be said about a lot of American media but) the characters aren't treated with respect. There's an element of deconstruction going on for the sake of perhaps not being too self-important. But it comes off as irreverent and inconsistent and perhaps funny. But after the joke you can't take the characters or the series seriously anymore. Mangas have comedic elements as well, but not at the expense of themselves.
I love this idea, I'm a huge fan of Manga. For a great example of what NOT to do look at any Godland Trade and see if you can figure out what the heck the book is even about based on the cover and back cover. It has absolutely no synopsis and it's just quotes of praise. How's a new reader supposed to know if it's something they might like?
Another thing I like about manga is most manga take place in their own world, even the ones that aren't isekai. Yeah you have manga that take place in the real world and yeah most of them take place in Japan, but they find ways to make it more interesting than real life, either with action, horror, drama, comedy, science fiction, ect. The worlds that manga create are super imaginative and super detailed. They aren't just a fantasy world with rainbow barfing unicorns because lol so random. Comics today are trying too hard to be internet savy and post modern.
I actually find Marvel and DC to be the biggest offenders of how they recap the story. A lot of other comics handle it better, especially sonic which seems to have taken a page from manga. However I think you are right about how they recap it. It takes up unnecessary space in the story and doesn't help it at all especially when it is put into trade paperback form. A page or two recapping and charecter introduction like manga likes to do it would be beneficial.
Another weird one is trying to get me to buy a comic by telling me that it has a Pakistani girl in it or something along those lines. It's diverse. There's a girl and she's brown. What kind of story is it? What's it about? Who cares. It has a girl and she's brown. Buy it. If you don't buy it you're sexist and racist because it has a girl and she's brown. There's a gay hobo version of Captain America. He's gay. Buy it or you are homophobic. Sorry but that doesn't sell me on the book. Some sense of what this comic is and what it's about beyond it being vaguely a super hero comic would be good. Maybe they don't care about that but I do especially if I am going to pay $3.99 or $4.99 an issue for 6 issues just to get a story.
Manga has very wide diversity. So, you like gay action? We have it here, want to see some lesbian ones, we also have it here. Story about ugly or fat guy? Yes why not. Something more conservatives? Yes, and yes. You know, Marvel and DC should learn a lot from Manga, now that it actually hit US market. Be diverse, but don't alienate your original customers, or they'll leave in droves.
Choji in Naruto had to deal with being called fat and being made fun of for eating, but his dad was the same when he was his age and their clan uses their bodies to fight and it's so cool! There's a message too with Shikamaru, his best friend where he tells Choji that he should be himself. He even found someone like him after he grew up and he got married and had a daughter and passed his abilities down to her! God, I love Naruto!
It's been fun to dip my foot into manga since 2018. There are fresh ideas and a great selection. And there are endings to series.
I've thought about form factor & presentation quite a bit in recent months.
Perch, remember in the '80s when we could get comics in a digest format, with black & white newsprint interiors?
It's almost like manga publishers took that idea and...hey, wait a minute! 😏
Exactly. :)
The thing that makes manga more appealing is that it isn't bogged down by continuity. It begins and ends with the creative vision of one person. If someone wants to read attack on titan or my hero academia they know to start at the very beginning with volume 1. If I want to read superman people are afraid to jump into a character whose history dates back over 80 years and there are many authors who've written the character which makes it difficult for a new reader to keep track of. I think the greatest advantage manga has over the comic industry it's cohesive nature to tell a singular story by one person that people can stick with. When it comes to buying manga also, the price point is also a large factor. Most books are from 10-15 range depending on the format and company, but I know what I'm getting is worth that amount in page count and the art. When it comes to how comics are collected in trades, it feels like the paper is thinner, the page quantity is lower even though the pages are larger, and the art can vary if there is a filler artist, the price is around 20-25, and trades also have a hard time standing out on a shelf because of how thin they are.
Berzerk, Jojos and Dragon Ball says hi. But aside from a few long-running mangas, you are correct. Most mangas are relatively short and self-contained.
@Tom The Fish I agree, books like walking dead and invincible are great because they are strict to continuity from a singular creative team. When you pass the reigns to another team that's when continuity becomes selective which can make a story feel disconnected. I think this is an advantage of indie books and manga have over the mainstream superhero comics but the some other problems I outlined still apply even in the indie scene.
Manga often had continuity to deal with, but it also does a better job of what US comics always claim to want: it’s much easier to jump in.
@@ComicsPerch big agree
@Tom The Fish I'm just saying it's huge as fuck and pretty daunting for a noob to get into.
I got some manga feelings when I am reading old UK comic books, where the writer had to go to the point in the 10-12 pages. Marvel and DC has to relearn the lost art of complete history in few pages, while keeping a big overall plot in the background.
harlockmbb absolutely agree. There’s far better use of space and time.
Considering manga are basically graphical novels just read from left to right and usually printed in black and white, that no surprise they feel like books.
...and they lean into that format, rather than fight it.
When I first started reading Marvels they used to have a caption on the splash page that summarized the origins of the series and characters while at DC, if you never saw the characters on TV you were lost!
This has been very useful. I'm in the process of marketing my webcomic and this is just the advice I needed. Thanks!
Good stuff.
I need your opinion on a bunch of stuff.
This is my first crack at it professionally.
Thanks for being so informative.
I've found your channel recently, so I don't know if this has been said but in addition to your points, I think the price is a huge factor. The big 2 are trying to fixate on selling to younger audiences. The issue is younger people can't afford to buy a bunch of comics like we could when I was young. You could get your 5 dollar allowance and mow a couple lawns a month and stay on top of all of the stories. Now the average kid can afford a comic or two per week.
I'm not from The USA so I was never exposed to comics much, but they never appealed to me. And you hit one of the reasons on the nail. (I think this can be said about a lot of American media but) the characters aren't treated with respect. There's an element of deconstruction going on for the sake of perhaps not being too self-important. But it comes off as irreverent and inconsistent and perhaps funny. But after the joke you can't take the characters or the series seriously anymore. Mangas have comedic elements as well, but not at the expense of themselves.
I love this idea, I'm a huge fan of Manga. For a great example of what NOT to do look at any Godland Trade and see if you can figure out what the heck the book is even about based on the cover and back cover. It has absolutely no synopsis and it's just quotes of praise. How's a new reader supposed to know if it's something they might like?
Great video
Another thing I like about manga is most manga take place in their own world, even the ones that aren't isekai. Yeah you have manga that take place in the real world and yeah most of them take place in Japan, but they find ways to make it more interesting than real life, either with action, horror, drama, comedy, science fiction, ect. The worlds that manga create are super imaginative and super detailed. They aren't just a fantasy world with rainbow barfing unicorns because lol so random. Comics today are trying too hard to be internet savy and post modern.
2 years later.. still haven't learned
I actually find Marvel and DC to be the biggest offenders of how they recap the story. A lot of other comics handle it better, especially sonic which seems to have taken a page from manga.
However I think you are right about how they recap it. It takes up unnecessary space in the story and doesn't help it at all especially when it is put into trade paperback form. A page or two recapping and charecter introduction like manga likes to do it would be beneficial.
Another weird one is trying to get me to buy a comic by telling me that it has a Pakistani girl in it or something along those lines. It's diverse. There's a girl and she's brown. What kind of story is it? What's it about? Who cares. It has a girl and she's brown. Buy it. If you don't buy it you're sexist and racist because it has a girl and she's brown. There's a gay hobo version of Captain America. He's gay. Buy it or you are homophobic. Sorry but that doesn't sell me on the book. Some sense of what this comic is and what it's about beyond it being vaguely a super hero comic would be good. Maybe they don't care about that but I do especially if I am going to pay $3.99 or $4.99 an issue for 6 issues just to get a story.
Manga has very wide diversity. So, you like gay action? We have it here, want to see some lesbian ones, we also have it here. Story about ugly or fat guy? Yes why not. Something more conservatives? Yes, and yes. You know, Marvel and DC should learn a lot from Manga, now that it actually hit US market. Be diverse, but don't alienate your original customers, or they'll leave in droves.
Choji in Naruto had to deal with being called fat and being made fun of for eating, but his dad was the same when he was his age and their clan uses their bodies to fight and it's so cool! There's a message too with Shikamaru, his best friend where he tells Choji that he should be himself. He even found someone like him after he grew up and he got married and had a daughter and passed his abilities down to her! God, I love Naruto!
Hey Perch do you accept Fan Mail?
Check the description from the videos, but absolutely.
My hero is great deku is trashhhhhhhhhhh
Great video