NOZEMACK: WHAT IS MANGA?

[MattBrady]

<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Oni/oni5thanniversarylogo.jpg" width="175" height="323" border="0" align="right">Joe Nozemack is the publisher of Oni Press, home to a varied line of creator-owned, black-and-white comic books. In his position, it’s his job to look at the comics market to determine what is working and what isn’t, and most importantly, why. Below are some of his thoughts on one of the industry’s more recent trends.

“What is Manga?”

I think this is a question that a lot of people in the U.S. comics industry have been asking themselves lately. They’ve also probably been asking themselves, “Why is manga selling so much and to people who don’t normally buy comics?”

Manga isn’t big eyes. Otherwise Lone Wolf and Cub wouldn’t be manga.

Manga isn’t giant robots. Otherwise DragonBall Z wouldn’t be manga.

Manga isn’t sci-fi. Otherwise GTO wouldn’t be manga.

Manga isn’t just for kids. Otherwise Crying Freeman wouldn’t be manga.

Manga isn’t just cute girls in tight outfits. Otherwise Maison Ikkoku wouldn’t be manga.

Manga isn’t ninja and samurai. Otherwise Pokemon wouldn’t be manga.

What manga is, is a form of storytelling that has developed in Japan over decades to become a mass medium, like prose, film and television, that tells every type of story for every type of lifestyle in an attractive format that is readily available and reasonably priced. Nothing more, nothing less.

What’s different about manga than other types of comics? The storytelling method can be more cinematic; it’s mostly black-and-white; while some might not think so, there is more than one mainstream art style and they have developed over a long period and continue to change with each new generation; it is not seen as collectable or an investment item; very few characters or titles run for decades (the original runs are just rediscovered by each generation); it is sold everywhere and the most popular creators are some of the richest people in Japan.

“Why is Manga becoming popular and selling to people who previously haven’t bought U.S. comics?”

You don’t need to know years of the characters’ histories to enjoy manga, and the beginnings of the stories are kept in print so that you can start a title easily and for a reasonable price. It’s created by people the readers’ own ages who are trying to do their own thing instead of just reliving or redoing the comics from their past. The art can look modern, like something seen on T-shirts or albums in pop culture. Because there are romance stories for women, action and drama for men (not to be gender specific, I’m sure some guys buy the romance and some women enjoy the action) and wacky adventure for kids (instead of just sanitized versions of the same characters that are marketed to teens and adults). The comics are in a nice format that is easy to carry and recognizable to another mass medium: books. They’re available at malls, record stores and numerous other outlets where large, diverse groups of people shop. The price point is reasonable. The characters are new and undiscovered ground.

So how do American comics compete with manga and grow its audience the way the manga audience is growing? How about by trying to be more of what manga is, concentrating on the reasons manga is expanding in popularity and focusing less on what manga isn’t, which seems to be what everyone thinks it is.

[pmpknface]

Vague, yet accurate. GO JOE! :D

[Barry]

Great op/ed piece! Here's hoping the rest of the industry actually pays some attention...

[saiyanspider]

It's about time someone wrote this, with all the manga bashing that goes on around here. I agree people like marvel and DC need to emulate what manga does to get and keep fans as opposed to just emulating the drawing style.

[Jonas.Vesterlund]

Not that I read a whole lot of mManga ....but there are some great points here. Good essey.

[Michael P]

Thanks for a great article. Now I have something to show to people who say "I HATE MANGA!!!!!!" and then go on to demonstrate they have no earthly idea what manga is.

[Ripner]

Manga is very varied, good article.

Why do I like manga? For the most part i just like the Japanese sense of humor in there stories. The wackiness of Excel Saga, Ranma 1/2, Love Hina, and many others. The other aspect myself, and a lot of other manga/anime lovers I know is just being able tog et a glimpse of Japanese culture. The different-ness of it, the cool toys they have, cool looking chracters, mascot characters, just the view of that Japanese culture a lot of us wish that we could visit and experence in person yet manga/anime are the closest we can get to it.

[gOgIver]

I think people confuse Manga with Anime.

[Monster X]

Im new to anime & manga(I did read first comics?? version of lone wolf and cub way back but I remember dropping it after 12 issue's or so)But cowboy bebop got me hooked on anime & now I watch all the anime I can on cartoon network, The Action channel, Showtime beyond & Techtv. On the manga end of things Shonen Jump is now my favorite monthly read & GTO is very cool. The american comic industry better wake up, 32 page comic books are going the way of the dodo, the manga format & size & cost & quality storytelling blows Marvel Dc Image Dark Horse etc. out of the water. Change or die comic companies, change or die. :cool:

[MattBrady]

[quote]Originally posted by gOgIver:
<strong>I think people confuse Manga with Anime.</strong><hr></blockquote>

But even there, the wide variety that Joe cites exist as well. I can't stand Dragonball Z, but I'll watch Golgol 13, Mononoke, and something like Wings of Honneamase over and over.

MattB

[Travis W. Howard]

Here's my personal likes and dislikes, in anime and manga..

Lone Wolf & Cub; Blood the Last Vampire; Akira; Domu; Akira; Ran-ma 1/2; Spriggan; Appleseed; Black Magic M-66; Project A-Ko; Neon Genesis Evangelion; Lain; Blade of the Immortal; etc.

I still don't see the appeal of Princess Monokoke, personally. And can't stand Dragonball Z.

It's great that Joe took the time to make the distinction, and it's much appreciated!

-T

[jasinmartin]

Hmmm... Joe's description of Manga pretty much sums up Oni Press too

[gOgIver]

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
<strong>

But even there, the wide variety that Joe cites exist as well. I can't stand Dragonball Z, but I'll watch Golgol 13, Mononoke, and something like Wings of Honneamase over and over.

MattB</strong><hr></blockquote>

True.

[Franklin Harris]

Here is another one: "Marvel Mangaverse" isn't manga.

Thank you, and good night.

[saiyanspider]

all of the anime/mangs mentioned are good, AS WELL AS DRAGON BALL Z :-P

[saiyanspider]

BTW pick up shonen jump! Shonen Jump is one of the best read out there. good quality great price you can't go wrong. best storied, One piece, Sandland, and Yu-gi-oh (forget the pokemonesque card game time to duel stuff this is a good manga about one sick Egyptian god of games). Naruto is also very good.

[FigNewton]

AMEN, Joe! AMEN!

[Scott Morse]

Come on, folks...take a page out of Joe's book and look around for some of the sweeter treats that have been translated for us stupid Americans...

SHORT PROGRAM by Mitsuru Adachi
DANCE TILL TOMORROW by Naoki Yamamoto
BLACK AND WHITE and NO.5 by Taiyo Matsumoto
BAKUNE YOUNG by Toyokazu Matsunaga
EAGLE by Kaiji Kawaguchi
...and of course...
ASTRO BOY by Osamu Tezuka
LONE WOLF AND CUB by Koike and Kojima
AKIRA by Otomo

[Taylor Porter]

[quote]Originally posted by Joe Nozemack:
<strong>...very few characters or titles run for decades (the original runs are just rediscovered by each generation).... </strong><hr></blockquote>

This is the most appealling part for me. I wish more American comics were done like this. I don't see the need to make new comics with, say, Spider-Man, indefinitely, when they could just keep his best stories in print.

[fistofkhonshu]

Joe hit every nail on the head. For the last, say eight years or so (since I got out into the workforce), I have bought less capes and more stories. I find the best stories end!!! While I love seeing some of the heroes of my youth kick ass to this day, I like the idea of their stories just ending.

But the main thing he hit on that needs to be emulated over here is repackaging and better marketing. TPBs are released for everything now. If there is a decent run in a comic it gets a TPB. Kill the monthlies and just do TPB and Hardbacks. A little summary at the beginning and everything is taken care of. High quality covers that actually reflects what is inside But this whole thing has a problem no one wants the change but those of us without our heads up our ass. Make it or more MANGA I'm all for it. The best stuff comes from overseas anyway.

[ltp_mo]

[quote] So how do American comics compete with manga and grow its audience the way the manga audience is growing? How about by trying to be more of what manga is, concentrating on the reasons manga is expanding in popularity and focusing less on what manga isn’t, which seems to be what everyone thinks it is.

<hr></blockquote>

What about What CrossGen is doing with the smaller series of books like their Compendia and their Traveller series of Collections?

Smaller price point, Manga size books, each story can be read and enjoyed without miles of continuity, various subject manners, full color (not b&w, sorry), well-crafted stories, the first TPB or now Traveller books are kept in print, and yet no loss of American-based artwork.

I think that there is an American comic company that is trying to do what Manga does and understands the importance of the Manga-based marketing strategies and success. I dunno, what do y'all thnk?

[Dood Lee]

[quote]Originally posted by Monster X:
<strong> The american comic industry better wake up, 32 page comic books are going the way of the dodo, the manga format & size & cost & quality storytelling blows Marvel Dc Image Dark Horse etc. out of the water. Change or die comic companies, change or die. </strong><hr></blockquote>

Actually, in Japan, comics are released in much the same way it is here in america. However, the stories are mostly found in anthologies. Shonen Jump is a prime example. There is a weekly and monthly shonen jump. After 6 or 7 stories have been printed for a given series, they compile those stories in a tpb format. Those are the manga books you find in the bookstores today.

I do agree that the 32 pg monthly is a really outdated format. For $2.25, it's not worth the money. What they should do, and this is an example, is do an anthology like shonen jump. For instance, ACTION COMICS could contain stories of all the Superman family, you would have stories about Superman, Steel, Supergirl, etc. DETECTIVE COMICS could contain stories about Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, the Birds of Prey... The books don't have to be glossy paper, they could be newsprint (good kind) 100 - 200 pages for like $2.95 or something.

[Barry]

[quote]Originally posted by Dood Lee:
<strong>

Actually, in Japan, comics are released in much the same way it is here in america. However, the stories are mostly found in anthologies. Shonen Jump is a prime example. There is a weekly and monthly shonen jump. After 6 or 7 stories have been printed for a given series, they compile those stories in a tpb format. Those are the manga books you find in the bookstores today.

I do agree that the 32 pg monthly is a really outdated format. For $2.25, it's not worth the money. What they should do, and this is an example, is do an anthology like shonen jump. For instance, ACTION COMICS could contain stories of all the Superman family, you would have stories about Superman, Steel, Supergirl, etc. DETECTIVE COMICS could contain stories about Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, the Birds of Prey... The books don't have to be glossy paper, they could be newsprint (good kind) 100 - 200 pages for like $2.95 or something.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Anthologies typically don't sell very well in the direct market. But if you're aiming outside the direct market to new customers, then yes, I agree that anthologies on the cheap are the way to go. But it should be in book form, as the magazine format like Marvel tried a few years back seems to flop altogether.

[danzo]

[quote]Originally posted by Dood Lee:
<strong>

Actually, in Japan, comics are released in much the same way it is here in america. However, the stories are mostly found in anthologies. Shonen Jump is a prime example. There is a weekly and monthly shonen jump. After 6 or 7 stories have been printed for a given series, they compile those stories in a tpb format. Those are the manga books you find in the bookstores today.

I do agree that the 32 pg monthly is a really outdated format. For $2.25, it's not worth the money. What they should do, and this is an example, is do an anthology like shonen jump. For instance, ACTION COMICS could contain stories of all the Superman family, you would have stories about Superman, Steel, Supergirl, etc. DETECTIVE COMICS could contain stories about Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, the Birds of Prey... The books don't have to be glossy paper, they could be newsprint (good kind) 100 - 200 pages for like $2.95 or something.</strong><hr></blockquote>

heh, i had to re-post all that in it's entirety, it's so nice to see others saying what i've been saying for years now- you can see the thread i started late last year "let's talk about comics formats" for more on that....
simply put, yes! the more anthology-like monthly which yields the collections is the way to go, a 32 page book simply has very little appeal or bang for the buck. and as suggested above and in my thread, i'd say that the way for American publishers to go is by condensing the multi-book sub-lines into larger more solid and appealing ""comic-magazines" much like comics were in their earlier days and priced comparably to other magazines on the stands.

[danzo]

oh, and i'm all for DC or Marvel doing some nice Black&White titles with their characters- i'd love to see that with new material, not just reprints minus the color. do it in a nice hefty anthology-format at an appealing price and let all sorts of creators go wild with non-cannon stories...... just a thought.

[basement dweller]

I've been thinking about this, I was in my local supermarket when I saw the racks of trashy romance novels. I mean is that not a niche that begging to be filled. A romance comic at a decent priced, filled with the usual charectersa, heaving bussoms, giant broad shouldered men. I mean I think it could really sell like that.

[Starsky_Hutch76]

[quote]Originally posted by Matt Brady:
<strong>

“Why is Manga becoming popular and selling to people who previously haven’t bought U.S. comics?”

You don’t need to know years of the characters’ histories to enjoy manga, and the beginnings of the stories are kept in print so that you can start a title easily and for a reasonable price. It’s created by people the readers’ own ages who are trying to do their own thing instead of just reliving or redoing the comics from their past. The art can look modern, like something seen on T-shirts or albums in pop culture. Because there are romance stories for women, action and drama for men (not to be gender specific, I’m sure some guys buy the romance and some women enjoy the action) and wacky adventure for kids (instead of just sanitized versions of the same characters that are marketed to teens and adults). The comics are in a nice format that is easy to carry and recognizable to another mass medium: books. They’re available at malls, record stores and numerous other outlets where large, diverse groups of people shop. The price point is reasonable. The characters are new and undiscovered ground.

So how do American comics compete with manga and grow its audience the way the manga audience is growing? How about by trying to be more of what manga is, concentrating on the reasons manga is expanding in popularity and focusing less on what manga isn’t, which seems to be what everyone thinks it is.</strong><hr></blockquote>


The irony here is, all these reasons listed for manga's growing popularity used to describe the American comic industry once upon a time.

[Promethea]

[quote]Originally posted by saiyanspider:
<strong>BTW pick up shonen jump! </strong><hr></blockquote>

As I told my Comic Shop Owner, Shonen Jump was featured on NPR's 'All Things Considered' last week. They did their usual good job on covering Manga and Anime, though I cringed when they described a convention (we came off like trekkers).

[heir.of.elendil]

[quote]Originally posted by Monster X:
<strong>The american comic industry better wake up, 32 page comic books are going the way of the dodo, the manga format & size & cost & quality storytelling blows Marvel Dc Image Dark Horse etc. out of the water. Change or die comic companies, change or die.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Um....no. Dark Horse is part of the manga scene in America, duh. They publish Ah! My Goddess! and Blade of the Immortal, two great series I love, plus many other ones. They're not going to blow themselves out of the water by having good manga sales.

[littlewolvie]

Living in Belgium, the popularity of manga/anime isn't exactly new to me, as it already started in the early 80's over here. I'm not going into a discussion about which art form is better, comics or manga. After all, that's a question of taste. Personally I prefer comics, but that's me. I would like to make one sidenote though. While it's true that manga in its original form might be cheap, that usually doesn't go for the translations (whether they are French, Dutch, English or whatever). Imported stuff isn't exactly cheap either and people have a tendency to start collecting that over here which makes it more expensive once again. So, I don't think the cheap argument is a valid argument in my case.

However, there's 2 important points I get out of this little article in order to make comics more appealing:

1) LOWER prices. I think this is really important, as comic books are really getting too expensive. There are too many other forms of entertainment out there to compete with. You need to lower the prices in order to stand a chance.

2) More diversity. And that does NOT necessarily mean you have to cancel the current books. There's a public for those. Don't try to drastically alter existing books in order to reach a wider public. Try new things instead. That way you don't turn off longtime fans and you can still try to reach a wider public.

Voilà, that's it for now.

[Dood Lee]

[quote]Originally posted by heir.of.elendil:
<strong>

Um....no. Dark Horse is part of the manga scene in America, duh. They publish Ah! My Goddess! and Blade of the Immortal, two great series I love, plus many other ones. They're not going to blow themselves out of the water by having good manga sales.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Dark Horse does manga, but its not a pure manga company like viz and tokyopop (and DH's manga sales are no where near the numbers that viz and T-pop push). The majority of Dark Horse books published still fall under the same category as DC and Marvel, that is, predominantly the 32 page monthly.

[dr.no]

[quote] Posted by Ripner
Manga is very varied, good article.<hr></blockquote>

No, comics in general are a very varied, and good article. Except US comics... :)

[D.J. Coffman is your daddy]

In Japan, Manga grew because it was directly marketed to teenagers and pre-teens in huge chunks like phone books at a real low cost. Sometimes the books would have sponsors and be given out for free, with very little viewable to tell that it was sponsored at all. This would get kids hooked over there. As they grew, entreprenuers opened up shops where you can go in and read free Manga while enjoying a snack or listening to music or just hanging out and talking with friends. While this whole "everybody draw Manga!" phase bugs me currently it's important to learn from it too, not just disregard it. Manga is about communication through visual and narrative-- but there are usually no limits to it, in true manga a scene could last 10-20 pages. I think we're too focused on telling all the story all the now.

We need to slow it down more and focus in what we do. Give people big chunks for a small cost, make the same money by getting it out to more people.

[samnoir]

This is great response to everyone out there who ponders why the kids aren't buying "Dad's Comics", and choosing manga instead via the mainstream bookseller outlets as opposed to those local comic stores who still don't "get" manga.

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[Starsky_Hutch76]

What I don't get is the whole "Not your Dad's comics" thing. My dad could buy his comics at the drug store and choose from Cowboy, detective, horror, Sci-fi, funny animal, or War comics in addition to super heroes.... All at a resonable price. I'd say today's comics are already not my dad's comics, but not for a good reason. ;)

[Joe Harris]

I'm a big fan of Manga myself. I like reading various titles. Something else I'm a huge fan of is G.I.Joe. I thought I'd jump in here and post a link to my G.I.Joe Manga online comic for readers to view:

<a href="http://g-i-joe-manga.freeservers.com" target="_blank">G.I.Joe Manga</a>

I'm just doing it for fun. It's my Americanized view of Manga.

Manga is a fun read, but I see a lot of people that don't understand it. They think it's all about "goofiness" which it's not.

[Arcadian Daze]

Did virtually every poster read a different article to me? I was sure Mr Nozemack was making the point that the manga business approach was what other companies needed to look more closely at as a model for survival. Manga content is little different in many respects from US comics content. You have your superheroes, your horror, your SF, your TV and film tie ins and your humour. Also you have a wide variety of art styles. I believe Mr Nozemack was saying the US companies need to move towards cheaper product which is more widely available and doesn't revolve around 40 years of continuity minutiae. I for one would happily read a 150 page biweekly Superman family cheap digest if it was written well enough that I didn't need 40 years worth of background knowledge. This could appear in supermarkets, toy stores and the like and stories could then be collected for the "fan" market if the demand was there. The same would work for story groupings such as Star Wars or batman, genre groupings such as Vertigo Horror or imprint groupings such as the Ultimate line. But then maybe I misunderstood and Mr Nozemack simply wanted to promote reprint material he didn't publish.

[Starsky_Hutch76]

[quote]Originally posted by Arcadian Daze:
<strong>Did virtually every poster read a different article to me? I was sure Mr Nozemack was making the point that the manga business approach was what other companies needed to look more closely at as a model for survival. Manga content is little different in many respects from US comics content. You have your superheroes, your horror, your SF, your TV and film tie ins and your humour. Also you have a wide variety of art styles. I believe Mr Nozemack was saying the US companies need to move towards cheaper product which is more widely available and doesn't revolve around 40 years of continuity minutiae. I for one would happily read a 150 page biweekly Superman family cheap digest if it was written well enough that I didn't need 40 years worth of background knowledge. This could appear in supermarkets, toy stores and the like and stories could then be collected for the "fan" market if the demand was there. The same would work for story groupings such as Star Wars or batman, genre groupings such as Vertigo Horror or imprint groupings such as the Ultimate line. But then maybe I misunderstood and Mr Nozemack simply wanted to promote reprint material he didn't publish.</strong><hr></blockquote>

That's basically the same thing I've been saying. The things that make Manga popular now are the things that the US comic industry used to have and moved away from: a broad spectrum of choices, an inexpensive format, and wide availabilty. Instead of trying to copy the Manga art style (which looks pretty silly on books like Superman and X-Men) DC and Marvel both need to look at what Manga really has going for it. THey used to have it and they gave it up.

In its current state, the industry reminds me of that image of a eating its own tail. As it continues to feed, it will eventually reach its head and then there will be nothing left.

[neuroticboyoutsider]

i couldn't agree more. it's exactly the direction oni seems to be headed. paradise kiss has the same wackiness, warmth and humor as blue monday...

[zeraze]

[quote]Originally posted by ltp_mo:
<strong>

What about What CrossGen is doing with the smaller series of books like their Compendia and their Traveller series of Collections?

Smaller price point, Manga size books, each story can be read and enjoyed without miles of continuity, various subject manners, full color (not b&w, sorry), well-crafted stories, the first TPB or now Traveller books are kept in print, and yet no loss of American-based artwork.

I think that there is an American comic company that is trying to do what Manga does and understands the importance of the Manga-based marketing strategies and success. I dunno, what do y'all thnk?</strong><hr></blockquote>

I was wondering when CrossGen's name would come up. Before 2002's Manga Boom, CG's Mark Alessi was impressed by how millions of Japanese read comics compared to the tens of thousands of American serious comic fans. He realized that Japanese comics were attractive to mainstream readers because they were published in reasonably priced anthologies and compact graphic novels. Not surprisingly, CG began publishing anthology-style Compendia and now compact Travellers graphic novels. Retailers and competitors thought CG was nuts for focusing on GNs as well as traditional comics.

Now who's laughing?

So, it would not surprise me if in the long run CrossGen does better than Marvel or DC in adapting and thriving in this post-manga era.

zeraze

P.S.

Here are some related links

Compendia: <a href="http://www.crossgen.com/compendia/default.asp" target="_blank">http://www.crossgen.com/compendia/default.asp</a>

Introduction to "Travellers":
<a href="http://www.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000087" target="_blank">http://www.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000087</a>

[Jeremy Williams]

Don`t set your hopes too high :D