Forum - View topicArticle on manga in Comics Journal
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Dejiko
 Posts: 276 Location: Holland (between Great Britain and Germany) |
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http://www.tcj.com/sp2005/intro.html
The author makes a couple of points, of which some I can identify with. First of all, I think the number of genres that have been exploited so far, are too limited. We've had a glimpse of a few seminal works, but since quantity seems to prevail over quality, the future seems bleak. Publishers: please think of your audience, tastes mature too! Then again, I have absolutely no problem with flipped pages. Perhaps the English language was meant to be read left to right, but hey, if my mind seems to be able to work with the opposite, why make a problem out of it? Either readers were forced, or there was a bunch of 'comic newtypes' in the first place  . And while the 'authentification' of the American manga market may have been mostly inspired by lower productions cost, it has been rather nice to see people drive on the correct side of the road since then 
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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They're about to do a big Shojo issue.
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alice20th
Posts: 74 |
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The Comics Jounal has always been anti-manga. Dismissive at first, then openly hostle when the boom started. They tend to be the old codger-style, "In my day, manga was flipped, colored, and hidden in back of comic shops, and they were grateful for it!!" prejudices.
I guess it's a giant leap forward for TCJ that they recommend any manga at all. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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Comics Journal editor Dirk Deppey is openly enthusiastic about manga, and over the past few years they've actually reprinted some art-manga no other company would touch. It's true that it took them a while to look at manga, but they're making up for lost time. TCJ's publisher Fantagraphics is about to start a new manga anthology (The title escapes me, but I'll be picking it up.) I have no idea what alice20th is basing her description of TCJ's attitude towards manga on.
Last edited by Aaron White on Mon Mar 28, 2005 6:04 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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Bete Noire is the title of the forthcoming anthology from Fantagraphics... it's gonna have some original manga from folks like Junko Mizuno, as well as European and Western cartoonists.
Come to think of it Fanta also published Sake Jock, an odd little art-manga anthology from a few years back. And they've run some pretty observant articles on manga in general. |
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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I remember hearing that TCJ wasn't originally enthusiastic about manga. Then again, this is the publication that called Nausicaa the greatest graphic novel ever. While it's probobly true that they're less than enthusiastic about most mainstreme manga (which is understandable considering most titles are mediocre), I'm sure their writers don't simply snub all modern titles. It's good to see Fantagraphics publishing manga outside of hentai as well.
As for the article, it had some very strong points, but again many of his opinions are questionable (how he can think Legend of Kamui is more important/better than Lone Wolf and Cub is beyond me). One does get the feeling that he's turning up his nose at "authentic" manga. Still a good article, reguardless of the author's opinions. |
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s_j
Posts: 162 |
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alice-->
TCJ has been getting more and more manga coverage since Dirk Deppey took over the reigns. As for whether they are anti-manga as a whole, you must remember that they're critical not just towards commercial manga, but 90% of the comic market out there. So they're not particularly biased against manga, just mainstream comics as a whole...which like any other media is mostly garbage. As Aaron pointed out, just look at their recent manga coverage...you won't find the mangaka they've profiled to be featured in the pages of Newtype. But I agree that Randall's essay is completely off the mark. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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Waht's wrong with the article? I only skimmed it, but I didn't see anything objectionable. The author lives in Japan and has been writing about manga for TCJ for a few years now. He's not exactly a clueless newbie, although he doesn't seem to be Joe Otaku.
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s_j
Posts: 162 |
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Oh, it's a very well informed article, I just don't agree with the notion that keeping manga as 'authentic' as possible is a fad that will fade away, or is in any way keeping the medium from reaching a larger audience. Not because keeping manga unflopped is better, necessarily...but because its exotic nature is part of the appeal for many readers. Keeping the original reading order probably adds to that...and at the very least is not a huge deterent, much like how subtitles in a foreign film is the prefered method for the art house connoisseur. After all, it's Tokyopop's unflopped manga that have led the recent manga explosion. Being able to release titles timely plays no small part in their success. I myself easily forgive the inconvenience of reading backwards, knowing the alternative is an elongated release schedule, and I'd imagine that opinion to be in the majority.
And contrary to his assertion, many artists would prefer not to have their art flipped, if given the choice. |
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alice20th
Posts: 74 |
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I was basing it on opinions I read when Gary Groth(sp?) was the main force behind the magazine. Sorry if my opinions are out of date. I'm glad things have changed. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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When did Gary Groth ever hate on manga? He gets a bad rap because he's sometimes spoken harshly, so people attribute all kinds of harsh stuff to him that he never said or wrote.
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