Forum - View topicShonen jump's appeal vs. American comics
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ashram12
Posts: 86 |
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I read the online article on the Time website dealing with Shonen Jump's apparent success. I am somewhat surprised with its success, but then again it does have two series that are very popular with kids now; Dragonball Z, and Yugi-oh. Not to mention, the first issue came with s rare card from the Yugi-oh So in a way, it was to be expected.
In the article, it mentions Shonen Jump's wider appeal as opposed to that of the X-men (and other american superhero comic books). I am somewhat biased towards manga but to describe manga as "more sophisticated, better drawn, the storytelling is more compelling and they're easier to get into," than its american counterpart is a bit far fetched (on some parts). I haven't read that many american superhero comic books, but it seems to me that the artwork and stories are just as good and bad as any manga. If we're comparing superhero comics with Shonen Jump titles, I would actually say the opposite. However american superhero comics are harder to get into. I've been trying to get into american comic books for a while. I'd like to check out the X-men, but the thing is I don't know where to start or what's worth checking out. X-men has a bunch of spin-offs and other incarnation, the main series itself "the Uncanny X-men" has been running for years; and it's been done by different artists and writers. It just seems like a big animal with no head or tail. This whole comic book genre seems inaccessible. With manga, the story is created by one artist, and although a series may be 27 volumes long, at least you know where to begin. On a side note, I noticed that all the heroes in the Shonen Jump mangas have the same age as the target audience. Maybe that's part of the appeal. On another sidenote, I think it's sad the superhero genre is such a BIG part of American comic books. Japanese and European comics have a bit more variety... |
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GATSU
Posts: 15306 |
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"However american superhero comics are harder to get into. I've been trying to get into american comic books for a while. I'd like to check out the X-men, but the thing is I don't know where to start or what's worth checking out."
There's always the trade paperbacks. "With manga, the story is created by one artist," Not true. If the artists get famous enough, they hire assistants. "On another sidenote, I think it's sad the superhero genre is such a BIG part of American comic books." You need to check out the independent stuff. American comics are just as diverse as Japanese comics. Even moreso, because American artists don't have editors breathing down their backs asking them to add gratuitous sex and violence to help sell the story. |
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Case
Posts: 1016 |
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Eh? Your bias is showing, GAT. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15306 |
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I'm not biased. Japanese comics are written differently than American comics in the sense that readers can tell the author what they want to see in a manga, and the author is obligated to do it to maintain sales. In the States, the fanboys and girls can b*tch all they want, but the writer and artist still have a shot at approaching a comic the way they prefer, thus separating the actual sales from the otaku and maintaining artistic integrity. (Of course it wasn't always this way in the U.S., thanks to the COmic Code.)
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LordByronius
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 861 Location: Philippe for America! He is five. |
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Bias? Gatsu is right, honestly. There's some truly great manga out there, but he independant comic scene is about ten times as diverse and interesting (to me, at least). The only problem is that it's INDEPENDENT, meaning that nobody will ever read them aside from pretentious indie comic freaks like myself. I'd take K. Thor Jensen over CLAMP any day. But that's mostly because I don't like CLAMP and I really love K. Thor Jensen. |
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ashram12
Posts: 86 |
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I have read some american comics that aren't superhero comics like Sandman, Maus....that's about it really. The American comic book scene is diverse, but the bulk of the stuff I find at my Barnes and Nobles is superhero stuff (if you have any recommendations, feel free to tell me).
In Europe I've found that book store chains usually have a huge selection of comics...here it's confined to a couple of shelves. So what I was trying to say is not that american comic books lack diversity, but that it's hard for a "regular" person to know about its diversity. On the topic of artists and their manga being changed by their editors; I assume this phenomenon is mostly seen in manga running in popular manga anthologies like Shonen Jump. The last japanese Shonen Jump I bought contained about 6 series that have been turned into anime series (which is the gauge I use to decide whether an anthology is popular) . I'm guessing Shonen Jump faces a lot of pressure from toy companies or tv studios to produce the next big thing, so I can understand why they would requests certain changes in a manga's story to make it more marketable... I don't think it's a good thing, but in this day and age it seems expected. |
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