There’s a new generation of comic readers in America, and they’re not just Spider-Man fans or teenage boys.
Girls, boys and adults are getting lost in a comic world featuring big-eyed characters, sophisticated illustrations and diverse plots.
It’s the world of manga (pronounced “mahn-gah”), Japanese comics. Most Americans in their 20s got their first taste of the manga look through TV anime shows, such as “Voltron” and “Transformers,” said Hatuey Diaz, the self-proclaimed “manga guy” and clerk at Chicago Comics in Lakeview.
Diaz, 26, said that early exposure, plus the success of shows such as “Pokemon,” “DragonBall Z” and “Yu-Gi-Oh!,” brought a new wave of fans to embrace the Japanese drawing style–and Japanese culture.
“I know manga fans who get hard core into Japanese culture in general,” Diaz said. “They eat sushi, learn Japanese and want to travel to that country. It’s kind of like European pop culture used to be. It’s what’s popular in America right now.”
And it’s growing. Sales of manga reached $125 million in the U.S. in 2004, according to ICv2, a publishing company that tracks retail sales of items including action figures, collectible card games and comics. That’s up from $100 million in 2003 and $55 million in 2002, according to ICv2’s publisher, Milton Griepp.
There’s much more to manga than sci-fi, soapy plots or cutesy cartoons. The comics also explore serious societal issues like HIV or, in an upcoming TOKYOPOP title, the teen girls who cut themselves to cope with stress.
Desiree Bradish, a 23-year-old student at the Illinois Institute of Art, said she prefers manga to most American comic books.
“The story lines are better and there’s lots of magic and unique ideas,” said Bradish, who is majoring in animation. “There’s not the strict guideline that all characters need to be superheroes.”
Even the covers of some manga can be controversial.
One volume of “Ghost in the Shell” features a bare-breasted robot woman crouched in a fetal position along with a label warning: “Explicit Content, Parental Advisory.”
“There are some really adult mangas that even I wouldn’t read,” Bradish said. “I prefer the comedies.”
There’s something for every manga fan among the hundreds of titles available in the U.S., Diaz said, but manga mania hasn’t swept up hardcore U.S. comic book fans. “There’s not much overlap,” he said. “Superman guys come in and avoid this area. They kind of turn up their noses at manga.”
Manga mania spread to the U.S. in the last five years, Griepp said. The diverse plots and attractive artwork make it appealing to the 18- to 34-year-olds as well as teens and tweens, he said.
“Manga had been just about doubling in growth every year since about 2003,” Griepp said. “Compare that to American comics, which are growing only in the single digits.”
One reason traditional comics aren’t growing, Griepp said, is a limited male audience. That’s not the case with manga, Diaz said.
“Most American comics are geared toward boys,” Diaz said. “Manga has a lot of variety, and comics are a much more respected medium in Japan than in the United States. Young girls especially are starting to buy manga because there are story lines directed at them.”
Another boost for manga has been its growing availability. Many titles are sold at major bookstores such as Borders.
“Having manga is fabulous for bookstores because customers come out about every 90 days to get the next in the manga series,” said Steve Kleckner, vice president of sales and distribution for American-based manga publisher TOKYOPOP.
“Manga has built a whole new readership for comic books,” said Kurt Hassler, buyer of graphic novels for Borders. “It’s a 50/50 split of male and female customers, especially in the late teens and early 20s.”
Growth can also be attributed to a younger generation weaned on video games and Japanese animation, or anime.
“If you’re talking about manga compared to anime, manga is definitely better,” Adrian Domingo said. Domingo, a 25-year-old from Skokie, started out as a fan of anime, but in 1999, began reading manga versions of the anime titles.
“It’s like they say, the book is usually better than the movie,” Domingo said.Those movies, as well as some anime TV shows, are what hooked many manga maniacs.
“You grew up watching shows like ‘Transformers’ as Saturday morning cartoons,” Diaz said. “We are used to seeing anime and are more open to reading stories that feature these types of characters and more complicated plots. Today’s generation also has much more of an understanding for and respect for Japanese culture.”
That understanding extends to the youngest of ‘toon enthusiasts. “If you give a little kid a blank white sheet of paper and ask them to draw a person, 80 percent will draw that person with big eyes and spiky hair,” Kleckner said. “They’re not going to be into Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse. They’re more likely fans of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!”
Local artists crazy for manga
Manga is not just made in Japan anymore. The next big trend is American illustrators and writers joining the industry.
Some of those artists live right here in Chicago.
Shannon Townsend recently gave up her career as a meeting planner to work as a freelance illustrator while creating her own manga. Townsend, 25, who uses the writing alias Kenmei Rokugatsu, has been drawing in the manga style since she was about 16.
Her online comic, “Otaku-no-Yen,” translates into “Geeks without Money” and makes fun of the manga fan scene from an insider’s perspective. The story is updated Sundays and Thursdays on www.otakunoyen.com.
“I remember when people like me who enjoyed manga were thought of as complete nerds,” said Townsend, who lives in Palatine. “We got a bad rap for being totally overexcited and crazy. It was kind of like the way people thought of Dungeons & Dragons fans.”
Another fan-turned-manga artist is Dirk Tiede. Tiede, who lives in Ravenswood, started his Web-based manga comic six years ago. He also has printed copies of “Paradigm Shift,” a Chicago-based cop story with a supernatural twist. “Paradigm Shift” can be found online at dynamanga.net or in book format at
www.amazon.com.
“My manga is like ‘X-Files’ with an ’80s action cop-movie kind of flavor,” Tiede, 30, said. “The characters are Americans because I decided to draw from my own experiences.”
Tiede and Townsend made the creative decision to publish their comics Western-style, readable from front to back and left to right instead of back to front like traditional manga. Otherwise, they said they have captured the essence of the Japanese art form.
They are excited that American illustrators and writers are part of manga mania.
“Even though I rip on Pokemon, I know it did a lot to make manga huge here,” Townsend said. “The new generation is really into it, and it’s everywhere now. It’s weird, but it’s good for me.”
Intro to manga
Want to sound like a manga master?
Anime (AN-a-may) is often confused with manga, but anime simply means Japanese animation on TV and in movies. Many anime are based on popular manga titles.
Manga (MAHN-gah) means Japanese comics, but also refers to a particular style of comics with big-eyed characters and more action scenes. True manga is from Japan and is read from right to left.
Otaku (oh-tah-koo) means fan in Japanese, but not in a good way. It’s more like a fanatic. In America, otaku is a positive term that manga fans proudly apply to themselves.
Shojo (SHOW-joe) is manga typically directed at women or girls. Examples: “Sailor Moon,” “Peach Fuzz” and “Nana.”
Shonen (SHOW-nen) is manga typically directed at young boys. Examples: “Bleach,” “Fullmetal Alchemist” and “Naruto.”
Seinen (SIGN-in) is typically directed at young men, but VIZ spokeswoman Evelyn Dubocq said the term is not as common among manga fans. Examples: “Ghost in the Shell,” “Akira.”
[ Glossary courtesy VIZ Media, a manga publisher, animator and licensor of Japanese content. ]From ‘Betty Boop’ to manga
Although it’s white hot in the U.S. now, manga began in Japan back in the 1940s, said Danielle Garnier, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based Manga Entertainment, which distributes the anime versions of popular Japanese manga, including “Ghost in the Shell.”
Japanese artist Osama Tezuka is largely credited for the unique look of today’s manga comics, Garnier said. But Tezuka owes a bit of credit to American illustrators.
“He created the characters with the big eyes and little mouth,” Garnier said. “But he took some of his influence from ‘Betty Boop.’ “
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kkyles@tribune.com
