In Making a Living in Manga Part 1, I explained nine reasons why the manga-making economy in North America is broken. In Part 2, we discussed the issue of fan and creator perception of original English language (OEL) manga, and whether it was "real" or "fake" manga.

Now in Making a Living in Manga Part 3, we'll discuss the role that art school plays (or maybe doesn't do enough) to teach would-be manga artists how to draw comics, how art students resist learning the 'basics,' and how the manga training gap often leaves them without the drawing, writing and business skills necessary to become professional comics creators.

Read More...

In Making a Living in Manga Part 1, I spelled out nine reasons why the manga-making economy in North America is broken. One aspect of the currently dysfunctional system is that there are lots of up-and-coming Western creators who want to draw comics inspired by manga, but they're finding it difficult to get their original works picked up by publishers and getting their stories read and accepted by manga readers.

Why are there are more people who want to create manga than there are readers / publishers who want to pay to read / print them? Some point to the problem of American comics readers who snub what they deem to be 'fake' manga, works that they consider to be more imitative than innovative, or most damning, just not worth reading, much less buying.

So in Making a Living in Manga Part 2, I open the can of worms that is the "OEL manga dilemma."  Why do manga readers snub manga-style comics by Western creators? Does OEL manga try too hard to be Japanese? Are the tides of fan opinion turning, and is this trend being driven by a new crop of homegrown boys' love comics like Artifice, Starfighter, Teahouse (to name just a few)?

Read More...

In Bakuman, the manga about making manga created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, two teenage boys pursue their dreams to become professional manga creators. Over the course of 20 volumes, the teens become young men who toil over their drawing boards to reach their goal: to get a popular series featured in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.

Compare and contrast this dream with the reality that many North American comics creators face today, especially if they create work that is heavily influenced by manga. In today's tough economic climate, risk-adverse publishers are shying away from publishing original comics content. North American readers who love reading Japanese comics in English have been reluctant to show the same support for homegrown comics drawn in a manga-influenced style. And while there are scads of aspiring creators being churned out by art schools throughout the nation, many graduates face daunting prospects for turning their skills into a job that'll pay the bills.

Last weekend, I attended the 2012 Toronto Comic Arts Festival, a show that features comics and comics artists/authors from all over the world, with a focus on original, creator-owned works. While I was there, I was talking with Svetlana Chmakova, the creator of Dramacon, Nightschool, and illustrator for the graphic novel adaptation of James Patterson's Witch and Wizard.  She asked me, and several other creators and publishing pros a simple question: What would it take, what needs to change in order to create real career opportunities for North American 'manga' creators?

Read More...

Now that the final chapter of Bakuman has been featured in the pages of Shonen Jump Alpha, the big question many readers had was, 'What new Shonen Jump series will take its place in the weekly manga magazine?'

The answer? A series that's both new and old at the same time: Rurouni Kenshin Restoration, a.k.a. Rurouni Kenshin Cinema-Ban by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It made its debut in the June 2012 issue of Jump SQ in Japan, and the first chapter will be featured in the May 21, 2012 issue of Shonen Jump Alpha.

Originally published in Japan from1994 - 1999 in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump, and later collected in 28 volumes, Rurouni Kenshin was published in North America by VIZ Media between 2003 - 2006, and more recently as 9 omnibus editions under VIZ's VIZ BIG imprint from 2008 - 2010.

This historical drama set in Japan's Meiji Era about a traveling swordsman who tries to redeem his past sins by helping others has been adapted as an anime series, feature-length anime movies, video games and novels. It's mix of action, drama and romance made it a fan favorite in both Japan and North America. But why is Rurouni Kenshin returning now?

Read More...