Rants/Raves: Why I Don't Read Manga

You may have noticed that there is one glaring absence in my coverage of the graphic medium: manga.  Why is this?  Well, two reasons.  1) The library already had a Manga and Anime club for teens so it seemed redundant, and 2) I don't read manga and I know next to nothing about it.

I'm a bit ashamed.  With the growing popularity of manga in America, especially with teens and children, you'd think it would be easy for me to get into.  Large book retailers keep shelves of hundreds and hundreds of titles.  It's very available.  But that's also part of why it's so intimidating to me.  There's so much!

Let's go back a little bit.

Drawing Words & Writing Pictures Course

As you've probably noticed, I am interested in comics in all ways, from reading, to analyzing, to creating.  Recently I picked up Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, by Jessica Abel (whose brilliant La Perdida is already on my recommended reading list) and Matt Madden.  These two authors have a lot of experience in teaching comics courses, and wrote this as a definitive text book.

Month 2 - Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned

The Real World by MTV. A show and a network known for promoting endless hours of shallow, pointless pop programming.  Who knew that there was a time that their vast power could be used for the spread of vital information and social enlightenment?

WARNING: Slight Spoilers Ahead!

Girl Comics - Book Review 3

Marvel's Girl Comics is the Marvel company's attempt to bring attention to the women who make their living by creating superhero comics.  The entire book (a collection comprised of entire 3 issue run of the Girl Comics miniseries) is completely created by women only, from the art and writing, down to the lettering, inking, coloring, and even editing. 

While the book contains some fantastic work in both the art and storytelling, and the idea sounds noble, the entire thing comes off as sort of condescending.  I mean, what would really be honorable to female creators would be to hire them more often and promote their regular work.  I mean no disrespect to the women that worked on this book.  Like I said, the actually content was mostly pretty amazing.  And they take the time in between stories to do dossiers on women who have led the way by working in comics during even more segregated times.  But it's pretty obvious from the get-go that the entire thing is more of a publicity stunt than an actually attempt at bringing about equality of the genders in superhero publishing.

Here's why:

Black Hole - Book Review 2

For our next review, let's muddy our feet in the mire of teenage anxiety and isolation, with Charles Burns' 1996 release, Black Hole.

Set in the middle-class neighborhoods and teen haunts of a 1970s Seattle, Black Hole immediately faces the reader with the the protagonists' dilemma: there's a bug going around the high school population and you get it by having sex.  Well, obviously, right?  But this is no ordinary burning case of jock-itch; once you've got the bug, you're done for.  That's because this STD turns kids into monsters with grotesque physical deformities, each one unique and terrifying.  If you're one of the lucky few, you'll be able to hide yours with clothes, or make-up.  Maybe even carry on some semblance of a normal life.  More often than not though, hiding is impossible, and your life is forever changed. 

Enter Keith and Chris, two teens caught in the middle of the outbreak.  He's a sweet, shy guy, with eyes only for Chris.  She's proud, beautiful, and in love.  But not with Keith.  Together or apart, they'll have to find a way to survive this ordeal, finding themselves along the way.  But things will get worse before they get better, especially when murder is thrown into the mix.

Warning: Slight Spoilers Ahead

The Contract with God Trilogy - Book Review 1

Starting, um, now, I will be attempting to write reviews of the new graphic novels I read.  Heavily inspired by the Scott McCloud reading I've been doing, I decided to dive headfirst into the granddaddy of graphic novels, Will Eisner, by reading his ethnic American saga, The Contract with God Trilogy.

Eisner, by the way, is the man who coined the term graphic novel, suggesting that comics could be more than cheap childrens' fodder.  He is also the author of The Spirit, and is so famous and renowned within the comic book community, that the prestigious yearly comic awards, the Eisners, are named after him.

Warning: Slight spoilers ahead.

The 24-Hour Comic Dare

Scott McCloud

Scott McCloud is one of my favorite authors and the most famous comic book scholar in the world.  He is the author of Making Comics, Understanding Comics, and Reinventing Comics, all non-fiction graphic books about the history, function, art, and business of comic books.  He is also the author of his own fictional series, Zot!  But, for the purposes of this post, he is the innovator of the 24-hour Comic Dare.

http://scottmccloud.com/4-inventions/24hr/dare/index.html

I mentioned this briefly in our Monday meetinging, and thought it might be interesting to you guys.  Perhaps you'd like to test yourself and try it out.  I know I've been contemplating for awhile, but can never seem to find the time.  I plan to seriously discuss the possiblility of trying this out as a group in our next meeting.  Not that I would ever make something so challenging mandatory, but I'm fascinated with the possibilities.

Any thoughts?