Why Manga Exceeds Modern Comic Books

BySusan Nguyen, guest writer

Theterm ?manga?tendsto be synonymouswith comic booksin themindsof peoplefamiliar with thelong-established history of popular movieheroeslike Superman and Spider-Man originating in comics. Asof now, only afew comic readersremain loyal to DCand Marvel Comics, purchasing multiplecopiesof a seriesor reading them online. However,most comic book readers in Americahavealready ditched their former passion for alternativessuch asIndiecomics and manga.

Asaformer comic book fan, what convinced meto quit reading comicsonlinewashow all superhero comicsshow no real starting pointsand thelack of self-awarenessshown by both companieswhen creating content that no onewanted.

Therearemany reasonswhy other graphic novel genresfrom mangaand other companiesare beating thepopular entertainment companiesat their own game, which may minimizethesalesof superhero comicsto thepoint of extinction if both DCand Marvel refuseto learn from thesuccessof other indiecomicsand mangaor addressthecomplaintsmadeby their fans.

Even though both mangaand comicsareparallel to each other by selling graphic novels, the management of companiesand writersmaking thosebooksare what determineshow successful a serieswill beto contributeto business. Readersareeffortlessly attracted to binge-read mangabecausethey haveareal starting point and theplot iscoherent.The mangaiswritten and illustrated by the samegroup or asinglemangaka. They becomefamiliar with thewriter?s techniquesand theart stylethat contributesto theoverall appeal that is madeto impress.All they haveto do isstart in thefirst chapter. Thedialoguematters just asmuch astheart in graphic novels. Thereisalso thefact that mangahasa widevariety of genres, whereasthebig two sell mostly superhero comics, which are proneto common and repetitiveplots. Comicsalso frequently swap writers, artists, color artists, variant cover artists, and editorsevery few years, asseen with many rebootsthat fansarehesitant to accept. For example, DCfrequently hiresnew writers for variousBatman books, leaving fansto hopelessly attempt to distinguish Batman #1 by Bob Kaneand John Broomeand Batman #2 by Tom King.Holiday specials areno better.

Such issuesperplex fansuntil they refuse to haveanything to do with theseries. Quality writing isanecessary tool for any pieceof writing, beit an essay, novel, play, or TV show to keep theaudienceengaged and entertained.

Theother unresolved issuemodern comicsfaceishow writerswritethe characters. Mangakasknow their own creationsliketheback of their hands, which ishow important aspectslike character development and their personalitiesmakerelatableand memorablecharactersthat feel real. A well-written character actsin a believablemanner,isoriginal enough to bedistinguished from other characters,and isnot replaced or pushed asideunlessit?snecessary.

Nonetheless,in theMarvel series ?What If???MilesMorales(ablack character similar to Spider-Man) is rewritten asThor,another superhero. Theissuewith theplot ishow it feels morelikearace-swap rather than the author putting soul into their work. Therearealso racist stereotypes given to theprotagonist, such as eating fried chicken and almost all charactershaving fades. Being a person of color,LGBT, or disabled shouldn?t bewhat makessomeone themself. Thoseminority groups aren?t seen asregular peoplewith the potential to haveinteresting stories, becauseof something that shouldn?t affect how someoneistreated. Minoritiesshould not rely on hand-me-downsfrom morepopular charactersto proveapoint.

In addition, thisseriessparked outragefrom fansbecausethecomic isamassivedowngradecompared to theoriginal MilesMorales.It?sasif activistsarebeing hired to write, not storytellers. Whiletherewill always becriticssincewriterscan?t please everybody, an author must do what they believetheir story engages readersand keep it in their styleof writing. Audiencesmust perceive re-written changesasreasonableand exciting to theplot if aseriesdesiresa general acceptancefrom fansto stay in business.

So how can comic creatorsbring their fansback?Thebig two can learn from Eric July, thefounder of Rippaverse Comics, which garnered morethan three million in pre-salesfor hisfirst issue, Isom #1, within months. According to July, thekey to successisto simply keep politicsaway from entertainment. In his eyes, classic superhero action isvaluable to thegenreand attracted theattention of comic book fans.

Theneutrality of thecompany?s political stanceand choiceof appealing to fansinstead of thegeneral public affectshow theplot and charactersare written. Thisway, every singlebook published by thecompany mattersand connectstheplot of thecomic series, without cheap rebootsand resets.

Userson thepopular onlinediscussion forumsQuoraand Reddit concur with the importanceof writing quality. From the opinionsof numerouscomic readerson both forums, themost commonly mentioned issuesabout superhero comicsareregarding how plotsare written and thedifficultiesto keep up with aseries.

Comic reader BlueMcCauley states, ?If you want to follow amangaseries, all you gottado isfollow theseries. Volume1, Volume2, Volume3, so on. It?snot rocket science. If you want to follow comics?..my God.Even if you just stick with oneor two characters you haveto ALSO track whatever teams they?reapart of, or whatever massive event may begoing on in their universe acrossmultipletitles.?

Chronology isthemost basic rulein any TV show and book series. Stories progressthesameway astimegoing forward rather than backwards. Modern comicsaretheday-night cycle, moving from onetimeperiod to another nonstop. Why placeyour timeand energy on comicsmadewithout passion rather than exploring theother optionsavailable?

Thechoicebetween comicsand mangaisto another comic and manga reader Shinbrig Goku, ?Recently I got into mangabut even assomeonewho lovescomic booksadmitsthat getting into Superhero comicsisabit of a chorewhen most peoplejust want to read asimplestory. With Mangas, I see a#1 and I know that it?sthebeginning of thestory. With Superhero comics, when I seea#1, I?m not always100% sureif it ISTHEBEGINNINGor they rebooted theseriesand they?reback at #1.?

Again, it?svery important for readersto know wherethey should start reading and why they should read. Comicsserieswith multiple first issueswould repel anyoneif they read comicsor not because chancesare, it?snot worth reading somecomics.UnlessDCand Marvel step up their gameand listen to critic reviewsinstead of repeating thesamemistakesover and over again, thelifespansof their businessesdon't look prosperous.

Asseen with thesuccessof mangain America, comic book companiesmust learn from their mistakesin order to keep up with thecompetition.In termsof business, they need to focuson what attractstheir real audienceto their work and havetheideasof the writer intersect to makeacceptable content for their longtimereaders. Authorsshould bemoreawareof how thestorylineaffectsthe interest of theaudienceby mood or thoughts. Engaging characters shouldn?t bepolitically correct but instead appeal to agroup of people asan audienceto preservethe purposefor which they?rewritten.

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