Whats the deal with american manga?

[Full_Metal_GC]

Whats the deal?
Ok so Megatokyo is being rerelsed by Dark Horse comics, and The devil dose excist is from DC comics. I know the devil dose excist was origionally in japanese, but Megatokyo was a web comic. so are mangas that have us companies involved as japanese ones? Sorry i have to ask but if you have read any of my other threads you know i am new to manga and i am trying to learn so thanx in advance for your help.

[twilight]

hrm.... I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. A few American publishers that release English versions of Japanese manga are also releasing American comics. Most of the American comics they're releasing are either inspired by Japanese manga, or thought to appeal to the manga crowd. Megatokyo is an American comic. The Devil Does Exist is a Japanese manga.

Does that answer your question, or were you asking for something else?

[Full_Metal_GC]

What i was asking is this. Is Megatokyo wrighten in the usa and are there other mangas that were wrighten in the usa, how do those copare to mangas that were translated to english. Sorry i guess i was trying to sound smart by being long winded.

[CrossboneGundam]

If it's made in America, as Megatokyo is, it's not manga. Manga is by definition Japanese, and therefore, only Japanese works should be quantified as such.

To quote Gabe of Penny Arcade, in sterlized form, on the subject of Megatokyo's author: "He's from (expletive deleted) WISCONSIN!!"

[Full_Metal_GC]

Good point. now i ask you this i was looking forward to reading Megatokyo, it seem really good from the pages i have read on the dark horse website and it seem to have a real fanbase. Should i still bother reading it?
Note i probably will ither way i just would like to hear your opinion

[DJ_CarrotG]

If it's made in America, as Megatokyo is, it's not manga. Manga is by definition Japanese, and therefore, only Japanese works should be quantified as such.

So, would that be applied to the following situation: An artist leaves Japan and moves to America, continuing his work. He creates a brand new title and it gets published by a company similar to Dark Horse. Could you continue to call his work manga? Or something else (whatever they're calling the manga inspired work from American artists)?

This might be a dumb question, but it's something I've been wondering about... -_-;

[Hagakure]

Good point. now i ask you this i was looking forward to reading Megatokyo, it seem really good from the pages i have read on the dark horse website and it seem to have a real fanbase. Should i still bother reading it?
Note i probably will ither way i just would like to hear your opinion

You can read megatokyo for free at www.megatokyo.com. The only problem is you need the patience to flip through every page manually.

Ironcat had the license to release the the free online manga on trade paper back. There was conflict between Ironcat and the creator, so the license was given to Dark Horse to rerelase it. So far megatokyo has been selling well.

Now you might ask why do people want to pay for a trade when it's free online?
Simple, 1) There is a large fansbase and most want to support the author and series. 2) Some people prefer to have the book in their hand physically or be part of their book shelf. They are also able read at their own pace and it's more convienent. 3) It will attrack new readers that have never heard of it online.

So, would that be applied to the following situation: An artist leaves Japan and moves to America, continuing his work. He creates a brand new title and it gets published by a company similar to Dark Horse. Could you continue to call his work manga? Or something else (whatever they're calling the manga inspired work from American artists)?

This might be a dumb question, but it's something I've been wondering about... -_-;


Basically someone will identify a manga as a comic created by a Japanese person (usually for the japanese people). Basically the style he created was due in part to his life growing up in japan. But that's just being technical

In japan, manga cover all form of comic, it doesn't matter where it comes from. You don't have to call it manga, you can just say japanese comic.

Whats the deal?
The devil dose excist is from DC comics. I know the devil dose excist was origionally in japanese, but Megatokyo was a web comic. so are mangas that have us companies involved as japanese ones?

Wow, you really need to fix your grammar and spelling.
Basically, DC started a "manga division" call CMX that focus mainly on japanese manga. Because manga was selling really well, they jump on the bandwagon to get a piece of the share. Titles like TenTen and The Devil Does exist fall under this lineup because theyr'e manga that have been license from japan. You're not going to see Batman or Superman under the CMX label.

What i was asking is this. Is Megatokyo wrighten in the usa and are there other mangas that were wrighten in the usa, how do those copare to mangas that were translated to english. Sorry i guess i was trying to sound smart by being long winded.

Tokyopop is also releasing a lot of manga that is 'written" in the U.S. For example, the latest manga I brought was Warcraft. The author is from the U.S. but the artist is Korean. American manga or Japanese manga? It all comes down to the storyline. If the storyline and art are excellent, than it doesn't matter where it comes from or which one is better. Although most people prefer japanese manga, because most of the best work are being brought over by Viz, Tokyopop, Darkhorse, Del Ray, DMP. American manga have not gotten much exposure yet, therefore, they arn't as popular at the moment.

[CrossboneGundam]

I go with John's definition of Manga as well as anime, they're Japanese productions intended for Japanese consumption. Therefore, if a Japanese artist comes to America and does productions in English meant for American consumption, it is not truly Manga as it is not in Japanese or meant primarily for Japanese consumption.

As for Megatokyo, aside from the fact that it's american, I think it just plain sucks regardless.

[Cless158]

Megatokyo, I used to really enjoy it, but lately its been really boring and repetitive. I swear every update for the 3 months before i stopped visiting the site consisted of "oh, should i phone her..? no.. better not"

Although I do feel like checking back now to see if its picked up at all.

[Flounder_81]

I read MegaTokyo briefly, while I was discovering new webcomics to get into, but soon I lost interest in it. Just got too repetitive and boring.

[Taichi EX]

I draw way better than the artist for Mega Tokyo.
I'm gonna make my on manga when I get older

[akpookie]

Megatokyo, I used to really enjoy it, but lately its been really boring and repetitive. I swear every update for the 3 months before i stopped visiting the site consisted of "oh, should i phone her..? no.. better not"

Although I do feel like checking back now to see if its picked up at all.


Truly, reading Megatokyo online moves at a glacial pace, cuz there's only 3 new comics a week (if the fans are lucky). I for one love Megatokyo and I seem to have enough patience for it, though it seems not too many do. But check out the website. There's been some crazy s**t going on lately, though Fred still is having a hard time keeping to his self-imposed scheduling (as always)

[killertofu]

I have noticed some differences in the standard Japanese manga and American or "westernized" mangas or comics. A traditional Japanese manga might be smaller in size. The tiny size welcomes less storage space and easier toting on Subways and making it a quick read. A Japanese manga will read from right to left whereas a westernized manga (or comic) will read from left to right.

[Soluzar]

Someone saw what they thought was a marketing opportunity - a gap in the market. They moved to fill it. The end.

[Mikadzuki Tatsu]

A lot of people say that if it was not produced in Japan, created by a Japanese artist, and intended for consumption by the Japanese market, then it's not manga. That's the definition that seems to be most accepted amongst the anime/manga fandom. A lot of people also denounce what folks have started calling "Ameri-manga"--comics created in the Japanese graphic novel style, but are by non-Japanese artists who are anime/manga fans. Megatokyo is one example.

Personally, whenever I say "manga," I'm referring to graphic novels that were made in Japan by a Japanese artist for the Japanese market. Whenever I'm talking about American-produced graphic novels, such as Megatokyo, I refer to them as "manga-style" comics, or simply "graphic novels."

Personally, I really like Megatokyo. Sometimes it does drag on, but that doesn't usually bother me. Maybe it's because I usually wait a couple weeks, then read six or seven pages at once. Or maybe I'm just used to series that seem to drag on at times. (After all, this is coming from someone who has been following InuYasha for a very long time. -_-; )

[Loopy]

Manga=Comics. Thus MT is manga!