Ask John: How Does One Become An American Manga Artist?

Question:
Why is it that there seems to be no industry for American manga? I don’t believe I could walk into my local comic book store and find any American manga. I’ve gone to stores like Barnes&Noble and see all kinds of “How To Draw Manga” books from American artist, but wouldn’t be able to go to the manga section and find any manga from American artists. I’ve read forums and blogs, and many say that in America manga is more of an art style then comic industry, so why does it not get recognized as more then a style?

I ask this because I hope to be an American manga artist someday, and would like to know what I should do to get into this almost invisible industry.

Answer:
Technically speaking, manga is a Japanese art form so “American manga” is a contradiction of terms. Something cannot be “American” and “Japanese comic” at the same time. However, the American anime community has widely broadened the definition of “manga” to mean “manga-influenced” or “manga-style” instead of “Japanese comic.” Original American created “manga” have not been as popular or successful as imported Japanese manga. Common sentiment is that most American manga are also not as good (not as well drawn, not as well written) as authentic Japanese manga. But American manga is still in its relative infancy. And saying that American manga doesn’t exist is definitely a mistake.

American manga is not, and probably never will be, an independent industry. American manga is too closely tied to the established manga community to separate into its own industry. Nearly all American manga is currently published by companies that also or primarily license and publish Japanese manga. The audience for American manga is primarily the same audience that reads Japanese manga. So just as “independent comics” is and always will be a sub-strata of the American comic book industry, American manga will probably always be a sub-strata of America’s manga industry.

I mean no offense, but if you’re not aware of the thriving American manga community, you haven’t been looking. TOKYOPOP is one of America’s most active and prolific publishers of something they call “OEL manga” (“Original English Language manga”). The term was introduced to account for titles like Madeleine Rosca’s award winning “American manga” Hollow Fields, which is actually Australian. Some of TOKYOPOP’s highest profile titles include I Luv Halloween, Dramacon, Peach Fuzz, Riding Shotgun, A Midnight Opera, and Bizenghast. American publisher Seven Seas Entertainment is also a major publisher of American manga titles including Aoi House, Amazing Agent Luna, Chugworth Academy, and Blade For Barter. Other OEL publishers include Oni Press, Antarctic Press, Real Buzz Studios, Yen Press, and Yaoi Press, just to name a few. Even American celebrities including Courtney Love and Avril Lavigne have co-created original American manga with TOKYOPOP and Del Rey respectively.

There are two primary ways to break into the American manga business: self publishing, and submitting to an established publisher. Fred Gallagher’s very popular and successful manga influenced comic MegaTokyo started out as a project that Gallagher himself published online. There’s nothing to stop prospective artists from printing their own manga inspired comics and selling them online and at local comic and anime conventions. Self publishing allows creators to retain full ownership and control over their work. With some luck, good work will serve as its own advertisement, and like MegaTokyo, professional publishers will eventually seek out high quality and popular self-published titles. The other option is to approach publishers. Many of America’s OEL publishers are receptive to proposals and submissions through mail, web, and in personal introductions at anime conventions. Publishers including TOKYOPOP regularly hold competitions aimed at discovering aspiring new Western manga style comic artists.