The debate over whether manga are comics continues over at Comicon.com, or it would if Pat O’Neill would get around to explaining precisely what he meant by that. It’s not like people haven’t asked, both at the board and at O’Neill’s blog:
“I’m sill curious as to how you will back up your claim that manga are not comics. Other than the fact that manga is from Japan, there’s no difference, is there? Manga is based on a serialized release schedule too, it’s just the collected versions (which are serials themselves) that we get here in the US.” (Chris Duffy)
“If you really want to talk about the stylistic differences between Japanese-created comics and North American-created comics (not that you’ve done much actual talking about the difference, other than claiming there is one), then you may want to focus on that point. Redefining comics or demonstrating an ignorance of the breadth of what the term refers to is a distraction that does not service your point.” (NatGertler)
“S’plain yourself, Lucy.” (Paul Smith)
While the clarification is still pending, O’Neill does make a stab at it:
“It’s not that I think they aren’t related—like drama and kabuki they are subsets of a wider medium. Does it help if I use the chimp-human analogy? We’re both primates, we share 98% of our DNA, but boy does that 2% make a difference!”
I don’t think that’s a particularly helpful expansion on the idea, actually. Nor is this response to a question about manga’s somewhat higher sales and bookstore success:
“That’s a question of marketing rather than content or aesthetics, I think. If sales were the determining factor of superiority, then Star Wars would be the superior of, say, Citizen Kane. (And as much as I like Star Wars that just isn’t the case.)”
The conversations wander into some interesting territory. One of my favorite recurring themes is that manga isn’t looking out for anyone’s salvation but its own:
“Also, I think you might be missing the point of the original essay—manga isn’t trying to be the salvation of American comics (and superhero comics in particular), and it’s succeeding on its own in the marketplace. That, I think, might be the reason so many superhero-centric fans fear it so.” (ED)
“I do agree that I don’t think manga will save American comics. I think it will force American companies to review how they do business and move the format from monthlies to the trade format.” (John Dominguez)
“Manga’s only saving manga. American comics need to earn their own way.” (Jack
Norris)
Then, the fearless Shawn Fumo has to go and bring up the French:
“Most American comics are serialized. Most manga are serialized. Most French BD come out directly to book form. Are the prevailing themes and art styles in American and France the same? No, they’re not. So I guess France isn’t making “comics” are they?”
Not content, Shawn draws OEL manga into the conversation:
“I see a lot of criticism by the die-hards on OEL, partly because it has to compete directly with the best manga coming out of Japan. But I’ve seen a lot of people speak highly of Scott Pilgrim, something which though clearly influenced by manga, has a distinctive style of its own. I think this is where you might see crossover start to happen. With titles that aren’t incompatible with manga, but which have their own distinctive styles.”
Hip-hop, kabuki, Sailor Moon, Millie the Model… the head spins. But what does Dirk Deppey, whose essay inspired all this, have to say?
“Wow.”
Indeed.
And happily, news of the discussion has reached The Comics Journal Message Board.