The Manga Curmudgeon

Spending too much on comics, then talking too much about them

Comics Rx: Laethiel Mazake's entry

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Here’s Laethiel Mazake’s prescription for the comics industry:

“Regarding niche titles, localizers/publishers need to show that they won’t leave fans hanging. A policy of ‘This didn’t sell enough, so we won’t publish the rest of it (even if that’s only one or two more volumes)’ may cut losses on that one title, but it leads to a lack of trust that similar titles will continue to be published. This naturally leads to fans being leery of purchasing niche titles that may not be continued, lowering the sales numbers on new niche titles enough that they also get dropped, continuing the cycle. Of course, it’s also up to readers to buy good titles so that they’ll keep being published, but that becomes hard to justify if a company has a record of dropping series in the middle.”

Comics Rx: Keath Patterson's entry

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Here’s Keath Patterson’s prescription for the comics industry:

“Since Manga is in better shape than Marvel/DC can I offer a solution about the big two?

“Hmm – I’m not sure how doable my wish for the industry is since they tend to play it safe by structuring everything around what their existing base wants rather than risk trying for new readers, but a good start would be to bring in artist and writers who are outside the comics world and then let them draw/write what they want rather than making them fit into predetermined story arcs. The comic world has become so insulated it’s like a continuous series of inside jokes and specialist knowledge which is unhospitable to new readers. Since there’s no real money in comics it’d be hard to attract established, top level talent from other fields (who aren’t already fanboys), but there are lots of up and coming writers and artists who’d probably be glad to take on the challenge if only for the additional exposure. And if they want to have Wolverine fight a talking banana, for God’s sake just let them do it – the fanboys will buy it anyway to keep their runs complete and just maybe they might pick up some new readers who like the zaniness. Mostly tho I’m hoping the new talent would bring good, non-traditional stories to the table so it’s not just another issue of Hero A fights Villain B for the 500th time.

“Anyway – it just seems to me that crap like Final Infinite Crisis on Infinite Final Earths appeals to fanboys only, whereas something like Paris by Watson/Gane could appeal to pretty much everyone. It’s the lesson the Big 2 still haven’t learned from manga.”

Comics Rx: Michael Jewell's entry

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Here’s Michael Jewell’s prescription for the comics inudstry:

“My RX for the ailing comix industry?

“Creators: Plan conventions strategically. Hold your nose and keep cozying up to the mainstream lit press. Forget even thinking about relying on the Movie boom (for a bust, she’s a comin’). Be proud of what you do and never apologize for being a cartoonist. Make yourself a stiff drink.

“Publishers: Don’t turn your nose up at the manga boom; exploit it, but don’t really exploit it. Do it right. Quit it with the anthologies. Scale back floppies, step up trades and GNs. Don’t be afraid of change. Stop fucking your artists over. Seriously. Oh, and the movie point should apply especially to you. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket (majors) and don’t spread yourself too thin (small press).

“Press: Chill out. Everything’s cool.

“Take this and call me in the morning.”

Comics Rx: Avery Dame's entry

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Here’s Avery Dame’s prescription for the comics industry:

“I have two points which I think would help, though I certainly don’t think there’s a surefire solution.

“1. Digital Distribution: it’s the hold grail of comic industry success and for good reason. A mobile-device-ready format and contract with an existing media clearinghouse like ITunes would do wonders for getting people to impulse buy.

“2. Push to integrate comics into education, especially focusing outside depictions of classic literature: Comics can be great teaching tools even in areas one wouldn’t think of (see Japan, Inc.: An Introduction to Japanese Economics), make learning interesting, and gets the next generation to see comics as both viable lit and useful entertainment (and be willing to buy them on a regular basis). Also, educational comics can become a new market to tap.”

Debuting this week: Yōkaiden

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Nina Matsumoto’s Yōkaiden (Del Rey) has a lot of things working in its favor, but the one that really sells it for me is its wry authorial voice. The peppering of sly, smart humor elevates what might otherwise be a fairly generic folklore tour.

Yōkai are spirits that range from benign to mischievous to deadly, and Hamachi is crazy for all of them. The orphaned boy wants to learn and teach about the spirits and prove to suspicious humans that everyone can get along. The people of his village think he’s kind of simple, and they’re kind of right. When Hamachi’s surly grandmother dies, apparently at the hand of a yōkai, Hamachi sets off for their dimension to find out the truth.

Since Hamachi is so well-informed about and enamored with yōkai, Matsumoto has no trouble introducing the various types either in the narrative or in end-of-chapter pages from Hamachi’s journal or in the form of excerpts from “Inukai Mizuki’s Field Guide to Yōkai.” (Mizuki is Hamachi’s inspiration and predecessor in human-yōkai diplomacy.)

Applying a consistently light-hearted tone, Matsumoto presents varied encounters between Hamachi and the objects of his obsession. He saves one from a trap, avoids having the skin of his feet removed by another, protects a surly, talking lantern from bullying, and so on. The individual episodes are fine, but it’s Matsumoto’s wit that really carries things along.

Hamachi is never smarter than he should be, and Matsumoto is able to maneuver him in and out of trouble with imaginative little flourishes. She gives the yōkai amusingly distinct personalities, peppers the dialogue with tart anachronisms (from schadenfreude to Kelsey Grammer), and is game for the occasional, amusing digression. (When the villagers learn of grandma’s fate and Hamachi’s quest, they engage in a discussion of just what kind of irony the situation embodies.)

Matsumoto has a solid visual sense as well. Her character designs, human and yōkai, are varied and charming, and her storytelling and layouts are clear and energetic.

(This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.)

Now, here are some other highlights from this week’s ComicList:

  • The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1 (Dark Horse)
  • Mushishi Vol. 6 (Del Rey)
  • Tezuka’s Black Jack Vol. 2 TPB (Vertical)
  • Honey and Clover Vol. 4 (Viz – Shojo Beat)

    • Comics Rx: Lauren C's entry

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    Here’s Lauren C.’s prescription for the comics industry:

    “Prescription for the comics industry? Give indie creators a better chance to get their work to major bookstores.

    “Okay, maybe that’s just me projecting.”

    Comics Rx: Matthew's entry

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    Here’s Matthew’s prescription for the comics industry:

    “Refocus on quality instead of quantity. 300 Wolverine titles a month is oversaturation. Also end the mega- summer- cross-over events that will change the publisher’s universe forever. The few issues between events that don’t actually deal with the events seem like tossed-off filler. At the very least, don’t do the big events every flippin’ year!”

    From the stack: Crogan's Vengeance

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    It’s never easy to blend instruction or a morality play into an adventure narrative (or any kind of narrative), but someone at Oni Press has a knack for finding properties that do that well. James Vining’s First in Space and Scott Chantler’s Northwest Passage both managed to be simultaneously entertaining and educational, and now Chris Schweizer’s Crogan’s Vengeance pulls off the same trick.

    When Eric Crogan gets into some minor, modern-day mischief, his father plucks a story from the family tree to reinforce the importance of making good choices in bad situations. Dad starts with “Catfoot” Crogan, a young sailor who found himself mixed up in piracy and politics in the very early 1700s.

    Catfoot isn’t particularly ambitious, but he has a good skill set for seafaring. Too bad his unstable, sadistic captain takes an immediate loathing to the lad. When pirates set upon the ship, the crew is forced to choose between defending themselves (and almost certainly dying) or throwing in with their attackers. They choose the latter in the first of several junctions where Schweizer pits pragmatism against morality.

    It’s both fortunate and unfortunate that Catfoot is a natural strategist. His plans put him in good stead with his new captain, but they inspire lethal jealousy from other superiors. And while Captain Cane would rather intimidate a ship into surrendering its cargo, he won’t scruple to murder an entire crew if they don’t play along. Cane has his own moral code about piracy, and while Catfoot isn’t persuaded by it, he knows it’s better than the bloodthirsty approach of Cane’s second-in-command, D’Or.

    So what’s a basically decent quasi-pirate to do when Schweizer presents him with an even higher-stakes impasse? The fun is in finding out, and I won’t spoil it, but I will say that Schweizer has a real feel for the tone of morally murky subjects. His assessment of pirate life is frank (though not graphic) but not preachy or overstated. He never romanticizes the pirates’ criminality, but he acknowledges that degrees of depravity that can exist within a criminal subculture. And he argues persuasively that decency can survive in that subculture and emerge as something unique and purposeful.

    It’s a great-looking book. Schweizer’s engaging, energetic cartoons keep the story moving along very nicely. There’s a lot of chatter, which is necessary if Schweizer is to describe the pirate milieu in a useful way, but varied page layouts and good pacing keep the talky bits from stalling the action. In fact, they’re an essential part of the action. Keith Wood’s design for the hard-cover presentation is very handsome, giving off a classic vibe that isn’t stodgy.

    I suspect that it’s the kind of book librarians will love, sturdy, smart and snappy. Better still, Schweizer promises fifteen more looks into the sprawling Crogan clan, from explorers to escape artists to secret agents. (It would be nice if the Crogans had some noteworthy women on the family tree, but you can’t have everything.)

    (This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.)

    Comics Rx: ahavah22's entry

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    Here’s ahavah22’s prescription for the comics industry:

    “What’s the best way to save the comic book industry, you ask? Take some pills and call me in the morning.

    “Specifically these pills should consist of these fail-safe strategies:

    “1. Take a page from the video and audio entertainment worlds and make graphic novels of all types available free or for a low “rental fee” on the internet, with advertisement revenue going straight to to publishers. Let’s face it; most manga is already available for free on the internet, but only the pirates (if anyone) profits from this practice. In addition, you can’t rent manga or graphic novels easily from online site a la Netflicks. So the smart thing to do would be to set up legitimate legal sources for free or low-cost entertainment media.

    “2. advertise more! I honestly think most people’s ignorance about the literary, entertainment and artistic value of modern comics comes from lack of exposure. Now that more varieties of graphic novels are coming out, appropriate advertisement aimed at niche audiences of all different stripes could definitely help with sales. For instance, a realistic manga about a family dealing with their autistic son called With the Light could be advertised to parents and educators of special-needs children. I personally lent it to a special education teacher I know who normally has no interest in graphic novels, and she loved it!

    “3. Make the government (and, therefore, all tax paying citizens) pay for it! I currently feed most of my manga diet via my public library, and am always surprised when I enter a library that lacks a graphic novel section. Yes, some of our poor underprivileged youth are live near libraries that lack a product that will keep them coming back for more. More graphic novels available in public libraries= more traffic within these libraries by irresponsible youth= more revenue for the libraries with late and lost book fees! Let’s educate our local politicians and librarians on the benefits of a large, diverse graphic novel section, and everybody wins!

    “Well, that’s my $0.2 on how to save and revive the comics industry.”

    Comics Rx: Jamie Coville's entry

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    Here’s Jamie Coville’s prescription for the comics industry:

    “Often we are trying to bring non-readers into the comic industry. Either by getting them into a comic book store or hoping they visit the graphic novel section of the bookstore. This is extremely difficult and it typically takes a media event to do this. Buffy Season 8, Captain America dies, Obama and McCain bio-comics. This is great and more of the same should occur.

    “I think the opposite also needs to be done. We need to bring the comic industry to non-readers. Now more than ever as traditional outlets begin to feel the pinch. Putting GNs into bookstores has helped publishers by giving them an additional revue stream. I think we need to find more places to put comics, and use formats that fit those delivery systems. Traditional comics wouldn’t work in bookstores and while I love GNs and read them almost exclusively, a different format would likely be needed in different markets.

    “One avenue I’m really surprised no company has taken advantage of is breakfast cereal. Don’t tell me Spider-Man Sugar Pops or whatever wouldn’t sell to kids. Especially if there were a Spider-Man comic book inside as a gift, with an ad for a subscription and say the next issue in cereal boxes 1 or 2 months later. The same could be done for Naruto and any other character that appeals to kids (Bone, etc..). If something like this could be worked out it would be a great way to reach children.”