Features

Published August 2009

Comics: They're Not Just for Kids Anymore

Allison A.S. Wimms and Zane L. Berge

Say the word “comic” and one typically thinks of cartoons, characters, magazine racks and children — in other words, childish entertainment.

Say the word “manga” in Japan and the word conjures up a different idea — print cartoons, but also comics offering entertainment as well as serious educational information. Indeed, manga is a major part of the Japanese publishing industry and is working its way west.

Manga has been around for several decades and became more prevalent after World War II. According to some estimates, it makes up approximately a quarter of all printed material in Japan, and it’s not just comics like “Archie” or “Spiderman” in the United States. Manga magazines are considered graphic novels and are split into different categories including action, education, erotica, fashion and kids.

An emerging trend in the Western world, manga may play a significant role in training in the future. The genre has particular appeal to generations X and Y, audiences with lower reading levels, students with a preference for visual learning and time-constrained individuals.

According to manga critic and researcher Natsume Fusanosuke, the form developed in conjunction with television and achieved commercial success due to its interlocking relationship with other media such as television, animation and video games.

In manga, illustrations are mixed with text to tell a story or explain something and are printed in black-and-white art. The story line is epic and writing is typically done in reverse (back to front). Magazines may be as large as telephone books, and the style has its own genre of icons and symbols (e.g., speed lines, sweat drops and even nosebleeds). Generally speaking, the characters are young, hip, cute and sport oversized glossy eyes.

There are a few types of manga, including cartoon manga, where one picture stands alone; story manga, where a series of frames tell a story; and animated manga, (anime) where illustrations and text are animated.

Manga in Japan
In Japan, there is manga for every conceivable subject, including business strategy, economics and politics, as well as serious literature, including Jane Austen’s English classic Emma. Intellectual interests are not the only content covered by manga. There are manga for every conceivable hobby, including fishing, restaurant guides and baseball. Anime (animated manga) is on television, including an infomercial on the importance of paying taxes and how tax money is spent.

It’s also finding a home on mobile phones. Each day, mobile phone users receive an installment of an ongoing story. Couple this with the fact that, according to a survey by the Mainichi Shinbum newspaper, 86 percent of Japanese female high school students read cell phone novels and you get a better sense of manga’s prevalence in Japan.

The stigma associated with comic books in the West doesn’t exist in Japan, where manga is accepted as a normal source of entertainment for all ages. It exists in many forms in weekly and monthly publications that are distributed as regularly as some American magazines. Indeed, one manga publication may sell 2.6 million copies per week. Readers can also get manga in every convenience store or train station kiosk.

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