Elements of Manga #4
By Ian Melton

July 2008 The Elements of Manga are a creation of cultural differences. If this is apparent from the last columns I don't know what is. The way manga is sold, the way it is made, the artists involved, and how they become involved; all of these arise from the cultural differences unique to Japan. All of the elements I've discussed so far are quite different from American publication, so another difference is the merchandising of manga, beyond just the publication and the advertising of manga. Tie-in's are a huge part of the elements of manga. The production of manga is very different from American comics on so many levels, many of which we've discussed. The amount of people involved is about the same, but their roles are what are so moved around. First, a manga creator usually plots and draws his manga himself, similar to plot-style comic book creation, or a writer/artist does (Jack Kirby, Scott McCloud, Todd McFarlane, Dan Jurgens, etc.). The creator also usually scripts the series himself. From here though is where differences come into play. Most manga creators, or manga-ka, have assistants. While this has begun to happen with some American creators (with disastrous results ala Pat Lee) most artists sit down and draw everything and then have an inker finish it. A manga-ka has a variety of ways they will approach this. Some draw everything and have assistants ink or revise the drawings a bit. Some draw the characters and have assistants draw the backgrounds. Some just beg to have assistants so that their manga has a hope of coming out on time! (Kouta Hirano the creator of Hellsing would be the biggest example of this . . . ) At this point then a colorist may be brought in to color a few pages for publication in the major magazines, and of course there is an editor who will oversee all of this, just like any publication. A big difference here though is that in almost all instances a property is owned by the creator. Dragonball Z is owned by Akira Toriyama, Ranma ½, Maison Ikkoku, Inu-Yasha, and more are all owned by Rumiko Takahashi. In some cases, like Death Note, where a writer and artist are involved both own the property, but unlike American comics the creator owns the property and they make most of the merchandising money. So what does this mean? Well most times . . . if a manga becomes popular then you will see those characters and that artist's artwork on tons

of stuff . . . though again not quite like American characters. T-shirts and garments are not going to be the most common . . . instead you will see tons of action figures, in a variety of shapes and sizes. (Very common will be the mini figures you can get out of vending machines called Gashopons which are usually just snap together mini statues of plastic in plastic eggs. Picture courtesy of Wikipedia . . . ). The main merchandise though is things that we just don't get that much of here in the United States: Art books, cds, and faithful adaptations.

Now it is true at this point those most successful comic book properties have been adapted, but rarely faithfully adapted to the point that they are like literally watching your favorite story on the big or small screen. We do some adaptations, but we don't get spin offs in different forms often, like novels or audio dramas. DC and Marvel have done some, but the prevalence and quality is not the same as what is done with manga. Art books are another story. Few artists get quality art books, and when they do they are one to two a lifetime. Most manga-ka get an art book a year or every other year, dedicated to the main series they are doing or several series. These quality and quantity are unique to manga. The many unique elements of manga come out of the unique qualities of Japanese culture. A nearly homogenous society that has created a wide variety of stories that create a wide tapestry that can be enjoyed by all sectors and age ranges. The elements so far that are unique to manga I have mostly cast in the light of manga vs. American comics, but next month its time to dive into what elements are unique and come straight from Japanese culture.

[Back to Collector Times]

[Prev.]

[Return to Comics]

[Disclaimer]

[Next]

Copyright © 2008 Ian Melton