What can Western comics learn from manga?

I get asked quite a bit, so here are some thoughts.

It's no secret that manga has been outperforming Western comic books for quite a while now. Even while both things have their space, their readership, and their purposes it is worth noting that there are a lot of people reading manga. So, do we just change everything and start creating manga? Or can we continue down this path to make adjustments?

I am a little biased because I'm not a big manga fan myself. Now, nearly every other creative friend I have is a major manga-head, I know plenty of people who read manga, and I know plenty of people who read exclusively manga. Well, I do have some issues with that because I think it's a little bit ridiculous to only limit yourself to manga-styled stories. Nowadays, it specifically seems like it has become a nerdy trend to try to set yourself apart, yet what it’s doing is making you exactly like everybody else.

No, I'm not against manga at all; I have just yet to come across a story that I enjoyed. That's not to say that they're not out there for me, it's really to say that I haven't gone on the hunt for them. Don't get me wrong; I'm not on the hunt for graphic novels either, or even comics for that matter. I tend to just pick up anything that I think seems pretty interesting in the moment. But as a creator, I think it's important to look at and analyze what's being done in different mediums. I can't ignore the success of manga and I can't ignore its dominance in the print market right now. I also can't ignore my fervor and desire to create traditional comic books either.

I think the true core of what can be learned first and foremost is people's style of reading has changed. I remember in school being one of…not very many people, that were super into reading full books. Most everyone I know only read stuff that they had to read for school, and even then they found a cliff notes version of it. Had a lot to do with attention spans, which has only decreased in modern society. While you think that would result in people wanting to buy single issues of any given comic book, or story, it has had the opposite effect. I would suspect that it has to do more with inflation and economic pressure. People have discovered that they can find a story that they enjoy in a very long format within manga for a price that competes well with the cost of buying a set of traditional comic books. What's more is that in the comic book industry, everything has scattered into collecting 52 different issues to tell one story. What I believe can be learned is that people do desire long-format content.

This part alone is a super difficult pill to swallow for most creators because we simply do not make the funds to create these long format western style stories. Unless you have a really good income it costs an insane amount of money to hire the creative team behind a graphic novel. This would be in comparison to hiring the creative team to do a manga. Without getting into the gritty details of some manga creators' lives it can be said it's exponentially cheaper to make a black-and-white book on a quick deadline to flip it into sales than it is to make even one single comic book. Don’t even get me started on the differences in art style.

How do we reconcile this? Is it that people are desiring specifically manga formatted books or is it the price point for the amount of story that they're getting? Now I think their real answer to this depends on who you ask. What I've discovered is typically if you ask a creator that's already a manga-head, they're going to claim that they like the whole format. However, I feel when you ask a common consumer they would admit that it's about the story.

Reconciling all of this together means that we have to look deeper into how we create our stories. Is it more worth taking the time and the effort with a small group of creators who are working together towards something to make the best possible product? I would say, yes.

Where do you come up with the money to pay a creative team to make a long-format graphic novel? I believe that comes down to some creative marketing. I'm not an authority on that subject but I have been gathering my thoughts. Marketing is a taxing endeavor and one that is going to typically take a group of people who can help you. 

Embrace the weird. 

The other thing I see that people connect with are the weird elements that many manga stories utilize. To be honest, if we pull back our view; a lot of what manga bases itself around are superhero stories, high fantasy settings, and romance. All of these elements have a place in every kind of storytelling whether it's from short stories and prose to comic books, audio dramas, and even television. Some things are so ingrained in culture that the story elements will never go away. I believe it has a lot to do with repackaging and that is what has made manga so fruitful right now.

Capitalizing on these two things and drawing them into the Western comic book world I believe could make a huge difference, specifically in the indie comic creation. Again, I understand how big of a task all of this would be and it shouldn't be taken light of heart. Simply put, I am providing an exposition on my thoughts on manga and what we can learn as comic book creators in the West.

Strive for longer formats, and embrace the weird. Let’s start there.

Do better. Be better.