• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

New Manga pieces. Any else given up on U.S. comics?
0

23 posts in this topic

Give up on Marvel and DC? Sometimes I’ll read something that makes me feel that way, but they have their moments. So, Nah.

 Go straight to manga? As good a place as any for a good story.

I just try to read good comics. There are a ton of amazing stories produced all over the world. Many right here in the states this year even.
 

Adrian Tomine’s latest Lonliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist was a great read that came out this year. (As is most everything he does.)
 

Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary O’Connell was magical. I love being transported like that.

I feel inundated by so much choice out there it’s hard to know exactly where to start. And over the history of comics there are a ton of things I’ve just gotten around to reading, or rediscovered after decades hidden in my closet. I pulled and re-read Tardi’s Adele Blanc-Sec books earlier this year. What a delight!

The one thing I haven’t ever found is a dearth of good comics to read. I just don’t feel the overwhelming need for them to feature men and women in tights, or with aDc or Marvel logo on the cover I guess.

I do love great manga, but for many previously mentioned reasons (Felix has explained it in depth) most of the best manga art is nearly impossible to find.

As is a lot of the other great art out there being produced. Sometimes a good story just has to be a good story. And I satisfy myself with owning the book.

 

 

Edited by ESeffinga
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The artwork is skillful, but as I have little idea of what is going on, I don’t think I can say whether the artist is doing his/her primary job of moving the story along. Also, is this supposed to be read left to right like an American book? The small panel locations are unexpected (they may be perfect, I just don’t know).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Michaeld said:

Anyone else out there doing the same?

Me.

8 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Also, is this supposed to be read left to right like an American book?

No. Manga OA reads just like the actual manga: right to left, top to bottom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keeping Sturgeon's Law ("90% of everything is ...") in mind, there's plenty of great work both in Marvel/DC and outside it in the last decade. I'm just scratching the surface but am turning up stuff all the time that I enjoy. Some recent reads, some of which involve men in tights:

Marvel: Aja/Fraction on Hawkeye (2015). King/Walta on The Vision (2015). Bendis/Mack on Cover (2018). North/Henderson on Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015-2018). Wilson/Alphona on Ms. Marvel (2014-2018).

DC: Morrison on Multiversity (2018). King/Gerads on Sheriff of Babylon (2015) and Mister Miracle (2017). Johns/Frank on Doomsday Clock (2019).

Other: Vaughan/Staples on Saga (2012 onward). Hickman/Pitarra on The Manhattan Projects (2012-2015). Luna/Luna on Alex + Ada (2013-2015). Kirkman/Adlard on The Walking Dead (2003-2019). Byrne on X-Men:Elsewhere (2019 onward).

I'm sure there's good manga out there too, but it's so overwhelming that I wouldn't know where to start. I did read Gantz, which was interesting but went off the rails at the end. Anybody have a recommendation for something that's not 10,000 pages long?

Edited by RBerman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RBerman said:

Keeping Sturgeon's Law ("90% of everything is ...") in mind, there's plenty of great work both in Marvel/DC and outside it in the last decade. I'm just scratching the surface but am turning up stuff all the time that I enjoy. Some recent reads, some of which involve men in tights:

Marvel: Aja/Fraction on Hawkeye (2015). King/Walta on The Vision (2015). Bendis/Mack on Cover (2018). North/Henderson on Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015-2018). Wilson/Alphona on Ms. Marvel (2014-2018).

DC: Morrison on Multiversity (2018). King/Gerads on Sheriff of Babylon (2015) and Mister Miracle (2017). Johns/Frank on Doomsday Clock (2019).

Other: Vaughan/Staples on Saga (2012 onward). Hickman/Pitarra on The Manhattan Projects (2012-2015). Luna/Luna on Alex + Ada (2013-2015). Kirkman/Adlard on The Walking Dead (2003-2019). Byrne on X-Men:Elsewhere (2019 onward).

I'm sure there's good manga out there too, but it's so overwhelming that I wouldn't know where to start. I did read Gantz, which was interesting but went off the rails at the end. Anybody have a recommendation for something that's not 10,000 pages long?

Start by reading "One Punch Man" or watch the anime. It it the best superhero story I've read in decades.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any manga recommendations for someone who has watched a ton of anime but read very little manga?

Also, any recommendations on where to find manga OA and where to set expectations? There are many Japanese artists and properties I'd love to have examples from, but I've found they're essentially impossible to acquire due to cultural etiquette in the country around art.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Varanis said:

Any manga recommendations for someone who has watched a ton of anime but read very little manga?

Also, any recommendations on where to find manga OA and where to set expectations? There are many Japanese artists and properties I'd love to have examples from, but I've found they're essentially impossible to acquire due to cultural etiquette in the country around art.

They just don't sell their art so don't hold you breath. I recommend "One Punch Man", "A Silent Voice", "Gigant", "Blame!", "Gyo" (or anything by Junji Ito), "Downfall", "One Piece", "Food Wars Shokugeki No Soma", and just for fun "Jaco The Galactic Patrolman".  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/21/2020 at 2:07 PM, Varanis said:

Any manga recommendations for someone who has watched a ton of anime but read very little manga?

Also, any recommendations on where to find manga OA and where to set expectations? There are many Japanese artists and properties I'd love to have examples from, but I've found they're essentially impossible to acquire due to cultural etiquette in the country around art.

Yeah it's not really possible to own OA of popular manga titles since virtually all artist in the country never sell any of it due to cultural differences. You will of course be able to find some stuff but it won't related to well-known titles, stat reproductions, or possibly pornographic stuff. The only titles I can think of that it might not be like that is the adaption of 'Lone wolf and Cub' by, Miller who's an American and did the art for it, and the color guides to 'Akira' that, Felix sold on behalf of the color artist; another American. Fraud is another thing you'll have to watch out for with it sometimes too. Only a few years back some people got duped into buying fakes from a seller who claimed to be selling pieces from the title, 'Berserk'.

Because of that, the best a person can do when it comes to getting legit pieces from popular titles is get sketches similar to what we might find at conventions by the artists of them. These themselves though can also be hard to come by and with the combined effects of everything listed makes them command a strong premium that would be equal to some very nice pieces in the West. This sketch on Heritage for example by Miyazaki went for over 5k and this was a piece that was even discussed on this board since the authenticity of it called into question. https://movieposters.ha.com/itm/animation/my-neighbor-totoro-by-hayao-miyazaki-2007-autographed-original-watercolor-and-ink-artwork-95-x-1075-/a/7181-86466.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

The most expensive piece I've seen sold was a simple 'Draongball' head sketch that sold for the equivalent of over $50k I believe. 

The most cost effective way of getting art I've found is going over the original panel art used in making the anime version of the mangas.

The best places go go look for this stuff is Mandrake, who besides having a regular online store also run auctions and Yahoo auctions japan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/21/2020 at 1:07 PM, Varanis said:

Any manga recommendations for someone who has watched a ton of anime but read very little manga?

Also, any recommendations on where to find manga OA and where to set expectations? There are many Japanese artists and properties I'd love to have examples from, but I've found they're essentially impossible to acquire due to cultural etiquette in the country around art.

Published pages are almost never sold. The pages floating around are from obscure titles and little known artists. Throw in the language barrier and the hunt becomes nearly impossible. Your best bet are "shikishi" boards sold on places like Mandarake or Yahoo Auctions. They're basically convention sketches.

If you're a fan of anime, "genga" (the master drawing for the animation) pop up a lot more more often.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, DeadpoolJr. said:

The most expensive piece I've seen sold was a simple 'Draongball' head sketch that sold for the equivalent of over $50k I believe. 

A lot of pieces sold for far more than $50k. A Miyazaki shikishi sold for $31M (roughly $300k) in 2018 (see here). An Astro Boy page by Osamu Tezuka sold for 269k€ (roughly $328k), also in 2018 (see here).

@Varanis You sometimes find high-end pieces on Heritage and Artcurial, but as others said, your best chance to find manga-related stuff (such as shikishis) is with Mandarake auctions. They have what they call "Everyday auctions" (similar to eBay auctions but with a 5mn time extension system and no buyer's premium) and "Big Web auctions" (every two months, similar to Heritage auctions - live auctions with a prebid period, you need to pay a $5 participation fee to be allowed to bid and buyer's premium is 10%). You can follow both of them on ComicArtTracker :)

Edit: there's a few Tezuka lots on the next Artcurial auction (lots 223-226) - https://www.artcurial.com/en/sale-4027-comic-strips

Edited by NicoV
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/21/2020 at 11:54 AM, RBerman said:

Keeping Sturgeon's Law ("90% of everything is ...") in mind, there's plenty of great work both in Marvel/DC and outside it in the last decade. I'm just scratching the surface but am turning up stuff all the time that I enjoy. Some recent reads, some of which involve men in tights:

Marvel: Aja/Fraction on Hawkeye (2015). King/Walta on The Vision (2015). Bendis/Mack on Cover (2018). North/Henderson on Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015-2018). Wilson/Alphona on Ms. Marvel (2014-2018).

DC: Morrison on Multiversity (2018). King/Gerads on Sheriff of Babylon (2015) and Mister Miracle (2017). Johns/Frank on Doomsday Clock (2019).

Other: Vaughan/Staples on Saga (2012 onward). Hickman/Pitarra on The Manhattan Projects (2012-2015). Luna/Luna on Alex + Ada (2013-2015). Kirkman/Adlard on The Walking Dead (2003-2019). Byrne on X-Men:Elsewhere (2019 onward).

Without a doubt, some of what you list here is good... I think the issue for many when it comes to American mainstream comics (Marvel and DC in particular) is that the characters have just become so... diluted. So many people have written, edited and drawn Spider-man, that at this point it's hard for me to tell who the character IS anymore. And for anyone who's been there for a long period of time - I just don't see how people can not get exhausted by the continuously repeated ideas. Ugh.

In Manga - the main writer/artist is there through almost the entire series - and the characters grow up, learn, change and sometimes even die over the years. It has it's good and bad like anything else, but being able to invest in those characters and not have radical writing/editing changes every 2 years, is an important part in growing a real attachment to the work.

This is what will make the Image series' continue to grow and gain traction. The creators, creating work that remains there own, and being able to grow it naturally. All of the Image series you list are exceptional, and they are a publisher I hope continues to succeed. 

On 12/21/2020 at 11:54 AM, RBerman said:

I'm sure there's good manga out there too, but it's so overwhelming that I wouldn't know where to start. I did read Gantz, which was interesting but went off the rails at the end. Anybody have a recommendation for something that's not 10,000 pages long?

Not sure why you felt Gantz 'went off the rails at the end', there's certainly a lot of discussion about how it ended - are you talking about the actual ending or the last arc? Personally, I felt the series was a masterpiece, that could never be pulled off through any means other than comics. Certainly not for the faint hearted or easily offended. 

The creator, Hiroya Oku is an amazing writer/artist and I'm currently reading his Inuyashiki, which is thus far less complex in it's number of characters than Gantz, but no less equally deep, dark, horrifying and yet super heroic. I love it. 

As far as recommendations, I suppose it's based on what you're looking for. There are plenty of mainstream works that are fun, humorous, enjoyable - some of which I like as well. One Punch Man, as recommended by others is pretty fun - hugely popular - and a good read - though many of it's references are to things that might not translate as well to non-regular Manga readers. Still, it's a great recommendation.

Some of what I'd recommend, that isn't 10,000 pages: For horror fans, it's nice to see Junji Ito starting to really get noticed. Tomie, and Uzumaki are two complete volumes of work that feature great, creepy artwork and Ito's brand of horror that I think translates extremely well. I'm not a big horror fan, but I love Ito's art and his story telling.

Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need is Kill is a self-contained story that was the basis for the 2014 Tom Cruise sci-fi movie 'Edge of Tomorrow'. The ending is much better in the book and it's a well done, easy to pick up and read.

A little more adventurous is the Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 collected volumes. Each is a little over 500 pages, so it's not 10,000 but still 1500+. Made around the same time as the beloved anime (one of my favorites ever), it's slightly different from the TV series, but not so much you don't get the overall story. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Prince Namor said:

Without a doubt, some of what you list here is good... I think the issue for many when it comes to American mainstream comics (Marvel and DC in particular) is that the characters have just become so... diluted. So many people have written, edited and drawn Spider-man, that at this point it's hard for me to tell who the character IS anymore. And for anyone who's been there for a long period of time - I just don't see how people can not get exhausted by the continuously repeated ideas. Ugh.

In Manga - the main writer/artist is there through almost the entire series - and the characters grow up, learn, change and sometimes even die over the years. It has it's good and bad like anything else, but being able to invest in those characters and not have radical writing/editing changes every 2 years, is an important part in growing a real attachment to the work.

This is what will make the Image series' continue to grow and gain traction. The creators, creating work that remains there own, and being able to grow it naturally. All of the Image series you list are exceptional, and they are a publisher I hope continues to succeed. 

Not sure why you felt Gantz 'went off the rails at the end', there's certainly a lot of discussion about how it ended - are you talking about the actual ending or the last arc? Personally, I felt the series was a masterpiece, that could never be pulled off through any means other than comics. Certainly not for the faint hearted or easily offended. 

The creator, Hiroya Oku is an amazing writer/artist and I'm currently reading his Inuyashiki, which is thus far less complex in it's number of characters than Gantz, but no less equally deep, dark, horrifying and yet super heroic. I love it. 

As far as recommendations, I suppose it's based on what you're looking for. There are plenty of mainstream works that are fun, humorous, enjoyable - some of which I like as well. One Punch Man, as recommended by others is pretty fun - hugely popular - and a good read - though many of it's references are to things that might not translate as well to non-regular Manga readers. Still, it's a great recommendation.

Some of what I'd recommend, that isn't 10,000 pages: For horror fans, it's nice to see Junji Ito starting to really get noticed. Tomie, and Uzumaki are two complete volumes of work that feature great, creepy artwork and Ito's brand of horror that I think translates extremely well. I'm not a big horror fan, but I love Ito's art and his story telling.

Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need is Kill is a self-contained story that was the basis for the 2014 Tom Cruise sci-fi movie 'Edge of Tomorrow'. The ending is much better in the book and it's a well done, easy to pick up and read.

A little more adventurous is the Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 collected volumes. Each is a little over 500 pages, so it's not 10,000 but still 1500+. Made around the same time as the beloved anime (one of my favorites ever), it's slightly different from the TV series, but not so much you don't get the overall story. 

 

And where/how Eva's manga diverges from the TV series is really cool for fans.  Need to dig up my last volume, wherever it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
0