International Crossover Appeal?

Over at The Beat, Heidi MacDonald points to this articlewritten by a fella named Joe Lawler, who has converted his girlfriend into a comics-reading monster. But said girlfriend is not reading any Superhero comics.

Heidi responds with questioning why Mr. Lawler didn't recommend comics written by women or manga. I question why manga would even be a factor at all?

Let's face it; There is very little crossover between manga readers and American comics readers. Comics as a medium is not the same as comics as a genre.

I've dipped into the manga/anime pool several times, over the last 15 or so years. I used to tape Sailor Moon every morning, because I had to leave for school before it ended. I watched every single (often-excruciating) episode of Dragon Ball Z on cartoon Network. I own 6 of the 8 Ranma 1/2 season box sets, plus both movies, as well as both seasons of Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, and all 3 GITS films. I have the entire series of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. I've watched all of Hellsing. I have bootleg tapes of Japanese episodes of Transformers: Headmasters. Every single anime that appeared on Toonami, I tried for at least 10 episodes; Many I continued with, such as Tenchi Muyo!. I own volumes of Mermaid's Scar, Ranma 1/2 and Gon manga, and I'm reading through a lot of Oh My Goddess!, currently. The number of single volumes of manga I've read and anime movies I've watched are countless. And that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.

But you know what I have absolutely never seen?

Original Japanese superhero comics. You know why? They practically don't exist.

The vast majority of folks who read American comics are genre fans - We like stories about overdeveloped men and women running around in form-fitting outfits, being overly angsty and smashing things. And that's what about 90% of American comics is. Over 99% of manga is NOT about that. Yes, there are things like X-Men Manga, where Japanese creators take American characters and bastardize the hell out of the original stories - Much like American moviegoers just experienced with Astro Boy.

But, really. Go to the Manga section of any bookstore. With the exception of Adam Warren's "Empowered" (which isn't actually manga, but most book retailers are too ignorant to know the difference), you will not see any spandex-clad superhero stories.

Most of the folks who come into Comic Zone looking for manga want nothing to do with the American comics we carry. They have opinions about them (mostly comprised of why they're supposedly not as good as manga), but they won't actually read them. Most of the folks who come into Comic Zone looking for American comics want nothing to do with manga, often because they can't get past the big eyes on the few anime/manga they've seen, and aren't willing to try something different.

However, even then, it boils down to this; Manga and American Superhero comics have almost nothing in common, except that they are told in the same medium. And people will not automatically like one or the other based on the medium; They're going to like one or the other based on the quality of stories, and personal taste.

But is there a way to get the two groups to meet? I believe so.

Trying to hand somebody who just read Ultimate X-Men a copy of Bleach is not going to work. But maybe handing somebody who reads Superman a copy of Dragon Ball Z might; Both series have a main protagonist sent to a world while they were infants who grow up in hicksville to become the most powerful fighters on the planet.

If someone digs Vampire Hunter D, show them Spawn. Both have a supernatural presence that the stereotypical 14-year-old Metallica fan would love the hell out of.

For the fan of Wolverine: Old Man Logan, try handing them Fist of the North Star. Mega-violence in a post-apocalyptic world, with a serious badass for a main character? That describes both series, if you ask me.

Both groups should enjoy Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, written by Sean McKeever (Teen Titans), with art by Takeshi Miyazawa (Robotech: Invasion). Hey, it's Spider-Man, and what American comics reader doesn't like him? But because the book focuses around Mary Jane's point of view, coupled with Takeshi Miyazawa's über-manga art style, there's a natural crossover for manga fans.

Similarly, Left-to-Right versions of Gon can appeal to anybody, because the stories about the three-foot tyrannosaurus have no dialogue. Though, I think a lot of American comics fans may have trouble reading the stories in the original Right-to-Left format in which manga is published.

Unfortunately, despite all the similarities, people will still often prefer one country's storytelling over the other, due to personal preference.

But me? I just enjoy a good story.