Manga Jouhou Feature: OEL and Budding Manga-ka

[Ishaan]

1. A little about Ms. Donovan

How long have you been a fan of manga?

I can't say I was really a fan until I started interning at TOKYOPOP, that was 2004.

What was it about manga that drew you to it?

I have always loved the graphic qualities of black and white prints, and have been drawn to the print medium for as long as I can remember. Lithography, woodcuts--I loved that stuff. One of the reasons I was never interested in American comics was that they were in color. The offerings in black and white tend to use really blunt linework, and that didn't appeal to me either. But then when I found manga, there was suddenly this black and white medium that was visually complex with strong linework. Who knew the stories could be so engaging too?

How did you get in manga professionally?

In the summer of 2004 I interned in TOKYOPOP's editorial department. My credits up to that point were editing my college's satire magazine, DUIN.

Who is your favorite manga-ka? Favorite manga?

I really like Aki Shimizu (Suikoden, Bloodsucker, Qwan). I always find her art very approachable. But my favorite manga tend to be the ones directed at older readers. I love Battle Royale, Death Note and Tramps Like Us.

Who is your favorite American comic book writer/artist?

You'll always find me lacking here. I don't read American comics unless you count the funnies or Amethyst: Princess of Gem World.

2. Differences between manga and comics

What do you consider the major differences between manga and America comics?

Pacing is a huge issue. Manga is willing to spend so much more time breaking down a scene than American comics. It's just more dramatic (and melodramatic) in general. I think it does a really great job of satisfying a voyeur's needs. Instead of getting a panel where a woman is screaming, and her face is within the limits of realism, you get a woman whose mouth is expanded way out of proportion, probably tears everywhere, and eyes with several separate highlights. Good manga always defies expectations and offers the readers more.

What is your favorite aspect of manga style? Of American comics?

Like I said before, I like the focus on black and white in manga. Something I appreciate more and more about American comics is its ability to act as a mirror to the psyche of America--within one series. When you have a long-running series like any of the major Superheroes or many of the popular newspaper comic strips, you get a chance to see how the characters and the stories that are told change over time. Each generation brings their own needs and worries as they take over the storytelling. I guess you could say that American comics create a mythology, and there's a cohesion there that I don't feel in Japanese manga. Sure, manga addresses the concerns of its readers and its era, but since there aren't long-running franshises like with Batman, Spiderman, X-men and the like, you don't feel the changes as acutely. I think American creators can more directly address and communicate in a more intimate fashion than their manga counterparts.

Why do you think so many people are turning to manga in America?

Well, like I said earlier, one of the great things about American comics is that there are there huge franchises to participate in. But what if you don't want to participate in them? If you want to do your own story, manga is a great place to be right now at the professional level. TOKYOPOP has been commited to getting new voices into manga from the very Rising Stars of Manga competition and that's paying off for creators right now. Other manga companies are following suit. And there's a greater sense than a few years ago that its possible for an American creator to make manga and be successful at it. Dramacon and Bizenghast are very popular. And other original manga series are being licensed around the globe, ShutterBox, for instance.
As far as readers turning to manga, I think that ground has been covered a lot, probably by more knowledgable sources than myself. You can look at demographics, placement and price. The majority of TOKYOPOP's manga readers are female. We publish stories that appeal to female readers, its that simple. Material for girls runs the gamut from insipid shojo to really engaging and thought provoking tales--and most of it appeals to girls. Another editor here, Lillian Diaz-Przybyl commented the other day about the earnestness of manga in a positive light. Manga is earnest. When you look at the time of animation popular in America, you see a huge market for satire: South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy. But with manga and anime, some of the most popular stories are earnest, coming of age tales. Fruits Basket, our most popular series, has its funny moments, but its got a lot of heart.

It's been said that the American market is being increasing effected by manga, both in market approaches (i.e. more graphics novels) as well as artistically. How do you think this will affect the manga market and comics in general?

Jim Pascoe (writer of Undertown), asserted recently that all comics were manga. I think that gets at what you're asking. His answer would be that manga will receive increasing acceptance as THE sequential art medium. That doesn't mean that other styles will cease to exist, just that the term manga to describe sequential art will become more popular.
I think we've already see the era of most drastic shift pass by. Bookstores accomodate more manga, and it proved to be more than a fad. Graphic novels increased. I'm interested in what will happen next, since the publishing world is facing a steady decline. I'm interested in how manga and other comics will adapt to a world which is moving towards more disposable forms of entertainment. Manga started off as a disposable form of entertainment, meant to be read cheaply and quickly. But print publishing is no longer the cheapest, quickest form of publication, and it remains to be seen if our insistence on the tankoubon will kill manga in America.
Stylistically, Japanese manga is in a period of influence over the other sequential art forms. We've seen elements of it enter into American comics in character design. But this doesn't mean that Japanese artists aren't being influenced by Western artists, that German artists aren't being influenced by Australian artists. It's a very rich world, with a lot of cross pollination, and we'll just see more of it as time goes on.


3. Aspiring manga-ka

What advice can you give to aspiring manga-ka out there trying to get published?

Enter TOKYOPOP's Rising Stars of Manga. Rising Stars has birthed more careers in manga than any other competition. It's a great competition because any artist can suddenly become a published mangaka. We even work with people who don't win the competition. There's simply no better way to get into manga. The deadline for the next competition (RSOM 8) is January 11, 2008, by the way.

Another great thing to do is get a portfolio review at a convention. We love meeting artists there are getting to talk about your art. And there's nothing more valuable than a second perspective on your work.

What are a few of the most common mistakes newcomers make when they're starting out?

Don't be timid. Take yourself seriously. Enter contests. Join an online art site like Deviant Art and get feedback on your work. Do commissions. In other words, don't think about it, just act like you already are an artist or writer and just do it.

Do you have any advice to partners (i.e. artist and writer) to help them through the times when they feel like killing each other?

Its times like that when its useful to have a third party, like an editor to arbit the disagreement. Barring that, being able to step back is also good. You also need to be able to recognize when a relationship is beyond repair and know to get out of it.

What would you say makes a compelling story? The conflict, the characters, a good mix of everything?

Something that always comes up in our pitch meetings is "what about this pitch haven't I seen before?" If the answer is nothing, then its not something we're interested in. What TOKYOPOP is looking for is something that is new. Even within the intense bulk of material that comes from Japan, something about each of those series sets it apart. It doesn't have to be the premise, it could be the art style or a character. But a good, unique, focused premise is pretty important. You look at some popular manga and you'll see that the premises are generally ones that make you do a double take. Death Note: a notebook that kills the people whose names are written in it? Sign me up. Fruits Basket: a whole family that turns into zodiac animals when they're hugged? Weird, sign me up!

But once you get past the premise, what makes an interesting story is one that thoroughly explores that premise, on all the levels it can. If it's going to be a story about people that turn into animals when they're hugged, then that story better deal with the issue of intimacy. You find that good manga picks a theme and then explores it until the theme is exhausted, rather than picking a plot and exhausting that.

It could be said that American manga use Japanese storytelling to tell American stories. Do you agree? Why or why not?

I have no idea what a Japanese or American story looks like, so I find this very hard to answer. You look at something like Eagle, its a story that has a lot to say about America. I'd say its American. For something to be an American story, I think we'd have to agree on what is American-only. If you default on the author's ethnicity to define what kind of story they're telling, you're missing the bigger picture. It's more complicated than that.

It's true that American creators are borrowing stylistically from what many Japanese creators are brought up drawing. It's also true that American creators are borrowing stories and themes from Japanese manga. But those themes didn't just originate in Japan. They were informed by earlier Western storytelling. Comics have always been an international medium.

Do you think there is a difference in how Japanese manga-ka and American manga-ka approach their works or characters?

Don't really know, I haven't worked with Japanese creators. I imagine both approach their works with a great deal of passion and personal investment, even if the story isn't close to their hearts. Making manga takes a lot of time, you have to be dedicated.


4. Manga market

As far as market growth is concerned, what do you see happening in the coming year? Do you expect manga to become more mainstream?

Yes, manga will continue to become more mainstream. It's gained a lot of acceptance, and if people give up on manga, it will be because of the lack of quality stories, not because its too niche.

Do you ever see the American manga industry and Japanese manga industry growing closer? For example, more OEL titles being released in Japan or even an anime based on an OEL title?

Definitely. It must be flattering to Japan to see how accepted manga and anime is overseas. Even if just as a curiosity, people will want to see the results of cross-pollination and participate in it.

If one of your works was to be adapted into an anime, would you like to direct it?

Goodness no! I'd leave that to the professionals.


5. Final thoughts

How has working in the manga industry changed your life?

Working in manga has had a huge personal influence on my life. There's a few of us at TOKYOPOP who haven't ever worked anywhere else, if you can believe it. Myself included. So the story of manga and its boom is also the story of my life. I'm terribly invested in it, and sometimes I regret that there's no distance for my to analyze from. But I'm very excited to be able to watch this incredible story of manga in the US unfold blow-by-blow. I learn a lot every day.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

That's a lot of questions!

Hope Donovan is the Editor of TOKYOPOP's Rising Stars of Manga Department.

[Eric]

Fantastic, great interview! She really spoke about a number of things that I've often wondered about. Wonderful inside look at publishing manga and what a person who really thinks about manga thinks about it. Good job, Ishaan.

[Ishaan]

Wasn't just me! Marlex contributed greatly to the questions as well. And hats off to Susan and Hope for actually putting up with us. I swear to God, I'm surprised we're not on their spam list by now.

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