reductionism is for under 25's and people with arrested development

"What do you believe in?"

Thoughts on the indie manga scene 2/2

The infrastructure problem links into the issue of curation. Building a publication takes a long time though it is certainly possible, and if this were the only obstacle I would not consider it much of a problem. But it loops back in with curation, because as it has been seen in the western comic book industry, it is full of "meddlers"- more precisely, it's people abusing influence and power in order to have their own work published, whether readers actually want that sort of thing, or not. In the end, it takes a lot of resources to publish physical copies of books. Without an audience willing to pay, you have no growth. The final roadblock to a successful manga industry in the west is at last barricaded by our own lack infrastructure with capital to pay working artists. Patreon is a great tool for growing artists, however artists themselves have to competitively advertise and market their own work which is exceedingly difficult if you are not already a company with the resources to advertise. As horrible as publishers are when it comes to paying artists in Japan, it's practically impossible to advertise and market your own work yourself the same way publishers do. Getting seen is hard, even when you have companies to work with. In many ways, I would consider it a necessary evil. It's also true that often times mangaka will need to take up second jobs in addition to drawing, though not always. But here in the west it makes it that much harder for budding artists to be consistant with production. This is probably why you will find little to no one working on a mangaka's work schedule, whether weekly or monthly. It is so time and energy consuming, and most people have lives to live outside of drawing which makes no money. Being observant of manga artists around the internet, I have seen a handful of them with very skillfully made, great stories. In fact, one person I kept my eye on went on to win a few awards, and they are continuing on in their success. I watched them go from little to no acknowledgement for five or more years, to full recognition from industry professionals. Without giving people acknowledgement based on merit, there would be no industry of any kind. Why should manga be any different? I can't say exactly what the future holds for the state of the industry. Manga's exploding popularity in the west within the last 10 years has had a clear influence on people to the point where we're starting to see the rise of these indie publications for the first time. Despite that, as pessimistic as it sounds I have a lot of hangups in regards to it becoming anything more than a niche market than something to rival the likes of Marvel, DC, or even other "smaller" publications such as Image or Dark Horse. Of course I have to think about these things very seriously. I've been trying to put together a series for nearly 10 years with all kinds of roadbumps, lifewise, skillwise, etc. At some point I have to be allowed to say that I am doing something few people are really able to accomplish even in webcomic circles, which is not necessarily a gloat, but truth be told most people are not going to do it for free even if it's not for anyone but themselves. So I am a little crazy. The ability to meet strict deadlines is an asset for both artists and publishers, so I have to be on the lookout for new opportunities as well as consider what the future may have in store. I always happen to wonder when or if I will ever find my own spotlight.

Thoughts on the indie manga scene 1/2

It feels like I've been meeting a lot of new people lately. Somehow, and it feels like suddenly I've become acquainted with a small handful of others interested in drawing manga in the past year or two. When I first learned that there was an indie manga scene a little while ago, I was like "Woah". Deep inside it really excited me. I've always wanted to see more people drawing real manga. Finally, I found people who I could share and trade experiences with. But talking to strangers who only shared a similar passion bitterly and abruptly pulled me back and from any regular communication with them. It wasn't their fault, necessarily. But I have experienced a little culture shock trying to talk with people so different from me and the people I hang around online. And it's strange that in these circles, I stand out as the weirdo for a number of different reasons. The west's failing comic industry and the growth of manga has spawned an extremely young outcropping of artists interested in pursuing this particular artform. Ten years ago, it was very hard to find resources on exactly how to draw manga. Here in the west, the layman has a difficult time pointing out exactly what makes it different- I wouldn't consider that the fault of the medium itself, which is like comparing apples and oranges as being the same because they both happen to be fruit. Narrative structures, technique, archetypes and pacing are all pretty specific. Now there's a plethora of resources available from professionals instructing people on how to draw manga, not something that only meets it halfway. You'll no longer really find yourself being chastised for making your manga read properly from right to left, but you will still find plenty of people asking you "Why do you feel the need to call it manga?"

Both comic forms, the "eastern" Manga and the "western" Comic are severely products of their respective cultures. You'll even find people still ignorantly saying "If you're not from Japan, you can't draw manga!" Of course it's not true, but if you think about it a lot of things nearly do make it true. If there is to be a manga industry in the west it's practically a zygote in the womb, and there are miles of barriers that will likely see it never grow or flourish the same way it does in it's country of origin. Everything from logistics to social and cultural influence, to business leadership controls the growth of comics. In fact, it's all the above which has lead to the downfall of the western comic industry. A little while ago, an acquaintance of mine pinged me for a favor. He told me, "Please vote for my manga!" He had entered his one shot for a indie publication's competition. I followed the link to the site, and what I found was a little surprising. There were so many! Maybe about 30 or more different submissions, and all of varying quality. I was faced with a light ethical dilemma. It seems really simple and non important, but to me it was very important- or at least, it was important enough for me to hold back. Should I give this guy my vote because he asked, or am I actually being unfair to someone else? I had to think about it from my own perspective. After all, I'd want the vote to go fairly to who made the best work. So we butt up against the crux of this young industry- the problem of curation. And this is ultimately what I think the roadblock towards any growth in the west might be, in fact it might never blossom at all because of this. When I browsed through the 30 or so comics given to vote on, a whopping two or three really stood out to me. I had to ask myself: Is the comic submitted recognizably "manga", and did it meet a baseline of proficient skill in art or writing? Overwhelmingly, no. Most of them failed in one regard or another, or the stories themselves made no sense. In the end, I didn't vote on either. Well that was mainly because it forced you to sign up to do so. Manga's growth in the west is facing two obstacles: curation and infrastructure. In Japan, manga is a highly competitive market and the sad fact of the matter is most of the OEL manga I see people make online would be handed right back to the authors. I think this is very tough. Plenty of good, skillful manga is cancelled or ends all the time. The difference between the east and west is that there are always more stories that can be published, and plenty of artists with good submissions- in Japan. But the zygote indie manga scene in the west lacks artists who meet that base standard so terribly, I think to a point you couldn't afford to even be that picky, or you would have nothing to print. Indeed it's very tough. Additionally, westerners are more sensitive than ever. Ignorance towards the medium is a barrier, because if westerners refuse to understand or define what manga is or isn't, submissions will be continuously filled with fusion comics (mixed eastern/western storytelling), or comics that are not recognizably manga. In order for manga to grow in the west, it would be crucial that there be some level of curated content. But the problem as it stands is that people are resistant and defensive about their work being turned away because their skills fail to meet a level that readers will want and expect.

big butt trouble

nug comix

my face!

wonderin if I should revive my tumbler... just cuz... no reason.........

speaking as a person with no lucrative paying career, and no skills besides art. My first job was food service at a store which had just opened. I was so thin at the time a woman who was working there took my wrists and told me she would buy me any food I wanted, however I was only there for a couple of weeks before I was let go with no warning. I was stupid enough to work there again a year and a half later. It was among the worst experiences I’ve ever had in my life on top of barely being able to earn my keep. After that, I decided that for the sake of my mental well being, I would never take a job like that ever again- and the thing was, I was naive to think that I had to. It was the very definition of “not worth it”. Minimum wage jobs aren’t meant to be lived on. But at some point as an adult, you have to seriously consider doing something with your life. A dream, a goal, of some kind. Does anyone really want to work at mcdonalds, or walmart for the rest of their lives? But to think that’s all there is out there for people like me, is fearfully narrow. In my experience, higher paying work is out there, you just need to look for it. Or in other cases, work towards it.