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NEWS: Viz to Review Portfolios at Comic-Con International

What else do you expect them to publish?


Superhero comics?

Ah, Hey again, mdo7. I keep telling you. There is no OEL market. There's just the publishing market. No need to ghettoize graphic novels even further into an artificial 'OEL manga' niche. It's bad enough getting America to recognize graphic novels (including manga) without having to slap a foreign name on a domestic product.

OEL is just a cliche that certain companies use to make themselves seem better than anyone else publishing comics in the US. I'm not being a 'hater' as you kept calling me in the other thread. I worry about these books and creators. I think this 'OEL manga' label hurts themselves and the domestic industry much more than it helps. It's a crutch we keep using and I don't think it's strong enough. We need to learn to walk on our own and not rely on some Japanese word to keep our own work standing.

OEL manga is not an art style, genre, or publishing format. It's a buzzword and it pigeon holes creators. How about you just make whatever art style and story you like and don't worry about calling it 'manga' or if it fits those stereotypes? I keep saying, if these OEL books are manga, why don't they look like.. say Crying Freeman or Uzumaki? Why are they mostly generic Naruto shonen clones and maybe some shojo clones? What makes Naruto's art so much better than someone like Neil Adams or Mike Mignola?

If Viz does get into original American content, I find it disturbing that people would prefer to work for a foreign publisher instead of a domestic one. Geez. What ever happened to having some pride in your country and its workforce?

If Viz does get into original American content, I find it disturbing that people would prefer to work for a foreign publisher instead of a domestic one. Geez. What ever happened to having some pride in your country and its workforce?

The Xenos wrote:

If Viz does get into original American content, I find it disturbing that people would prefer to work for a foreign publisher instead of a domestic one. Geez. What ever happened to having some pride in your country and its workforce?

Uh, by this unusual line of thinking, should British creators Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Warren Ellis should refuse work from DC and Marvel because those companies aren't British? Should American creators R. Crumb and Adrian Tomine refuse work from Drawn & Quarterly because it's (gasp) Canadian? Why is it really cool for Felipe Smith to publish in Japan with a Japanese company, but somehow "disturbing" for him or another American creator to publish with a "foreign" company like Viz?

Are you seriously suggesting that an artist trying to get their work out there TURN DOWN an offer from a publisher because they aren't from the US?
Maybe for an established artist that has no trouble finding work but for someone up and coming beggars can't be choosers. As long as the contract is fair (hint hint) you should't pass up getting published if given a chance, that'd just be foolish.

Uh, by this unusual line of thinking, should British creators Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Warren Ellis should refuse work from DC and Marvel because those companies aren't British? Should American creators R. Crumb and Adrian Tomine refuse work from Drawn & Quarterly because it's (gasp) Canadian? Why is it really cool for Felipe Smith to publish in Japan with a Japanese company, but somehow "disturbing" for him or another American creator to publish with a "foreign" company like Viz?

I agree. Graphic novels are the proper English nomenclature for what they're selling. Japanese words aren't needed. As I've always said, I thought we called manga by that native name out of respect to the creators.

I guess I am. I'm thinking of the bigger economic picture. I'm thinking generations down the road. Build up the American industry. Does no one else think it's really bad for us to rely on a foreign companies for our comics?

Why can't Americans produce own own books?

That we need a giant foreign company to create books for us is a terrible sign. Our economy's bad enough and relying on foreign companies and resources in various fields is a major problem. I don't want to see it happen to the American book industry too.

testorschoice wrote:

Uh, by this unusual line of thinking, should British creators Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Warren Ellis should refuse work from DC and Marvel because those companies aren't British? Should American creators R. Crumb and Adrian Tomine refuse work from Drawn & Quarterly because it's (gasp) Canadian? Why is it really cool for Felipe Smith to publish in Japan with a Japanese company, but somehow "disturbing" for him or another American creator to publish with a "foreign" company like Viz?

Well, that's their personal choice as would these creators choosing from Viz. Actually, isn't Neil and American now? Or maybe he married into it. I know he's somewhere in the mid-west now.

Plus from what I've heard, England's comic market has been standing on its own legs. Right now, the American market is simply dominated by Japanese companies. What is it? 2/3 of call comics sold are manga?

I don't want to sound.. well.. xenophobic, but I do worry about America's economy and specifically the comic book market.

According to the ICV2 interview:
[i]
Are you looking for manga-style properties?

If by "manga" you mean what is generally considered manga in the United States (fantasy and romance aimed at teenagers), then no. If by "manga" you mean what is meant by manga in Japan (a broad range of comics that emphasize serial storytelling, cliffhangers, reader feedback, a supportive editorial process, and a rich creator voice), then yes we are.

And I really hope talented potential artists will not be deterred and will take their portfolios to events like this.

Other than Fred Gallagher and Adam Warren, the rest of the group have been talentless and completely insipid. Look at most of TOKYOPOP's OEL line. Alot either try to emulate the Manga style, or have artwork extremely bizzarre, one has to wonder if they read alot of Heavy Metal magazine.