Comic Books VS Manga, which do you prefer?

[Shoggoth2588]

I've found subjects and themes in both Manga and U.S. Comics that I like (I don't like the term comic-book since it puts me in mind of those thin little books. I buy graphic novels to get the full story dammit!) Anyway, there are enough Manga and enough American/Western Graphic Novels to find something great no matter what you're into.

To answer the question directly though (or rather, slightly more directly) I started with manga but am starting to lean more towards U.S. Graphic Novels. When it comes to Manga, I absolutely love the following 3:

Fist of the North Star
Petshop of Horrors
Detroit Metal City

As for U.S. Graphic Novels, there are a lot that I've enjoyed like Hush and, the complete JTHM (just to not name another Batman). At the moment I'm eyeing some of the DC graphic Novels from around the time Hal Jordan went insane and as for Marvel, I'm probably going to be picking up some of the gorier Punisher GNs.

 

[Vault101]

-snip-

One of the issues with DC and Marvel, for me at least, is that they rely way too much on the continuity and I feel that limits their stories a lot. That's why most of my favourite comics are Transmetropolitan, Sandman or Watchmen which have little to no relation with the continuities.



If you would like a serious recommendation of a manga that might suit you, just ask.

Transmetroploitan? FUCK YES!!...sorry, I may have mentioned Im reading it now and its brilliant

but I agree...except for batman superheros hardly interest me at all (not to mention how confusing it can be)

also holy shit...thats what you call variety

DO NOT BUY the Ghost in the Shell sequels. They are all terrible. Honestly, a Masamune Shirow series is probably a terrible place to start reading manga. Avoid all the Shonen Jump stuff too, as it's intended for 8-14 year olds and goes on forever. If you tell me what you like in Western comics I can probably give you some recommendations.

adivce duly noted....

also I know what you mean..it is confusing..BUT at least we have the internet, so you can do reasearch...but yeah hence why its not "newcomer" freindly

and Ive stumbled upon some good stuff (Treansmetropolitan, Arkham Asylum living hell) and a series by a writer I know (Warren Ellis) which looks good though I havnt read it yet...just by searching through the comics section in a used bookstore

it turns out my city does actually have a proper comic book shop (I think) which I havnt quite worked up the nerve to visit..but I really should

my other scource is a store that has a big section of trade paperbacks (and I imagine an even bigger section of manga but I dont go into that section because manga/anime weirds me out..no offece ment)

 

[Vault101]

Never read any comics for the character. Find good writers, read their personally owned original series, and if they do something good in superhero comics read that too. "Batman" is neither a good comic nor a bad one, it's all about the writers.

P.S. Spawn itself is pretty good (creator owned), but I hate what it did to mainstream comics. If you want something properly grimdark read Preacher or Hellblazer.

completly random guess...did it start some trend of comics trying to be "darker" and "edgyer" was that a 90's thing?

 

[OtherSideofSky]

DO NOT BUY the Ghost in the Shell sequels. They are all terrible. Honestly, a Masamune Shirow series is probably a terrible place to start reading manga. Avoid all the Shonen Jump stuff too, as it's intended for 8-14 year olds and goes on forever. If you tell me what you like in Western comics I can probably give you some recommendations.

adivce duly noted....

also I know what you mean..it is confusing..BUT at least we have the internet, so you can do reasearch...but yeah hence why its not "newcomer" freindly

and Ive stumbled upon some good stuff (Treansmetropolitan, Arkham Asylum living hell) and a series by a writer I know (Warren Ellis) which looks good though I havnt read it yet...just by searching through the comics section in a used bookstore

it turns out my city does actually have a proper comic book shop (I think) which I havnt quite worked up the nerve to visit..but I really should

my other scource is a store that has a big section of trade paperbacks (and I imagine an even bigger section of manga but I dont go into that section because manga/anime weirds me out..no offece ment)

None taken. Manga is full of bizarre and outlandish things that probably shouldn't appeal to a healthy mind (one of the reasons I like it so much). Besides, if you went into the manga section you might run into those crazy people who insist on being called "otaku" and will talk your ears off about how series X is so mature and deep and nothing like those awful superhero comics even though it's actually serialized popcorn entertainment for middle school students. No one deserves to deal with those people, not even Hitler with Stalin's brain and Liquid Snake's hand.

What bugs me isn't so much having to look things up as having to read multiple books at once to get the full story. For example, I love Crisis on Infinite Earths even though it's just about the only comic from that time I've read and I know nothing about the events leading up to it. I was able to go into it with a general knowledge of the characters, read a single trade paperback and get an enjoyable experience out of it. A lot of the things I've read lately haven't been like that. A lot of the recent big events (the comics casual readers are most likely to hear about and take a look at) have been full of things where I had to go and track down an issue of another comic to find out what was going on because major events happened off panel. That sort of thing really kills the fun for me.

I also don't like the way writers constantly change or undo things that happened in past issues and the universe is apparently recreated from nothing every year and a half. It makes everything that happens have so much less impact and weight to it (especially now that killing characters for no good reason has gotten so fashionable) and adds a whole other layer of confusion.

I've mostly given up on the major superhero titles at this point and I've been sticking with series that don't take place in a shared universe and don't suddenly change writers, although I occasionally read older runs if I hear enough good things about them.

 

[Okuu_Fusion]

I prefer Manga. Never been able to get into comics...

Tried many times to read comics but I just get too bored... Feels like I'm reading the news paper. With manga, feels like I'm watching a show...

 

[Vault101]

DO NOT BUY the Ghost in the Shell sequels. They are all terrible. Honestly, a Masamune Shirow series is probably a terrible place to start reading manga. Avoid all the Shonen Jump stuff too, as it's intended for 8-14 year olds and goes on forever. If you tell me what you like in Western comics I can probably give you some recommendations.

adivce duly noted....

also I know what you mean..it is confusing..BUT at least we have the internet, so you can do reasearch...but yeah hence why its not "newcomer" freindly

and Ive stumbled upon some good stuff (Treansmetropolitan, Arkham Asylum living hell) and a series by a writer I know (Warren Ellis) which looks good though I havnt read it yet...just by searching through the comics section in a used bookstore

it turns out my city does actually have a proper comic book shop (I think) which I havnt quite worked up the nerve to visit..but I really should

my other scource is a store that has a big section of trade paperbacks (and I imagine an even bigger section of manga but I dont go into that section because manga/anime weirds me out..no offece ment)

None taken. Manga is full of bizarre and outlandish things that probably shouldn't appeal to a healthy mind (one of the reasons I like it so much). Besides, if you went into the manga section you might run into those crazy people who insist on being called "otaku" and will talk your ears off about how series X is so mature and deep and nothing like those awful superhero comics even though it's actually serialized popcorn entertainment for middle school students. No one deserves to deal with those people, not even Hitler with Stalin's brain and Liquid Snake's hand.



.

I guess thats why limited/shorter series are good

anyway my aprehension about manga/anime I think is because I asociate it with the seedy backwaters of the internet....and the artstyle always annoyed me (I also asosiate it with emo teenagers trying to draw anime style in the seedy backwaters of the internet..uhh anyway)

BUT that said theres probably no denying theres some great stuff there (Ive been meaning to watch AKIRA for some time, and you dont need to tell me that it has somthing western TV animation lacks)

but anyway, getting into that would be like crossing some kind of line...Im not sure Im ready for the dark side

 

[WolfThomas]

Really? I thought that Wanted and Kick-Ass were two of the best comics of the past decade and he's also got a fucking ton of original projects coming up some of which ought to be good.

It's probably more a comment on how much I liked Ultimates, those two volumes are perfect to me. I also liked his run on the Authority, it took the already in you face take no shit attitude of the team to a new level and would set the tone for future series.

To me both Wanted and KickAss were good, but more recently Nemesis wasn't that great and Superior might have passable if it had actually come out regularly.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Spoiler: Batman

Equals better than androgynous boys with girly haircuts.

Spoiler: However there are Japanese characters that make me feel otherwise, even if it is a guy with MAKEUP

It's not makeup. Those blank rings are caused by his insomnia.
And no offense, but picking a popular anime to get your opinions may not be the best way to go.

I don't watch much anime so my choices were limited and Gaara has that same kind of dark theme that you find in Spawn and Batman.

I know, but it still looks like makeup

 

[CrazyGirl17]

I like 'em both, actually... though I haven't really felt a pull to buy manga for some time...

 

[manic_depressive13]

Don't really like either. Books with words > books with pictures. However, I say manga wins by default, just because the convoluted continuity makes traditional superhero comics such a pain in the ass to get into.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

DO NOT BUY the Ghost in the Shell sequels. They are all terrible. Honestly, a Masamune Shirow series is probably a terrible place to start reading manga. Avoid all the Shonen Jump stuff too, as it's intended for 8-14 year olds and goes on forever. If you tell me what you like in Western comics I can probably give you some recommendations.

adivce duly noted....

also I know what you mean..it is confusing..BUT at least we have the internet, so you can do reasearch...but yeah hence why its not "newcomer" freindly

and Ive stumbled upon some good stuff (Treansmetropolitan, Arkham Asylum living hell) and a series by a writer I know (Warren Ellis) which looks good though I havnt read it yet...just by searching through the comics section in a used bookstore

it turns out my city does actually have a proper comic book shop (I think) which I havnt quite worked up the nerve to visit..but I really should

my other scource is a store that has a big section of trade paperbacks (and I imagine an even bigger section of manga but I dont go into that section because manga/anime weirds me out..no offece ment)

None taken. Manga is full of bizarre and outlandish things that probably shouldn't appeal to a healthy mind (one of the reasons I like it so much). Besides, if you went into the manga section you might run into those crazy people who insist on being called "otaku" and will talk your ears off about how series X is so mature and deep and nothing like those awful superhero comics even though it's actually serialized popcorn entertainment for middle school students. No one deserves to deal with those people, not even Hitler with Stalin's brain and Liquid Snake's hand.



.

I guess thats why limited/shorter series are good

anyway my aprehension about manga/anime I think is because I asociate it with the seedy backwaters of the internet....and the artstyle always annoyed me (I also asosiate it with emo teenagers trying to draw anime style in the seedy backwaters of the internet..uhh anyway)

BUT that said theres probably no denying theres some great stuff there (Ive been meaning to watch AKIRA for some time, and you dont need to tell me that it has somthing western TV animation lacks)

but anyway, getting into that would be like crossing some kind of line...Im not sure Im ready for the dark side

Don't worry, I'm not one of those crazy anime fans who feels the need to bash Western animation at every opportunity.

The manga for Akira is better than the movie (it has a lot more time to flesh out side characters and subplots, for one thing), although both are good and the movie is definitely worth a watch for anyone interested in animation as an art form.

Don't think that manga is all, or even primarily, one art style just because of the things that have the biggest presence in English speaking fandom. If you want to see something much more realistically (and just generally better) drawn, you might want to give Pluto (an interesting retelling of a famous Astro Boy storyline) or Blade of the Immortal (a pretty fun over-the-top samurai action series) a try. Ryoichi Ikegami is probably your best bet art-wise, but he usually works with Kazuo Koike, who's writing is unbelievably crazy (he's best known for Lone Wolf and Cub and Crying Freeman). You could also look at Uzumaki or Gyo, both of which are very good short horror series with art that you might like more than most of what you see.

 

[Vault101]

DO NOT BUY the Ghost in the Shell sequels. They are all terrible. Honestly, a Masamune Shirow series is probably a terrible place to start reading manga. Avoid all the Shonen Jump stuff too, as it's intended for 8-14 year olds and goes on forever. If you tell me what you like in Western comics I can probably give you some recommendations.

adivce duly noted....

also I know what you mean..it is confusing..BUT at least we have the internet, so you can do reasearch...but yeah hence why its not "newcomer" freindly

and Ive stumbled upon some good stuff (Treansmetropolitan, Arkham Asylum living hell) and a series by a writer I know (Warren Ellis) which looks good though I havnt read it yet...just by searching through the comics section in a used bookstore

it turns out my city does actually have a proper comic book shop (I think) which I havnt quite worked up the nerve to visit..but I really should

my other scource is a store that has a big section of trade paperbacks (and I imagine an even bigger section of manga but I dont go into that section because manga/anime weirds me out..no offece ment)

None taken. Manga is full of bizarre and outlandish things that probably shouldn't appeal to a healthy mind (one of the reasons I like it so much). Besides, if you went into the manga section you might run into those crazy people who insist on being called "otaku" and will talk your ears off about how series X is so mature and deep and nothing like those awful superhero comics even though it's actually serialized popcorn entertainment for middle school students. No one deserves to deal with those people, not even Hitler with Stalin's brain and Liquid Snake's hand.



.

I guess thats why limited/shorter series are good

anyway my aprehension about manga/anime I think is because I asociate it with the seedy backwaters of the internet....and the artstyle always annoyed me (I also asosiate it with emo teenagers trying to draw anime style in the seedy backwaters of the internet..uhh anyway)

BUT that said theres probably no denying theres some great stuff there (Ive been meaning to watch AKIRA for some time, and you dont need to tell me that it has somthing western TV animation lacks)

but anyway, getting into that would be like crossing some kind of line...Im not sure Im ready for the dark side

Don't worry, I'm not one of those crazy anime fans who feels the need to bash Western animation at every opportunity.

The manga for Akira is better than the movie (it has a lot more time to flesh out side characters and subplots, for one thing), although both are good and the movie is definitely worth a watch for anyone interested in animation as an art form.

Don't think that manga is all, or even primarily, one art style just because of the things that have the biggest presence in English speaking fandom. If you want to see something much more realistically (and just generally better) drawn, you might want to give Pluto (an interesting retelling of a famous Astro Boy storyline) or Blade of the Immortal (a pretty fun over-the-top samurai action series) a try. Ryoichi Ikegami is probably your best bet art-wise, but he usually works with Kazuo Koike, who's writing is unbelievably crazy (he's best known for Lone Wolf and Cub and Crying Freeman). You could also look at Uzumaki or Gyo, both of which are very good short horror series with art that you might like more than most of what you see.

ohh ASTRO BOY damn how could I forget? I never got a chance to really get into it (it was on thursdays...dammit) but I liked what I did see..must have been around or a little before the time AVATAR was on

anyway...thanks for the sugestions..visually speaking how would you say the manga compares to the film AKIRA? Ive seen pictures of the movie...and the movie poster...DO WANT..

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Spoiler: Batman

Equals better than androgynous boys with girly haircuts.

Spoiler: However there are Japanese characters that make me feel otherwise, even if it is a guy with MAKEUP

....Guts would like a word, he resents being called an androgynous boy with a girly haircut.

Spoiler

OT: I ultimately prefer manga more, although that said i have partaken in some comics in my Time which i enjoyed: The Killing Joke is an excellent example of a comic i really enjoyed, as is watchmen, and i have dabbled in some parts of the batman mythos over the years.

Although seeing as Berserk is a manga which proves that underneath all the androgynous, 16 year old loud-mouthed optimists with green hair and the power of friendship...manga as a genre is still worth defending. So, I'm still of the preference of manga over comics.

Incidentally, random question, this Spawn series...can i have a quick run-down as to what the basic premise is about? Cause i've seen a bit of stuff of it around and it has slightly caught an interest in me.

lol, I will gladly talk to Gut once they stop putting their fingers in electric sockets(I can't see why else his hair would be like that), wets down their hair, and removes (what appears to be) blue dye from their hair.

Sure, no problem. A black guy named Al Simmons [http://spawn.wikia.com/wiki/Al_Simmons] who was a CIA agent planning on retiring, but was murdered by a assassin because of a hit put on him by the Director of the CIA [http://spawn.wikia.com/wiki/Jason_Wynn]. So Al went to hell and because he was a mercenary in life, he made a deal with a demon [http://spawn.wikia.com/wiki/Malebolgia] and was reborn/reincarnated as a HellSpawn [http://spawn.wikia.com/wiki/Hellspawn]. He was then sent back up to Earth That's a very summarized beginning of the story to the series, you can find more info here [http://spawn.wikia.com/wiki/Spawn].

 

[Strain42]

Well let me think...right now there are three manga that I read that give me a new book roughly every six months or so (Case Closed, Ace Attorney and Hyde & Closer)

And there are about...12 comic book series that I read that give me one or two new books a month, plus my current favorite comic, Chew, which I buy in trades.

Also I would say that comic books have a better track record of live action film adaptations, even for characters I don't read any books for (like Batman or Spiderman)

I think I'm going to give this one to comic books. They're a bigger part of my life than manga.

 

[Dimitriov]

I don't really have a preference for one over the other, but I do dislike many of the main stream western comics (ie. Batman etc.) because they are technically like 3000+ issues long... which is just stupid in my opinion. Talk about beating a dead horse.

But there are plenty of smaller, more self contained stories that are pretty awesome.

For manga my personal favourite series that I am currently reading would be Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue. It's an awesome, fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi (the famous samurai duelist).

And it's probably nothing like what a lot of people imagine manga to be:

Spoiler: Spoilered for size

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Never read any comics for the character. Find good writers, read their personally owned original series, and if they do something good in superhero comics read that too. "Batman" is neither a good comic nor a bad one, it's all about the writers.

P.S. Spawn itself is pretty good (creator owned), but I hate what it did to mainstream comics. If you want something properly grimdark read Preacher or Hellblazer.

Are you referring to the HBO cartoons? I think they were ok.

Spoiler: Take at one of them for yourself, warning this is NSFW

 

[Something Amyss]

However there are Japanese characters that make me feel otherwise, even if it is a guy with MAKEUP

O noes, makeup? On a dude? The horror!

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

However there are Japanese characters that make me feel otherwise, even if it is a guy with MAKEUP

O noes, makeup? On a dude? The horror!

Say what you will, I don't care for it

 

[RickyRich]

Spoiler: Batman

Equals better than androgynous boys with girly haircuts.

Spoiler: However there are Japanese characters that make me feel otherwise, even if it is a guy with MAKEUP

This is basically the same reason for me liking comics and not manga. I haven't found a single manga I have preferred over a comic and those pictures are the exact reason why. I like reading about heroes and anti-heroes, not some whiny Japanese kid who kills people because he didn't get enough hugs growing up.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Comics because they make sense. Manga has too much sex/gender confusion. And they talk way too much. More than necessary.

Comics... make sense...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man

I rest my case.

OT: Manga, mostly because there are far more varied genres, and in many cases better philosophical discussion then "Do I punch them, or hit them with a bat-a-rang, then punch them?"

How can you not like....

Spoiler: this?