DC Comics March 2021 Titles

[Konja7]

Their schedule are always crazy tight and they work non stop for most part. Some have health conditions for the amount of work put on.

Bakuman is manga about making manga and gives a pretty cool look at the back stage of Shueisha.

The thing about having a end though, can't be said about every manga and that's because it's a work of the mind of one guy.

Berserk and Hunter X Hunter are on hiatus for years.

It's possible the stories in these manga don't have an ending, but the print of these manga will end. After all, editorial can't replace the creator.

I would say that there is usually more progression in manga.

To be clear, when I say "progression", I don't necesarily mean characters becoming older (there are many manga where characters mantain the same age). I mean that the events in an arc of a manga usually have consequences in the future.

[Konja7]

I'm still trying to figure out why DC doesn't have comics in black and white, I know we have Batman: Black and White but it's an anthology, that's 48 pages and it's 5.99, but ongoings in black and white with only the covers and splash pages in color (and maybe a bonus page for character designs) and the usual page count should be cost efficient and I feel like you could sell comics a little more cheaply that way.



They are overworked and more than likely underpaid which is why I always feel bad wanting the US comic industry to copy the Japan one.

Japan has pretty bad work culture in general, they've invented a word that means 'death by overwork' that's a legally recognized cause of death, so it wasn't surprising to find out about what mangakas go through.

And well Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has brought or will bring billions to Japan and the mangaka Koyoharu Gotōge has only made under 100k so yeah...

Outside of that, I think the US comic industry could learn a thing or two.



What do you mean by no credit, b/c I would say they get credited ...whether that translates into money is a different story.

Also you have to remember that a mangaka draws and writes and so people wanting 200 pages for 10 dollars probably think that since US comics usually have 2 or people working on a comic instead of the 1 to 2 on a manga, that it should be easier and faster ...unfortunately for them (and me in some cases) it's not.

It is more than credit. The authors of manga often own the characters and the world. The exception is if the manga belong to an existing franchise (like Pokemon).

For example: The author of Kimetsu no Yaiba could create a sequel for Kimetsu no Yaiba in a different editorial. He couldn't use the stories that were published in the first editorial (he would need to buy that), but prequel, sequel, spin-off or other new stories are allowed.

[OopsIdiditagain]

Their schedule are always crazy tight and they work non stop for most part. Some have health conditions for the amount of work put on.

That probably has to do more with work culture in Japan than the manga industry specifically.

[J. D. Guy]

That probably has to do more with work culture in Japan than the manga industry specifically.

Maybe, but then again, stuff like that tends to intersect. With that in mind, the two are probably more related and inter-related than might seem.

[Frontier]

Superhero movies/cartoons don't follow comic timelines because writers and continuities change like hats.

And some would say it's to the adaptions' strengths that they pick and choose what they use instead of going for a page-to-page direct adaption, although that's what the animated direct-to-DVD movies go for, more or less.

[vasir12]

And some would say it's to the adaptions' strengths that they pick and choose what they use instead of going for a page-to-page direct adaption, although that's what the animated direct-to-DVD movies go for, more or less.

I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing on the outside media's part. I'm just inferring why their success don't translate to comics sales like manga does.

[iron chimp]

I'm still trying to figure out why DC doesn't have comics in black and white, I know we have Batman: Black and White but it's an anthology, that's 48 pages and it's 5.99, but ongoings in black and white with only the covers and splash pages in color (and maybe a bonus page for character designs) and the usual page count should be cost efficient and I feel like you could sell comics a little more cheaply that way.



They are overworked and more than likely underpaid which is why I always feel bad wanting the US comic industry to copy the Japan one.

Japan has pretty bad work culture in general, they've invented a word that means 'death by overwork' that's a legally recognized cause of death, so it wasn't surprising to find out about what mangakas go through.

And well Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has brought or will bring billions to Japan, the mangaka Koyoharu Gotōge has only made under 100k so yeah...

Outside of that, I think the US comic industry could learn a thing or two.



What do you mean by no credit, b/c I would say they get credited ...whether that translates into money is a different story.

Also you have to remember that a mangaka draws and writes and so people wanting 200 pages for 10 dollars probably think that since US comics usually have 2 or more people working on a comic instead of the 1 to 2 on a manga, that it should be easier and faster ...unfortunately for them (and me in some cases) it's not.

oh for credits - i meant the old USA style sweatshop studios where artists and assistants often wouldnt be credited - i dont know if manga assistants get credited. Even some of stan lee's ff scripts are supposed to written by other people and his name slapped on.

[kf26]

It is more than credit. The authors of manga often own the characters and the world. The exception is if the manga belong to an existing franchise (like Pokemon).

For example: The author of Kimetsu no Yaiba could create a sequel for Kimetsu no Yaiba in a different editorial. He couldn't use the stories that were published in the first editorial (he would need to buy that), but prequel, sequel, spin-off or other new stories are allowed.

Koyoharu Gotoge is a woman, it wont be long until Demon Slayer beats Sailor Moon as the best selling female created property in comics.

[Restingvoice]

I'm still trying to figure out why DC doesn't have comics in black and white, I know we have Batman: Black and White but it's an anthology, that's 48 pages and it's 5.99, but ongoings in black and white with only the covers and splash pages in color (and maybe a bonus page for character designs) and the usual page count should be cost efficient and I feel like you could sell comics a little more cheaply that way.

Changing format means also considering changing target audience. Changing the audience's reading habit. Changing the creator's work schedule perhaps.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Batman Black and White started as an appreciation to the art style or a showcase of the art style, so there maybe a certain sub-segment of the audience that won't appreciate if they print these stories on cheaper paper, even if they get more story out of it, and they maybe who DC is targeting... if I look at how regular comics have variant cover for certain artists and there are collectors for those arts

[Hypo]

Bleeding Cool: Gene Luen Yang's Batman/Superman Uses 40s Superman/Batman Films

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Bleeding Cool: Gene Luen Yang's Batman/Superman Uses 40s Superman/Batman Films

That's cool.

[Factor]

I'm really excited for Yang's book

[Hypo]

Michael Conrad had a blog post about getting the WW gig: https://michaelconrad.home.blog/2020...-and-the-hill/

[kilderkin]

Kids nowadays would prefer video games or manga.

That was sort of my point

There are other things they prefer

But what they have also shown to enjoy is short digestible media in chunks

Short YouTube clips, not big long ones

And animation over reading

Or as some have suggested, stills of comics with the text narrated, audio book style

And whilst manga is a big market, it's not as popular and widespread as we are sometimes under the impression

[kilderkin]

Manga is crazy successful right now. Pretty much everyone my age (early 20's) reads manga and watches anime.

I think the important takeaway is that there absolutely is an audience for comics and print media. I was in London a few weeks back and visited the Forbidden Planet near Seven Dials. It's not a ginormous store by any stretch, but that place was packed, even during the pandemic. Sure, it was a few weeks before Christmas so that might have been a factor, but it was certainly a lot busier than I thought it would be. It wasn't all just crowded near the manga too. It's where most of the young people/teens were, but there were a lot of people - old and young, that were all through the aisles. I swear, there was this one kid looking at this Swamp Thing hardcover that was a spitting image of myself ten years ago... eerie, but cool.

The main barrier to comics compared to manga is the price. Everything manga does cape comics can do just as well, but the kids and teens and broke students can't afford or justify getting into our expensive hobby when manga is so dirt cheap. A friend of mine collects manga like I collect comics and despite spending the same amount of money on books, his collection has doubled mine easily. At least Tynion's aware of the issue. Being the Batman writer for the foreseeable future, I would imagine he has the ear of the higher ups. Hope he takes the opportunity to point out why manga dominates currently.

Oh yeah

The price point is killing us

I'm curious how manga is made so cheaply?