Week 10: Japanese Comics

Western Vs Eastern Comics

Starting with the Western hemisphere I had noticed that the western comics are made up of interconnected "moments" in there story arcs rather than a singular narrative told through-out as seen in contemporary manga. 

Comics are called many things in different countries. In the West it is often call comic books or graphic novels if the subject material is deemed mature. But this week i wanted to focus on how the two works from the opposite sides of the hemispheres.

The Death in The Family  or Batman comics in general are a good example of this as Batman's identity. A story in which one of his sidekicks are killed. However apart from moments like this he relative stays and acts the same. His story and comic runs are defined by his "moments" rather than his "Overarching" character arc as he needs to same the same as he was day one in order for there to be a "Batman" this is seen mainly throughout the western comics.

Contrasted with the Wests styling of storytelling the Eastern comic shows the opposite in many respects. Instead of moment to moment events the story is rather defined by the "Overarching" plot and characters rather than sequential obstacle. With western comic we see the emphasis on the individual and what they can do in the world. What makes them special. In manga there is the slight opposite. Although yes the main protagonists are seen as being different fro the rest of their respective group. The story arc are almost always defined by the characters and there interactions. In many manga it is typical for villains to later turn to allies as the manga likes to emphasize the group rather than the individual.

These stark differences in story telling are mainly due to how the respective hemispheres deal with comics. In the West the work of making a comic is divided among several people while the manga is usually worked on by one individual person telling their story.