American Manga... Generation Huh?

[doronjosama]

Over at AnimeNewsNetwork, there's an article about a new book coming out called Mangaka America. Basically, a who's who kind of book, featuring the new generation of American manga artists. Seems like a good idea, right? Well, yes, and while I am delighted that my friend Adam Warren is writing the foreword and that veterans like shutterbox and rikkisimons are finally getting some good press (despite their last name being misspelled, again, sheesh), I have issues with the comments on the article. In particular, one comment where someone says, and I quote directly, (all original spelling, punctuation and grammar preserved):

"i glad american manga-ka are getting more in the spotlight.

the first generation of manga ka!"

Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there, Tex... FIRST generation? Oh, I don't think so. To be quite technical, the first generation of American manga artists (or "manga-ka", as they are so trendily being called now, though the word "manga-ka" just means "comic artist" if you talk to a Japanese person, so even Greg Land would be called that if he went to Japan- he would just be an amecomi manga-ka...) hit these shores in the 1980's. Artists like Ben Dunn, Lea Hernandez, Adam Warren, Ted Nomura, Tim Eldred, Stan Sakai, Rikki & Tavisha, Colleen Doran, Reggie Byers, Barry Blair, Greg Espinoza and even Frank Miller all worked with a manga influence back in the 1980's. They are the First Generation of American Manga-ka (and honestly, I only use this term because the book does... some of these artists I list would never refer to themselves as such). The 1990's brought the Second Generation of American Manga-ka, with Fred Perry, Joe Wight, Pat Duke, Robert DeJesus, Tyrone Ford, Dave Wilson (and the rest of the Antarctic Press crew of the 90's...), Bruce Lewis, Joe Madureira, Humberto Ramos, Chynna Clugston, Will Allison, and Dean Hsieh. I'd say the Third Generation would include people like Josh Lesnick, Diana Sprinkle, Michael Vega, Locke, Eddie Perkins, Ferdinand Poblete, PMBQ, David Hutchison, Rod Espinosa, Susan Meyer, ET and Elizabeth Bryan, Jo Chen, Skottie Young and John Barrett. The current TokyoPop/Webcomic Generation is at least the Fourth Generation of American Manga-ka. It's hard to divide everyone up into strictly defined decade-based generations also, since so many of the people from the First Generation continued to work in a manga-influenced style from the time they started until now- it's just now they're perceived as "bandwagon jumpers", instead of "people who worked really hard for a long time in a style that was incredibly uncommercial in this country until just recently". I remember when you could not get arrested if you drew in a manga-influenced style- now, it's all the rage.

Anyway, there's my curmudgeonly two cents. I wish the current generation of American manga artists and their fanatical supporters would stop acting like they just invented the wheel. People have been doing manga-influenced comics storytelling in this country since the 1980's. Or the late 1970's, if you want to throw Wendy Pini into the mix. I just wish the people who came before would get their "propers" every once in a while.

ETA: Added links to as many people as I could find.

Comments

[okojosan.livejournal.com]

I thought I was the only one annoyed by the use of "manga-ka" by Americans... >_> I just call them artists.

[matthigh.livejournal.com]

You Damn Kids! Get off my lawn!

[jeepersjournal.livejournal.com]

I love how some people think they're doing something new, or that there's no experienced artists working in a manga style [so many reviews of TP's domestic titles say "But........I don't think I can accept american manga until we see EXPERIENCED artists blah blah blah blab", which I find really insulting to a) the artists who've been doing it for decades and b) insinuating that it being an initial work somehow makes it unworthy of their reviewing love.]

Newbie Manga fans need some Learning.
Learning with a big stick of doom.

[zrath.livejournal.com]

Darn fool manga kids, hopped-up on Pocky...

[pomobarney.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, nice to see the shameful lack of historical knowledge of the art-form they profess to love has spread from the superhero fandom to manga fandom.

[jetbaby.livejournal.com]

Why are fandoms making me hate the stuff I love? I feel like I've been loading up at the All-You-Can-Eat Spite Buffet, when it comes to this shit. Grr.

[riot9.livejournal.com]

i never understood the obsession with japan in the first place, american comic syles can be just as pretty >_>

[jetbaby.livejournal.com]

P.S. Are we supposed to believe that this is some journalistic endeavor? 'cos (with all due respect to Adam and the Simonseses) it looks to me like one big TPop circle jerk.

[zorichan.livejournal.com]

You know it's funny. Whenever I mentioned doing work for Mangaphile in a manga style people would stare at me like I was crazy or play it down like well if you're not with TP you're not a *real* manga artist. I mean I in no way have been around nearly as long as all the people you've mentioned or am as prolific but it's really pretty silly to think that the people they listed are the first to ever draw in that style. But it's all about marketing. They can make people believe things if they just spread it around enough I guess.

[rikkisimons.livejournal.com]

What's even funnier than the name misspell is the fact that Tavisha and I are not in that book. I think we pulled out of that book before December of last year. I don't know why we keep turning up in press releases.

[obimom.livejournal.com]

yeah, well every fresh crop of teenagers thinks they invented sex, too.

[svetlania.livejournal.com]

Is Megatokyo in the third generation? I remember looking at that around the same time as Fred Perry's stuff, but I may have seen Fred's stuff later in his game...

Thanks for the post! I knew we're not the first ever OEL manga-ka/whatever, but I wasn't sure of the names and how many waves there were. Someone should write a book on history of OEL manga and educate us young 'uns! I'd totally buy that.

In the meantime *takes notes from post*

[dee-monster.livejournal.com]

I appreciate the effort you put into this list, Elin. I'd also meant to thank you for another-- I was wandering through amazon.com a while back and came across a goth comic listmania you'd put together. And so discovered Ted Naifeh: How Loathsome and Gloom Cookie. Awesome stuff!

[jameshanrahan.livejournal.com]

Well it would be nice to see a book or lengthy article like the old PULP article that took a look at manga influence in North America from the 70's up to the current wave. Though I have to wonder how many of the older waves would agree to it Also I'd like to see something that examined how the manga boom now is like the American superhero boom of the 1940s, since the two idioms seem to parallel each other in many ways, and moreso than past booms like undergrounds, black and white, furry, Image, and computer coloring.

[ozonelayercake.livejournal.com]

I know I'm coming late into this, but if someone actualy ever *does* a history of American manga-style artists and comics, I'd like to help!
I remember quite a few obscure titles from the early Eighties, mostly black and whites from fly-by-night publishers.
Oh, and ya'll forgot Doug Rice-- Remember Dynamo Joe from First Comics?

Uhm, anyone remember this mag called Cyberwerx?...

Didn't think so. heh.

[jeepersjournal.livejournal.com]

I hope you don't mind Elin, but I've linked your article on my TP Blog [which is mostly useful anime links and such] http://www.tokyopop.com/Andre/blog/ The TP Blogs are pretty much all whitenoise, but I use mine to spread word on good topics like this :) I've also attempt to provide a minibio for each arti

[divalea.livejournal.com]

Man, awesome. I missed this when it was posted because I was too bleh and overwhelmed to read friendslist until recently.

And wendy Pini, absolutely! I was already drawing in a manga/anime influenced style and hiding it, then I discovered EQ my senior year in high school and it was like, "Woah! I'm not alooooone!"