Comics-juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer. -Scott McCloud

    “It’s not a genre, it’s a media.”  This has become a mantra in the world of comics.  Comic books, graphic novels, “floppies”, mangas, pulp magazines,whatever you like to call them.  The comic book industry started gaining popularity in America during the 1930s, lost some of their appeal because of backlash from society, almost destroyed itself from within, and have slowly made the climb back up to their previous popularity.   Comics are slowly making a come back in popularity.  In 2001 bookstores went from $32 million in sales to $250 million in graphic novel sales in 2007(Thompson).  Comics are no longer a cheap magazine filled with “BOOM!”, “ZIP!”, and “SPLAT!".  Well some comics are still done in that style but as Theodore Sturgeon once said “90% of it was crap, but then 90% of everything was crap”(Hairston).

Comic Books or Graphic Novels?

   
    “You mean like pornographic?” queried the startled librarian when I asked for help researching articles about graphic novels.” - Andrew D. Arnold
    
     Comic books and graphic novels are really the same thing. The term graphic novel in “publishing shorthand” bluntly means “big fat comic with a spine” according to Scott McCloud.  “Graphic novel is a goofy term,” Scott McCloud tells a crowd at the ‘SPLAT!’ A Graphic Novel Symposium.  “The first graphic novel that got a lot of play was Will Eisner’s “Contract with God.’ The thing’s an anthology.  The next graphic novel that got a lot of play was “Maus,” and it’s a memoir.  There are few graphic novels that are actually graphic novels”(Thompson).
    The term graphic novel was first coined by Will Eisner for his “A Contract with God” published in 1978.  Although the concept was introduced in the 1960’s Eisner claims he came up with the idea by himself in the 1970’s.  Eisner’s publisher used graphic novel on the cover of his book with the idea in mind of making a more ‘serious’ comic book form.  Eisner wanted a book that “would physically look like a ‘legitimate’ book and at the same time write about a subject matter that would never have been addressed in comic book form”(Arnold).  

History

The history of comics are deeper than one would imagine.  The Bayeux Tapestry of France created in 1066, detailing the Norman Conquest of England, is a comic according to the definition presented by Scott McCloud.  The first comic strip is usually Richard Felton Outcault’s The Yellow Kid. The strip was originally published in 1895 in The New York World and served as a marketing tool to boost newspapers sales(Archetypes).  Comic books however started gaining popularity in America in the 1930’s(McCloud).  For convenience, the history of comics have been broken down into distinct ages; Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Modern Age.  

Golden Age

     The Golden Age of comics ranged from the 1930’s to the 1950’s.  The comic book industry became its own industry thanks to Jerome Siegal and Joseph Shuster the creators of Superman(Archetypes). Superman was first published in Action Comics #1 and was “the initiator of the superhero genre”(Santos).  In 1939, Detective Comics introduced Batman, and thus began the superhero genre which became one of the cornerstones of the comic book industry.  More characters created during this time were; Wonder Woman, Captain America, The Flash, and the Green Lantern.  And from Marvel Comics’; the Human Torch and Captain America.  Another popular hero was Will Eisner’s The Spirit.  The series used many film techniques and has inspired the comics of the modern age(Archetypes).  During World War II the industry boomed.  
     With superheroes stressing common interest in public welfare and patriotism, they really fit into the American way.  It helped, however, to have Captain America punching Hitler in the face on the cover of his first comic book.

Silver Age

Bronze Age
Iron Age
Modern Age 

Japanese Mangas

    Comic books have remained popular due to a rise in popularity of the Japanese comics called manga, pronounced “maw-nnn-gah“.  Manga when translated to English means “humorous pictures”.  The art in these books have their own style called and often have the characters over exaggerating their emotions, making them cartoonish in appearance(Albert).  The first version of manga was created by Osamu Tezuka, the “father” of modern anime(Izawa) or even the “god of manga“(Hairston).  Tezuka was inspired by the styles of Walt Disney and Max Fleisher in the 1930’s.  During that time Disney’s and Fleisher’s cartoons had larger eyes.  The large eyes made it easier for the character to express more emotion(Hairston).  Most artist follow Tezuka’s style in the modern mangas with the stereotype of characters who have large eyes, a small mouth, and brightly colored hair arranged in a distinct, nonmoving hair style.  
    Mangas main difference in comparison to American comics is how it is read. Below is a guide to reading manga and a page from a popular manga “Fruits Basket”.

     In comparison to the American comics, mangas are smaller and first appear in a weekly magazine.  Then if they become popular, they are made into a series of volumes that usually contain several chapters arranged per book. Several types of manga are as follows:
          Shônen – Boy’s Manga – (Pronounced Show-Nen)
          Shôjo – Girl’s Manga – (Pronounced Show-Joe)
          Seinen – Men’s Manga – (Pronounced Say-Nen)
          Josei (or redikomi) – Women’s Manga – (Pronounced Joe-Say)
          Kodomo – Children’s Manga – (Pronounced Kow-Dow-Mow)
     These are often arranged into separate categories such as romance, action, comedy, et cetera(Albert).  Mangas are created for people in all ages and gender.  There are cookbooks, romance stories, crime fighting, and even sexual explicit material are all done in the manga style(Albert).  They are also printed in black and white, are smaller in format, and are written by one manga-ka, a manga artist.  The characters are realistic often attending school or work, realizing and failing to reach their dreams, messing up along the way and learning from their mistakes.  Most mangas even end the stories with either of the three scenarios happening; hero wins, hero dies, hero sort of wins(Izawa).

Comics in Media Ecology

References

[1] Arnold, Andrew D. “The Graphic Novel Silver Anniversary”. Graphic Novels and Comic Books. Ed. Kat Kan. New York: H.W. Wilson Company. 2010.
[2] Albert, Aaron. “Manga 101: Basic Walk-through of the Manga World”. About.com. <http://comicbooks.about.com/od/manga/ss/manga101_6.htm>.
[3] “Archetypes, Commercialism, and Hollywood; A History of the Comic Book”. March 18, 2008. RandomHistory.com.      

     <http://www.randomhistory.com /1-50/033comic.html>.
[4] Hairston, Marc. “Manga, Anime, and Miyazaki”. Material and information about Miyazaki, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, and anime… 1999.          <http://www.utdallas.edu/research/spacesciences/hairston/nausicaa_lecture_1_p2.html>.
[5] Izawa, Eri. “What are Manga and Anime?”. 2005. <http://www.mit.edu/~rei/Expl.html>.
[6] McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper Perennial. 1993.
[7] Santos, Derek. The Comic Page. 1998. <http://www.dereksantos.com/comicpage/comicpage.html>.
[8] Thompson, Bob. “Drawing Power”. Graphic Novels and Comic Books. Ed. Kat Kan. New     York:     H.W. Wilson Company. 2010.
[9] Wertham, Fredric. Seduction of the Innocent. New York: Rinehart and Company, INC. 1954.