The Comedy Cellar

What are the primary differences between Japanese Manga (Comics) and American Comics?

There is a big difference in art styles between Manga, which is more stylized (exaggerated) and American comics, which tend to be more “realistic”. There are also quite a few serious differences between the two types of comics. Some of the differences, just to mention a few of them are the cost, creation, diverse audience and genres, presentation and even size.

The creation of Manga as well as its presentation is quite different than American Comics. Manga is printed in black-and-white format while American comics are the majority of the time in full color. Also, when you look at a graphic novel or Manga you will notice a difference in the size. Manga is frequently smaller than traditional American comic books, usually digest-size and roughly half to one-third the size of American comics. But where the American comics are generally thin like a small magazine, running about 32 pages, Manga comic books are thick and can be hundreds of pages in length!

In page count, Manga is quite similar to graphic novels, which are often just collections of the ongoing American comics. But unlike American graphic novels, which are usually just a collection of monthly comics in a single unified story or story arc, Manga books are often apart of an even bigger story and a complete Manga storyline can run thousands of pages.

Another difference between traditional American comics is that mainstream American comics are often created in a sort of assembly-line fashion. They have a writer (story), a penciler (initial sketch), inker (uses a pen to ink over the sketch), letterer (adds dialog) and a colorist (colors the inked sketch). Most Manga books are done by a single creator, who combines all those chores (except coloring).

Also Manga story lines usually move at a much quicker pace. Due to the high page count, one reads a Manga book at an accelerated pace. Manga books almost always have fewer panels and less dialogue (rambling) per page than American comic books. The price for Manga is also more than the average comic book and a bit more than a standard paperback novel, the small size of Manga and black-and-white printing rather than full color keeps the cost down. The lack color is made up when you consider the story development that it’ll have with the amount of pages it has.

In Japan, Manga is not viewed as just for kids unlike the American stereotype. There pretty much is a Manga for everyone. With that being stated there are three main genres in Japanese Manga: Shonen Manga (boy’s comics), Shojo Manga (girl’s comics) and Hentai (adult comics).

Shonen Manga is pretty much comics that are primarily action and/or adventure geared. If you’d like to view some examples of that genre, I’d recommend “Bleach” and/or “Full Metal Alchemist”. Shojo Manga is for the opposite sex; they are often about relationships and/or love interests. Please note that even though a particular genre is geared towards a certain audience it’s not limited to just that audience (unless otherwise stated). Finally Hentai Manga, I won’t delve much into this since it is primarily for adults and NOT suitable for children (just to be safe in case a child is reading this). Anyways, Hentai Manga is sometimes sexually explicit and/or adult-themed. In other words, do not purchase this for your child.

Next time someone asks you what the difference is between Manga and [American] comics, you can surprise them with your knowledge.

By: Michael Russell

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The Big Bang Theory portrays two hyper-intelligent and ultra geeky physicists, come room mates (Leonard and Sheldon) and what happens when an young charming woman (Penny) moves to the apartment next door. The nerds live in a technology-bound environment and are totally oblivious to the outside world. On the other side, Penny is absolutely pragmatic and down to earth. The director wins in portraying the two extreme ends of the spectrum, book smarts and social smarts. It is funnier to see the two nerds have even more nerdier friends (Howard and Rajesh).

The characterization of each one is superb. Leonard does not like to be seen as a nerd. He tries to impress Penny by trying to convince that he is not actually a nerd. But he miserably fails each time, leaving us all in laughter. Sheldon is brilliant in laboratory but totally inane out of it. He shows stubbornness, bombastic ego and quirks which are admirable. Penny is extremely practical and lives on the “real world”. Howard thinks himself he is as sexy as he is brainy. His sincere attempts to impress penny goes in vain. Rajesh, yet another genius suffers from an inability to speak in the presence of a woman.

The director is brave to turn an acute topic such as science into a lovable sitcom. It is amazing to notice that even particle physics and string theory could be funny. The timing is excellent. A very good aspect of this show is that geeks are lovable and funny and human, not pathetic. The “chemistry” between the physicists is fabulous. The dynamics and the dialog between the four friends is fast paced, funny and rich with detailed observations. The jokes are delivered with dry humor which makes it even more hilarious!

On the whole, the sitcom is a beautiful blend of great comedy, flamboyant acting and funny writing. So the bottom line is “Watching this SITCOM will sure get you hooked”!

By: Misha Collins

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With the constant creation of more and more reality shows, it seems that the days of the good old funny sitcom is gone forever. Could this be true? In the last 10 years we have seen a dramatic increase in reality shows and a dramatic decrease in the production of sitcoms. I guess the obvious reason for this is the huge success of reality shows. If I had to pin point the one reality show that started the destruction of sitcoms would be MTV’s “The Real World”. This show was started back in the early 90′s and was very successful and still is to this very day.

Back then this was really the only reality show on TV, but now it seems that every network has replaced their once sitcom filled stations with these reality shows that are becoming more and more scripted with each new season.

Ok, I understand that if something is hot you run with it, but was sitcoms getting that bad to the point where they are practically non existent today. Think back to the days of “Full House”, “Family Matters”, “Step By Step” and the great teen classic “Saved By The Bell”. These types of sitcoms were funny and very family friendly. Now how could something like this completely disappear? I’ll admit that I am a victim of the reality show takeover, but I do miss those studio audiences and silly story lines that only a true sitcom could deliver.

At first I blamed TV viewers for the death of sitcoms. Then I realized that maybe it’s the production companies. I mean think about it. Wouldn’t it be easier for them to create a reality show rather then a sitcom. They wouldn’t have to pay that many actors or writers and they wouldn’t have to build that many sets. I bet that the production of a reality show cost a fraction of what it would cost to produce a quality sitcom.

Some say time repeats itself, so that would mean that sitcoms will come back strong someday. Even though right now with the complete domination of reality shows, it looks more and more unlikely that shows like “The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air”, “The King Of Queens” and “Friends” will ever return. I hope they do.

By: Brian E Taylor

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