Gamal Hennessy’s Post

Honestly, I think the real reason manga is successful isn't the superficial esthetic, it's fresh stories with new characters and concepts that your mom and dad didn't read. That's it. Plus it's put out at an affordable price point that isn't the monthly floppy.

Manga is by far the largest comic book category in the world in terms of revenue and reach, with webtoons being the fastest growing. New generations of fans and readers consume and grow up on manga, anime and webtoons and have little interest in superheroes. Both DC and Marvel are painfully aware of it, or at least of the fact that they’re being left behind and not having a place at the table, where the biggest dish is being served. The idea behind DC’s current three manga series was exactly to “bridge the gap” with locally (in Japan) created content that feels truly genuine. It is not an easy proposition: the regular manga fans mostly don’t care for superheroes, AmeComi fans (fans of American comics in Japan) want genuine American superhero content. However, at least what DC’s attempted in partnership with Kodansha is the best shot they’ve ever had at testing the concept of DC manga. I was proud to be significantly involved in this initiative. If it works, it’s not going to change current DC fortunes overnight, but hopefully they’ll learn from the experience and make the right decision to invest in a larger manga strategy, including meaningful partnership with a Japanese publisher of appropriate scale.

It all boils down to delivering compelling stories and delivering a product readers want. Marvel, DC and many others are failing miserably in this regard, which is why Manga is eating their collective lunches. Regardless of what they call it, readers will not support them unless they deliver on the above.

Wondering when the US market will start considering their own Originals for this style of content. There’s lots of indie mangaka here atm

I agree with what everybody is posting. It isn't necessarily about manga but it's about the content that's in the books. People want good stories, plain and simple. No matter what form it comes in. But on the flip side, I too am releasing a manga in 2024 instead of comic books.

Viva la indie comic! I hope indie writers and artists can fill the gap between the huge titles and companies somewhat like what's happening in videogames.

I think it'll be an even bigger boon in diverisity of content. I've always believed superheroes are a fine genre (what you like is what you like and legitimate), but that US comics shouldn't be dominated by the genre.