this is a manga?

[sakuranen1401]

uh...though i do admire mark's courage in drawing and writing a graphic novle using japanese art, and calling it manga, i do not really think that it could b considered a manga...after all it isnt even read from right to left(one of the coolest things about manga!!!). so, just wanted to put that out there, but i s'pose ill still read miki falls and check it out just the same...

[dvandom]

Well, if it's going to be in English, it needs to be read left to right like English is. If he were writing it in Japanese, it'd read from right to left. Deliberately composing in the wrong direction for your language is generally more gimmicky than anything else, although you can find online at least one example of Mark playing with "infinite canvas" and having storytelling going in all directions.

The problem comes when translation is done, since mirror-flipping pages can cause one type of issue (everyone is suddenly left-handed, non-symmetric details like scars are on the wrong side, etc), but not mirror-flipping can cause another type of issue (the story flow is all screwed up for readers in English).

In any case, "manga" has come to mean something different in English-speaking countries than it does in Japan, just as "anime" and "otaku" do. It's more about a visual style than a point of origin...and people who try to defend the purity of the term are doomed to disappointment. After all, as James Nicoll put it, English is a language that chases other languages down dark alleys, mugs them and rifles their pockets for vocabulary. Once anglos start using a word, you can forget about linguistic purity applying.

---Dave

[landonholmes]

Well put, Dave!

Landon

[lallik1]

But Shonen Jump manga is translated to english but you still read it from right to left and im not confused... or am i ;D

[maniac086]

Aug 11, 2008 3:57:12 GMT -5 lallik1 said:

But Shonen Jump manga is translated to english but you still read it from right to left and im not confused... or am i (

But that's because it's translated from Japanese to English. XD


Mark's comics are written with an initially Western audience in mind. And in the West, we read from left to right. Setting up Miki Falls to read from right to left could be seen as another homage to Japanese culture, but probably would come off more "gimmicky" as Dave put it.

Besides, Mark himself has stated that Miki Falls is more of a hybrid of manga-style and his own style. So it doesn't need to be 100% adherent to manga traditions anyway...! =D

[demonedaway]

Well, if you're not japanese you do not write or read from right to left. Besides, it's not a typical manga - the style in Miki Falls is a bit different from other mangas, it's just Mark Crilley's style. So it doesn't need to be all japanese style. And for example, the speech bubbles don't have to be so oval since we don't write from top to bottom.

[maniac086]

Aug 18, 2008 9:52:46 GMT -5 demonedaway said:

And for example, the speech bubbles don't have to be so oval since we don't write from top to bottom.

Another good point!!

[anbuu]

"manga" in japanese means comics, so a japanese person would call marvel comics or DC comics western 'manga'. it's not limited to eastern origins.

[tifftiff123]

heeh good argument or debate what ever lol yeh i agree it's Mark's own style and there are no rules like that in manga, so ha lol erm..yeh i love manga drawing they are the best and really artistic much better than boring western stuff




xxx ^_^