Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

I TOTALLY dig this idea.  However, harlequin tried it and it failed horrifically.

Of course, the reason for that is that the took (apparently) already-written romance novels by their big names and tried to translate them into manga, which did not work well.  The Cherry Blossom (I think) imprint died before I could get my hands on a copy.

I love manga, and I love romances.  In order to work, especially in Japan, they will have to be kind of strange.  A lot of what goes on in manga is very non-linear to my mind.

I like the summary put forward, the whole idea excites me.  You know, being kind of strange, and all.

I think Christine Feehan has one of her Carpathian novels made into a Manga . And Gabaldon is having outlander made into ....... a graphic novel I think?

as for wants.....none, I’m old skoool. I haven’t read books with pictures in it since my babies were young.

Jennifer Crusie’s Crazy For You is exactly like that story arc--woman about to marry gets dog which leads her to dump the jerk, buy a house and get a great guy, while figuring out who she is.

Alison Pace’s If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend would also work. And although it’s a lesser book, the story in Pug Hill would be greatly improved if adapted to manga.

I think a big WHAT NOT TO DO goes to the comic versions of the Anita Blake stories.

Yeah, I know. I was stupid. But the pictures are soooo pretty.

And the boobage is sooo large.

I can’t think of any books right off the bat, but boy does it sound fun to write!

I do think it could work if they took the romance to the manga and not vice versa.

I like manga and graphic novels because they can tell very out there and complex stories without feeling too ‘chunky’.

It’s also easier to utilize multiple characters in manga/graphic novel format because it’s naturally easier (for me) to differentiate between them visually. Instead of Dan, the truck driver from Denver and Donald the truck driver from Dallas, it’s Dan with red hair and Donald the guy with the funny hat.

I think manga romance could work, as long as the format of manga is utilized for its strengths.

So manga romance, not romance manga.
Hope I made some sense, I need some coffee.

board 11.. hey they mispelled broad.

Maybe look at Lea Hernandez’s Cathedral Child and Clockwork Angels?

I’ve never read manga, but I think the series THE VAMPIRE DIARIES by L. J. Smith would work as manga based on Michael’s description.  That’s really more of arching story though (the main character starts out in a good place, goes to a real low, and then winds up as the as a great heroine).  Or, oooh, THE SECRET CIRCLE would work.

How about The Winning Hand, by La Nora ?
American girl from Kansas wins big in a Vegas Hotel. Lots of good visuals there. She starts out with nine bucks and change, ends up with a couple million and a hawtie. (Note to self, play lottery)

Suze, when was this?  It’s been a little while since I was in Japan, but I know I saw Harelequin manga there in ‘04, and it seemed to be doing ok.

I think you’re wrong there Suze. Those Harlequin manga’s were so successful in Japan that they re-translated them and sold thme in the English speaking market. They were published by darkhorse in the US. Last I heard there were more than four hundred Japanese Manga version of Harlequin romances so I’m not quite sure why Harlequin chose to translate such old ones (1985 was one copyright date) from what I could see.

Oh shoot! That’s too easy…

Just rip off Bubblegum Crisis but have the Knight Sabers go out on dates with the hunky AD Police boys between scenes of saving the world from destruction by the evil Boomers and the nefarious Genom Corporation.

It sounds to me like short category romance novels would work really well in manga form.  Getting clear visuals is really important (otherwise your sheiks/tycoons/secretaries/doctors/nurses/nannies all run together). The plots seem the right length, from the manga I’ve seen (my daughter likes them), and the type of story arc would work.

An intriguing idea, although obviously not a new one if Harlequin has done it successsfully.

I read a bunch of the harlequin manga (pink and purple ones) and they could have been better. Lots better, and I do think that part of the prolem was such old storylines with such useless heroines aimed at a young crowd. These were not for adults and it felt very odd.

Suggestions: Katie McAlister
Elizabeth Bevarly
Definitely Susan elizabeth Phillips

umm, it is a pity they’re not interested in paranormals yet. So many there to choose from, so little time to type ;-P

I have all the Harlequin Ginger Blossom mangas. There were only 14 published, three of which intended for more mature readers, called Ginger Blossom Violet. They weren’t great - the stories tended to be old skool romances, one that sticks out had amnesia AND punishment sex - but they did whet my appetite for good manga romance.

I think with better, more modern stories, they could be popular.  At least, I know I’d read them.

May I ask why we cut out historicals?  Is that just something the publisher wants?  Becuase it seems to me that historicals and the fantasy/scifi romance novels would have the most crossover appeal, considering the popularity of fantastical romance, who reads manga now, and what kind of manga they read.

But whatev.

I’d say Meg Cabot’s novels - both teen and adult - would be a good choice.  Even though I don’t really like the artwork for the manga sequel to Avalon High, I think the format works well for the way her stories flow, as long as internal monologues are edited well.  Again, check out Anita Blake (the first issue at least) for what not to do re: internal monologues.

On that same note, I’d say that targeting either YA romances that are popular among adults as well (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) or adult romances that are popular among teens (Nicholas Sparks) might work best.  Not just because of the crossover, but because the those stories tend to be at a pace that I think would translate well to manga.  Although, most may need to be done as manga series rather than a single volume.

And why not get people to write original stories for romantic manga?  Dramacon is one of my fave modern romance stories ever, and it was always meant to be a manga.  I guess that’s often more expensive though.  :) There’s a lot of wait time between each volume of Dramacon.

I was going to say - historical manga would be BETTER than comtemporary, plus if they use novels actually written in the old days they won’t have to worry about copyright.

when I was working in the Manga/Anime industry, I remember asking someone why they didn’t publish Nora Robert’s Harlequin manga. I don’t know if they just couldn’t get permission, but I was very disappointed with the titles Darkhorse chose to launch with. I thought there were better Harlequin out there to try.

Oh. and color coordinated ink? It was horrible and hard to read. But I wished them luck. It didn’t turn out very well and then Harlequin took it back and it still didn’t work out.

I think it was more about knowing what romance readers wanted and getting them to try manga rather than get teenage girls to try to read Harlequin. Unfortunately, I don’t think it was handled well.

Hm. “came26”

I must think on that....

I think that the Japanese market is probably not interested in historicals, and also how is regency England going to translate to Japanese culture?

I personally like the idea of putting romance novels into anime and making a 13 or 26 episode arc to them and then you could have the suspense/crime/thriller dramas.

I can’t get into graphic novels.  I’m so focused on the literature that the pictures are distracting and often not what I imagined the characters or stories to look like.

By the way do they want the female to start on the low, or can the male start on the low and have him get high (sounds like he’s a druggie) through the help of the said female?

On a completely different note, I remember Suzanne Brockmann had a Japanese fan who drew Team 10 in Japanese anime/manga style and Suz made them into bookmarks to give away during her signings.  I still have mine tucked away from about 7 years ago.

WHY?!  Are the novels themselves not enough?  Why do we have to turn every book into a movie and comic book?  I just don’t understand. 

Reading three hundred pages of WORDS?  Without pictures?!  Who would do such a thing?

I’ve tried to read manga, but after so many years of reading lots of words my brain really doesn’t want to read pictures...makes me feel old.

That’s alot of criteria, but maybe it will cause them to be more successful than the mediocrity that is Harlequin...as in, know your market.

I just finished an Aprodisia title that might fit the bill, do they mind erotica?  Private Party by Jamie Alden.

I’ve read one Jamie Alden novella and this full length book, and thoroughly enjoyed both.

I’ll have to think about other titles…

As someone who has been involved with comics for a long time, I’m all for romances being published in graphic format. I write graphic romance novellas for MyRomanceStory.com. But a lot of romance novel readers and writers aren’t interested in a visual experience. Check out all the negative comments on Amazon about Christine Feehan’s comic book adaptation--which is not manga in style at all, by the way, and isn’t even particularly good comic book art, either. These are her very own fans talking, too, and most of them do not have the visual sophistication to critique the art. They just don’t want to read a comic book. Yet her adaptation sold well anyway, because she has such a devoted following. Enough to spawn imitators. All to the good.

The Anita Blake comics use a genuine, manga-inspired art style that I personally find grotesque (tiny heads on huge bodies), but at least it has some beautiful panels of handsome male model type men. Again, a devoted following going from the novel format to the comics format.

Manga is a specialized, stylized graphic format, but not the only one available. (Superman isn’t manga. X-Men isn’t, either. Neither is Minx.) In manga, the men look like very young, effeminate fashion models. Not Fabio types. And Japanese ideas about jailbait sexuality (c’mon, all those schoolgirls in their short uniforms) permeate. Then there are the chibis. How are American romance ideals and stories, let alone typical characters, going to be expressed correctly using a manga art style? No one has figured that out yet. They’re certainly welcome to try, but this publisher is targeting the Japanese audience first, anyway, so we’ll probably end up with more of the same Japanese reprints. They are not American romances. 

As for Harlequin’s manga, they looked nice. But who wants to read a reprint? You don’t start a new, important series with reprints, especially reprints of very old stories. By the time they were reprinting Debbie Macomber, who at least is a little more modern than Charlotte Lamb, no one was paying attention. Harlequin didn’t put any real effort into their American manga.

Hmm...I find that currently I’ve been gobbling up a lot of darker-themed anime series, yaoi manga and romance novels at the same time. Partly because I love a good dramatic story with a lot of emphasis on character development (character centred) and a lot of anime series provide that for me (note: anime is like the moving version of manga ^_~). Since manga is a little more expensive than books, I tend to try out the anime version of it first and from my experience, it’s an untapped treasure trove of great stories and memorable characters.

Contrary to what some of you may think, historical romance, especially Regency, would translate very well into manga form. There is a recurrent theme in Japanese artistic culture of portraying popular historical periods in Europe and America. The Japanese seem to have a fascination with Western culture and are always interpreting it interesting ways. I’ve often thought this was why many anime characters are so white-skinned, or have blond or brown hair and blue eyes.

I started reading yaoi manga (gay love stories in manga) because I was interested in reading more gay romance and couldn’t find that in the romance genre. What I’ve found that I enjoy most about them as a romance fan is that so much of the story is told through the characters’ actions, their expressions, the spaces between them, how they touch each other, the description of their thoughts that contradicts their actions or that make a scene especially powerful through dramatic irony.

I know I’m rambling, but it’s a very minimalist kind of storytelling that can be compared in a way to theatre or movies. You also get to enjoy a variety of art, a lot of it unique and very beautiful. Personally, I love this kind of storytelling for a love story because you can make it very intimate between two or more characters and really show the progression of their emotional and physical relationship through snap-shots of scenes and visuals. A single image can create a powerful impression. I was skeptical at first but love scenes in this format are just as hot as they can be in written format, in a different way. ^_~

Sorry for rambling, I’m just excited about the future artistic formats that romance can take on. Seriously also, popular genres of manga include historical periods, paranormal, magic, suspense, just anything. My only beef with yaoi manga is that it tends to be very sexist and binary. You have your uke (the feminine, submissive bottom, usually blond and angelic) and your seme (the masculine, aggressive top, usually dark and brooding). And there tends to be a lot of themes of non-consent and rape, which I really don’t like to see in my romance.

Little Ray of Sunshine, Lani Diane Rich
Bet Me, Crusie
Life Skills, Katie Fforde

I picked up some manga a while back after trying some recommended anime and really enjoying it-- it was very witty visuals.  I had a problem with the manga I bought because it was trade paperback sized and rather badly printed which made it hard to read.  I ended up scanning the pages and looking at it on the computer screen.  Not ideal.

I doubt if I would bother picking up a contemporary romance reprint in manga form.  I might go with historical though.  Georgette Heyer novels in Manga form.  Yeah, I think I would go for that.

Historicals don’t sell? The Japanese aren’t interested in (European) history?

Somebody ought to tell them! Fast!!! :)

I’m going to keep my temper in check here...but I need to rant.  I write romance manga [sorry, it’s gay romance manga] but I have to compete with the Japanese equivalent [called yaoi] and there are differences; massive ones—mainly cultural and artistic.

How are American romance ideals and stories, let alone typical characters, going to be expressed correctly using a manga art style?

Thank you.  I feel no reason Aurora, now interested in producing original English language manga for the American market, needs to outsource Western stories to Japanese artists. For once, I’d like to see graphic novel publishers embrace Western art. I know manga is all the rage, but one of the things I disliked about the Harlequin series’ licensed by Darkhorse is that they felt alien to me.  Not the stories...after all, they were written in the West to being with, but it was the art. I often got the feeling, as someone who reads ‘drawn’ novels on a regular basis, that somehow the artists weren’t quite in touch with the stories, or the emotions in the stories.  I’m not calling Japanese women unemotional, not by a long shot—but their notions of ‘romance fiction’ aren’t the same as ours, and so when Darkhorse announced these books, I jumped at them.  I was curious, having always been a fan women’s manga [called Josei] Japanese women drawn and write great drama about Japanese women.  I bet some of you would love to read the scant amount of Josei that’s been licensed [by Aurora no less!].  So if Aurora wants to make Western romance manga for western readers…why send the scripts to Japan?

[sighs] For all I know, this might work; perhaps romance fans will embrace ‘manga’ versions of their favorite romances… It just pains me to know that there’s scores of artists here that could do the job, with a full understanding of the subject matter at hand.

Sorry to rant here, I’ll be scurrying away now.

I was glad to see that there are at least two other people that have similar feelings to mine. I really was begining to think I was lost and alone and the only one on earth that loves paranormal, Sci-Fi and erotica doesn’t have a Manga loving gene.

I really just don’t get it. I have no desire to have pictures with my fiction. And there is just NO WAY on earth I could enjoy any type of erotica in Cartoon/Graphic form.

Lol at Sandra Schwab. ^_~ Anyone familiar with Japanese animation or manga knows that that Japanese artists and writers can’t get enough of Western history and culture--sometimes I think there’s more of it in their work than Japanese history and culture. ;)

And Tina, you have every right to go on a rant. I think manga is becoming a very well-known graphic novel format, and as you know, yaoi manga is hugely popular among young Western women. I think the problem is that Western comics and graphic novels have come to be associated with superhero action adventure stories featuring muscled men in spandex and women with big boobs. They seem to have originally been geared toward young white men, just like sci-fi was once only produced and consumed by middle-class white men. And then James Tiptree and Octavia Butler and started kicking ass aka shaking things up in the genre.

So I completely agree with you when you plead for Western art and Western graphic novels to be given a chance. I just feel like I haven’t had a big exposure to what’s out there and I’m sure many romance readers out there haven’t either. For example, where do you find them? Japanese manga is now widely sold in big book stores but where are the Western graphic novels? In comic book stores?

I also agree with you that Western love stories have a different flavour than, say, yaoi manga. There’s a cultural difference as well as a language difference that is apparent even after translation into English. From the sheer quantity of yaoi manga that I’m seeing cropping up and the seeming comfort the Japanese have with androgyny and effeminate characters, I always assumed that Japanese culture was more open and accepting of gays, long before us. But that doesn’t seem to necessarily be the case. It seems more like you can fool around with male lovers if you want but if you’re the oldest son or it’s your responsibility to carry on the family legacy, you’ve got to marry a woman and produce an heir. Many of the ‘happy gay couples’ seem to exist in a self-contained vacuum away from the judgemental eye of society and women are often seen as intruders into gay relationships. Which is kind of a scary paradox, isn’t it? Many yaoi manga artists and writers are female and the majority of the audience for these books is made up of young women. Yet the women characters in these novels are often demonized. =/

Also, there tends to be a generic feel to how the human body is represented in yaoi manga (I know I keep coming back to this, but these texts are what I’ve had the most experience reading). Everyone, even if they’re supposed to be short, is long and lean and kind of androgynous. This tends to be the case in a lot of anime and manga out there as well. Some Japanese artists have moved away from this trend but I find it gets boring after a while.

So, Tina, bring it on! And tell me more. :)

Telling me to bring it on, is likely not a good idea, because I tend to sound ranty and unkind.  :)

As for this:

Anyone familiar with Japanese animation or manga knows that that Japanese artists and writers can’t get enough of Western history and culture

The problem with the Japanese take on western history is, it’s rarely ever correct.  LOL!  Sometimes you get a gem of a manga, where the mangaka [the manga author/artist] actually knows something about the history they’re depicting, and you end up with a well-rounded historical...even it’s just smut, it’s forgivable.  Yet a large portion of manga tends to be historically off: Dark skinned Rabbi fights warlord in 18th century China while wielding a Crucifix, all for the sake of the sixteen year old Tibetan girl who’s mother was really a Princess from India… <--not an actual plot, but I dare anyone to argue with me that this wouldn’t get printed in Japan. 0_o. 

About the Aurora thing:

Thinking more on this, perhaps this might work, in the long run, with women manga fans getting the good end of the deal.

One of the things that kept me from embracing the Harlequin licenses was the plots that I hated, even when they were in English.  :( They were sent to Japan for Japanese readers, because they contained plot devices that depicted only the male positive/women=doorstop sort of characters.  Most women in these old books were brainless knobs who equated sex with love, and jumped into a series of bad relationships because they don’t know any better--until, tada! a ‘man-unit’ shows up to reveal just how worthless they are, and only through man-unit, can our woman find self-esteem and relationship salvation. 

Of all the romance manga I’ve read, I’ve yet to find one where the heroine comes to an emotional epiphany on her own and changes her life for the better.  This must always happen only after –rape, whoring, or Prince ‘man-unit’ comes along and leads her out of her own romantic decay. [puke]. I tended to avoid fiction like this, but these plots were a plenty once upon a time, and these were the sort of books sent to Japan and made into romance Manga.  Now sure, a novel like this can be read and tossed aside in about 300 pages, but with manga, the sh*t goes on for volumes [sometimes two or three—sometimes up to 6!]. (>_<) and now that dated crap is ending up back here, as licenses from Japan.  It’s like tossing out a pair of jeans because they make your ass look fat, and then getting the same pair of jeans from your mother during the holidays--because she remembered you mentioning them once, and thought she’d get you a pair.  /rant.

If Aurora can get a better plot or two from this experiment, then I’m all for it...however, by insisting on illustrating these plots in the ‘manga style’ I don’t think they’re going to make the sort of book that serves as a gateway drug to bring in romance novel readers, to manga.  I think they’re only going to acquire new readers from the mature women all ready into manga.

Sorry for another long rant on your comments thread SBs, but this subject matter hits just a tad too close to home for me—but I can guarantee you this...you wont be seeing man-titty on a Japanese romance manga, for ladies.

^_^

I remember picking up one of Harlequin’s attempts at my regular comic shop, just to see what it was like.  Romance Reader and Comic Geek are two very different types, and it’s hard to admit to being both.  I figured that if it was done well, I could tell people at the comic shop about good romances and they wouldn’t think I was nuts, and agree that it’s just a genre like any other.

I opened it.

Exact quote from me: “Oh dear god, it’s all in pink.”

So, yeah.  I reccomend using black ink and including sci fi/paranormal adaptations in this attempt.

(also, the manga ‘Emma’ is done by a Japanese author/artist and is set in Victorian England.  It’s pretty awesome.)

Reading three hundred pages of WORDS?  Without pictures?!  Who would do such a thing?

BITE ME

I don’t take offense at you not liking graphic novels - so why the snark for all of us that do?

I like stories.  I like words.  I like pictures.  I like them all separately.  I like them all together.

I also happen to love children’s literature as well as literature for adults, and that includes gorgeously and intelligently illustrated picture books - for people of all ages.

It’s fine if you aren’t into art as much as some of the rest of us.  I’m a complete neophyte when it comes to music.  But do try to share your own preferences without insulting the rest of us.

And you may want to try reading American Born Chinese, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Arrival, and/or Maus before making any further judgments about the quality of graphic novels in comparison to other literature.

I think turning romances into graphic novels - not manga - is a great idea. I’m not a fan of graphic novels myself, but I do think plenty of romances would fit well into such a format. Especially the more “derring-do” kind.

Why no to manga specifically? As has been mentioned, most (all?) manga feature characters who look barely post-pubescent to my eyes. Even with the exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics of some (ick). So perhaps teen romances might work using that style, but if we’re trying to talk about adults, no. Of course, if the target audience is Japanese, the drawing style would probably suit fine, even if the protagonists are at least in their 20s.

But I think I’d rather see it done “Western style” in preference as well. As we’re talking about Western romances, I think it’s a better fit. And at least you get adult characters.

I’m not the one that made the comment about “300 pages of Words” but I think it’s equally wrong to say someone must not be into art as much as the rest if they aren’t into Manga.
That’s like saying you must not be into music if you don’t like one particular type of music.
I love art, I minored in art histroy but I don’t like manga. I understand it’s place in the art world but it’s still not my personal taste at all. That doesn’t mean I can’t be just as in art as someone that loves it.

BITE ME

I would, but you don’t give me the impression of being particularly tasty.

I like art and literature perfectly fine, thanks.  And I’ve read my share of comics.  But you’re going to have a fun time explaining to me why Dragon Ball Z is art, why Yu Gi Oh is literature, and why it is at all necessary to condense an already short romance novel into 50 pages of (most likely poorly drawn) pictures.

Why turn novels into graphic art? For the same reason one would turn novels into movies—it’s a completely different artform. Sometimes the transfer is unsuccessful, sometimes it’s much better than the original work (Crichton’s Rising Sun). And sometimes, it’s just completely different(Howl’s Moving Castle—which is anime and a movie). On a crass level, it gives the creator some extra pocket money.

But, graphic art romances have been done—I remember reading my mom’s old comics. Sample story: new bride just about kills herself cleaning house and cooking to be the Perfect Wife; kindly doctor tells her she doesn’t have to endanger her health, happy ending.

I see no reason why we can’t come up with modern stories made for the graphic novel.

That said, I agree with Bet Me—that’d have some great visuals! (-: Not sure how the heroine would translate into a manga-body, but hey, effort counts!

Also, if manga is all about Man-to-the-Rescue, early Alice Hoffman would be a great bet. The movie Practical Magic was extremely popular here in Japan.

Tips: someone important almost always has to die right before the end of the climax. At least, that’s the pattern for NHK dramas.

I agree that it would be great fun to write a storyline for a modern True Romance comic book! Especially one aimed at the Japanese audience. The Japanese audience is very accepting of some pretty kooky concepts . . . .

Is there anyone else who thinks that the thought of adapting actual novels to graphic novels, or indeed, ‘manga’ is a very bad idea?

Why rehash on a thing that already flourishes by its own right? I think the manga adaptation of ‘Emma’ is a very different thing. Emma is a classic. It is like adapting Dracula, or Romeo and Juliet. An adaptation is very different from a retelling. A retelling, as recent graphic novels (such as the Baby Sitters Club series) really have been, seems like a useless exercise.

You can use the ‘well, manga turns into anime’ argument; or ‘books turn into movies’. but really, that is a case of cultural misinterpretation. Manga is a graphic novel. It is a literary work in its own right. Reproducing an existing book as a manga, however, is like publishing two of the same. Yeah, there’s pictures, but what does it ADD? Really, question this.

Another thing is that manga isn’t successful only because it is a graphic novel. It is because it is presenting a very different way of storytelling, and stories themselves due to the very different lifestyle and culture of the Japanese. While I understand why corporations would be eager to cash into the phenomenom, and why individuals would like to emulate the ways of this successful method of storytelling, more people need to understand that ‘manga’ isn’t just a method or style. It is a culture within a culture. Terms like josei, yaoi, shoujo and seinen are just the tip of the iceberg.

I was totally stoked for the Dorchester Shomi line that was going to have a Manga FEEL without the illustrations.  It has tanked, but my opinion is it was bad management.  I picked up the first two titles and didn’t like either.

Would really love to see it take off somewhere.

But you’re going to have a fun time explaining to me why Dragon Ball Z is art, why Yu Gi Oh is literature...

I wont say bite me...but calling out two action series written for teen-boys in Japan as your basis for the ‘graphic novel’ medium, isn’t very fair.  :/ There’s been some brilliant graphic novels out there, and some of them do come from Japan.  The boys and girls ‘manga’ that’s so popular here, shouldn’t be the only basis for your opinion on Japanese comics overall.  That’d be like saying all American film is nothing but Rambo and American Pie.  :/

There a wealth of mature manga out there [and by mature I do not mean porn] that’s intended for Adult readers--Japan releases it by demographic: older men, older ladies, teen boys, teen girls, etc.  DBZ and Yu Gi Oh?  Those are kids comics.

^_^
Just saying.

Umm, one thing I don’t understand with the definitions here: I take it shoujo manga isn’t romance manga for you?

Jan at Dear Author.com has done a great job reviewing shoujo fantasy and romances which could draw in romance readers, too (with the occasional excellent romance anime - Princess Tutu I’m looking at you - thrown in).

I’m 41 this year and I’ve always read romance, fantasy, scifi, superhero comics, independet comics and manga.

I would like to break a lance for From Far Away and Fruits Basket at least.

Sorry for going so off-topic.

Do we really want to start deciding for others what art and literature are?

Jesus.

Knock it off or I’ll vote Democrat.  I’ll do it!  I’M NOT KIDDING!

word: history89
like Reagan is still in!

There’s been some brilliant graphic novels out there, and some of them do come from Japan.

And you’ll notice that none of them are based on romance novels or put out by Aurora Publishing.

Still, no one has decided to answer my original question of why turning an already short romance novel into an even shorter booklet of pictures is necessary.  Instead I’m called a philistine for thinking that this is just a waste of ISBNs and trees.  But of course, I’m the one insulting everyone for simply asking a question.

Also, sorry for straying off topic.

shoujo manga isn’t romance manga?

Hi Estera, there’s many kinds of shoujo stories: sci-fi, action, romance, horror, comedy; what makes them shoujo is that they’re written and drawn for a specific audience, mostly young women.  Saying shoujo is all romance would be, wrong--romance is just an aspect of much of the shoujo in Japan.  There’s romance in Seinen [mens comics] as well [Emma, for example, is serialized in a Japanese ‘mens’ comic magazine].  ^_^ Just because it’s shoujo doesn’t mean it’s romance--it does mean it’s likely to have romantic elements. ^_-

Here’s a great post about how some of these ‘genre categories’ really shouldn’t/should apply to western graphic novel readers.

Still, no one has decided to answer my original question of why turning an already short romance novel into an even shorter booklet of pictures is necessary.

LOL!  Didn’t see your question Delia, sorry.  :)

It’s all about acquiring new readers.  Manga isn’t mainstream, not yet--and this would be a great coup [MONEY-MAKER] if Aurora can be the pub who gets in the door with all those Romance novel readers.  Personally, I think only fans of ‘romance manga’ will benefit from exporting great western novel plots.  :)

Why are we even considering crossing a perfectly respectable genre with such a horrible, immature genre?  Sure, there’s some horribly bad examples out there, but that’s hardly demonstrative of everything that’s published. There’s some real gems, with countless different themes, that tend to get overlooked.  I could give you a list as long as my arm of horrible pieces of dreck, thinly-veiled porn that claims to be literature.

. . .

Care to guess which genre I’m referring to in each position?  The argument can be switched around wiht surprising ease.  Both manga and romance are viewed poorly by those who don’t know what they’re talking about; not all romance follows a formula and not all manga is drawn like the characters are children with large breasts.

Also, my manga tends to be closer to 120-150 pages, rather than 50.  Why so short?

The manga I read tends to be a 160-200+ pages per volume. A single chapter or one-shot comic might be 20 to 50 pages, but a whole volume? Unlikely for a professional manga.

Delia, there’s nothing insulting about your question. I’m not interested in reading manga-adapted romance novels either. I’m quite happy with the original romance manga that’s out there already.
However, your implication that comic readers are simply too lazy to read a book is pretty insulting.
I happen to be a great lover of both manga and books (even the ones without pictures).

It’s okay to admire a drawing. That’s art.
It’s okay to enjoy a written story. That’s literature.
Bring the two mediums together and suddenly all artistic and literary value is lost. That’s just stupid.

As someone who actually lives in Japan and reads “Ladies comics”, I would like to clear up some misconceptions in this thread.  Ladies comics (as opposed to “shoujo comics") have been around for ages in Japan.  There are tens of comic publications other than Harlequin (which still exists in Japan) which are essentially very similar to the “trashy” romance novels of the west: loaded with beautiful characters and plenty of passionate love scenes.  Most of these stories are written in the short story format, but a few are several volumes long.  Many of these publications also include written stories inside that have no comic accompaniment. In regards to the original post, it’s a very possible idea, but do realize that there’s an established market already that is probably pretty competitive.

I have to say that no matter what you do, it still won’t replace the feeling you get from reading a novel.  Christine Feehan has released “Dark Hunger” in Mnaga format but it really seems to be no more than another comic book.  I know this is probably very controversial but to me Manga books are no more than comic books for those who can’t be bothered to read.

Don’t get me wrong, the genre at least reaches and hopefully prods people into “real” reading, but apart from some enjoyable movies I personally can’t be bothered with Manga books.

manga is good for smexy boox
put in lotsa tits or gtfo

and penii to go into the tits

and tentacle monster

and rape

and more rape

and aggravated sexual assault

and a 40lbs box of rape

and a situation in which a person of the male gender might later be asking forgiveness from a person of the female gender because, previous to the current situation, he did not ask permission to…
.
.
.
.
.
RAPE her

It’s all about acquiring new readers.

Sort of.  See: other’s people comments about movies.

In this particular case however, it seems more like the publishers are doing sort of a double cultural translation.  They aren’t just translating the language, they are also translating the dominant art form used for this length of story.  In America it’s text, in Japan it’s manga.  It’s a decision that makes a lot of sense in terms of marketing.

But you’re going to have a fun time explaining to me why Dragon Ball Z is art, why Yu Gi Oh is literature,

I just gave you four award winning graphic novels - three of which happen to be for teens or younger - and you come back with once again equating an entire art form with it’s version of dime novels?  That’s like arguing that there shouldn’t be a Oscar for best animated feature by pointing the the Care Bears movies.

I have to say that no matter what you do, it still won’t replace the feeling you get from reading a novel.

Well, no. But no one is asking it to.  And reading a novel won’t replace what it felt like to watch Star Wars in the theatre, nor would listening to an audiobook version of The Invention of Hugo Cabret replace reading the graphic novel.

NHS - I didn’t mean to imply that, but obviously the way I worded my comment did imply that.  Sorry.  (Art history minors unite!) Although, may I suggest the middle two books I mentioned earlier?  (ducks) Seriously though, I think a part of the dislike for graphic novels from many people who like art comes from the cartoonish style that most graphic novels use.  These aren’t very cartoonish looking.  Not saying that you have to like them, just that you might.

Noah - But...but..but....I like the Babysitter’s Club graphic novels!  :)

Who would have thought that readers of this excellent site would be so culturally narrow minded.

The manga in production are firstly for the Japanese market - why are so many of you commenting on how you are not interested since you “gave up comics/picture books as a kid”?

That’s pretty ignorant to say, since manga is not comics or childrens picture books.

And really those of you worried about Japanese literacy rate is very high, nothing to do with reading less or more manga compared to text books.

Please think about you comments are going to be culturally offensive before posting

I thought it was just the internet, but apparently comic books are SERIOUS BUSINESS too!

Chill out, guys.  Not everyone is going to agree that Harlequin-with-pictures is Pulitzer-worthy, just like not everyone is going to agree that plain-old-Harlequin is Pulitzer-worthy.

If anything, I’m wondering whether the conversion of individual romance novels into manga would fail because the results would be too *short*. Successful manga series routinely run more than ten or twenty volumes, each one of which collects ~10 weekly installments of ~20 pages each. I have no idea how well individual standalone volumes are likely to sell.

It seems to me that the logical step would be to convert the romances into the Japanese “light novel” format instead: mostly text, but with some full-page illustrations scattered through. Among other things, this would require much less artwork, at least at first; some light novels have done well enough to spawn numerous sequels and multimedia franchises in their own right.

Julie L.: True; most manga do run for many volumes. But there are also many single volume stories, and short stories (LOTS of them) that run for a single chapter. My favourite romance (and science-fiction) manga is A,A’ (pronounced A, A Prime), now sadly out of print, and that’s three interconnected short stories collected in a single volume.

Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer includes lots of gorgeous visuals of rural Georgia, many of which move the plot along (the rescue and rebirth of a dilapidated farm).  The hero and heroine meet when neither of them has anywhere to go but up.  And there are lots of visually interesting characters throughout the story--Miyazaki would enjoy animating them, although none of them can fly (grin).  The spicy bits move the book up to an R rating, I think--but people who don’t like those visuals can flip past them without hurting the plot.  There’s a murder, a near-miscarriage of justice, some cute children, a strong woman giving birth, tender scenes of breastfeeding, cowboys, animal characters, and more.  But it’s set just before and during World War II (although the Japanese aren’t even mentioned IIRC).

I find the disdain expressed here about storytelling in a visual medium pretty insular. I wonder who complained when Shakespeare took some old prose story and repurposed it in a nasty, dirty, visual medium? Like Romeo and Juliet? He actually has them in bed together! Eek! And that nurse was really vulgar. Horrors! And there’s blood. And dead bodies, too.

And who complained when somebody else turned them into operas, ballets, oil paintings, music boxes, movies, cartoons, musicals, and more?

If you don’t want to give any respect to another art form, how are you going to win any respect for your own?

Whatever you do, please God, get Colleen Doran to draw it.

http://www.adistantsoil.com
http://www.colleendoran.com

She’s one of the few artists with a manga flavor to her work whose characters aren’t grotesque parodies of Japanese comics. She draws the hottest men, ever.

Please, please please, get her. An artist who draws majorly hot men. Please. I’m begging you.

I’m a bit disappointed at the dearth of knowledge about manga, here. Some of the sniping levelled at manga really resembles the sniping oftne levelled at romance novels - i.e. it’s all silly fluff, all crap, all for juveniles, on and on and on.

Neil Gaiman has more than proved that a visual-textual medium can tell a fantastic story; as for fantastic manga stories, let’s see. There’s Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha. There’s the damned untouchable Lone Wolf and Cub. For romance in girls’ manga (shoujo) genre, Hana Yori Dango is really darn good. The heroine takes crap from no one, knocks sense into a sometimes-immature love interest without the ‘i must chaaange youuu’ routine, and even under duress never falls into the nauseatingly-noble victorian-trope suffering heroine nonsense.

As for ‘all the men are femme’ - not so much. CLAMP’s Tokyo Babylon (doomed romance) features a broad-shouldered magnificent bastard by the name of Seishirou. Sure, there are superfemme manga guys as surely as there’s mantitty, but it’s not all sparkles and flower petals.

What else is good? Rose of Versailles for historical romance (Lady Oscar is amazing), Revolutionary Girl Utena for modern, trippy historical romance flavor with a supernatural sprinkle (the anime adaptation for this is beyond excellent), Saiyuki for a crunchy, gritty, FUN retelling of Journey to the West… That’s all I can think of right now. They might not be everyone’s cup of tea, YMMV, etc.

oh hello, confirm-post word: served91, as in ‘i am about to get...’ Pardon the impetuous newbie; I simply have a slight twitch about the disdain for comics and graphic novels as storytelling media, and a more-than-slight twitch at the colonialist/slightly-xenophobic bent that the disdain for manga often takes on.