My, I haven’t written a serious essay for a long time, and do I miss my two-fisted style of writing. I HAVE been on alot of discussion threads though, and while the amount of information I’ve posted up would be more than several essays, there is one particular thread reply that has made me swing into academic mode (today). This comes from the death throes of the infamous Comicon thread that’s been doing the rounds for a while, and now that it’s gone completely off-topic I thought it would be useful to write something up.

The discussion had turned briefly into this subject, and while I made my reply there, I decided to do an independent evaluation on manga art VS mainstream western comics art, and how big a difference this makes in consumer spending.

 

Introduction
It’s no secret that manga often has poor draftsmanship in comparison to superhero comics, and that alot of mainstream Western artists think that manga artists can’t draw. Even Japanese manga artists think so, though they can rest on their laurels knowing that their works sell alot more than superhero works. But before this blossoms into a full-scale debate, we should first define “draftsmanship” and ensure that we are looking at the concept with an international and not merely a Western perspective.

“Draftsmanship”, as defined by dictionary.com, merely means someone who can plan and draw, and perhaps that’s where the biggest differences of opinion comes in. What does it mean to “be able to draw”? I’m assuming it means drawing well, and that good draftsmanship means structural and anatomical accuracy of the art, and the amount of semblance to realism in the linework and composition. At least, that’s what people trained in Western art consider “draftsmanship” and “good art” to be, and it’s an attitude that has a long-standing Western tradition. It’s also a mildly Orientalist attitude, because it almost automatically discounts any form of art that doesn’t consider anatomical structure to be important.

 

What Exactly is “Good Art”?
If you’re not trained in Western art theory, you’re going to have a field day with this one – not least because it tangles with out-dated colonial attitudes. All non-Western cultures have their own artistic traditions, and if you were to argue that good art means Raphael-like attention to anatomy, you’re dismissing the entire artistic output of several civilisations. In relation to manga, this historical and cultural aspect is particularly important. Because manga is the inheritor of Japanese art traditions, its emphasis has always been on highly-stylised art and abstraction over realism. Besides, most people would know that Japanese art has had a hand in influencing 20th century art movements (such as Impressionism).

But even so, to say that most manga has bad draftsmanship will be overlooking the artists that are truly skilled. Manga art emphasises different things to superhero art, and many artists find ways to work abstractions to their advantage – to the extent that many manga artists have no formal art training. Now, certainly alot of people believe that you should learn to draw “real” first before you “simplify” – but that’s outside the scope of this essay. What’s important is whether manga art is at a disadvantage on the bookshelves in the minds of general readers. And perhaps that’s the one thing that most people over look when discussing manga art VS superhero art – the reader response.

 

Comic Readers and the Art
Well, this one is really a no-brainer. I vouch that superhero art is drawn better than alot of manga art, but if the sales charts are a sign, the vast majority of readers simply don’t care. It’s much like anime compared to Disney animation – Disney is by far the better animator, while anime doesn’t even MOVE in many circumstances – but it’s easy to tell which one is getting the sales. You can probably argue that diversity is the real selling-point of manga, however, even if Western comics were as diverse as manga, there’s no guarantee that it will sell better than manga because the art is superior. In fact, alot of manga with excellent art isn’t selling as well as manga with not-so-fantastic renderings (Planetes’ unspectacular sales comes to mind).

This may have more to do with the age range of the current manga audience, but I also wonder whether there is another side of the equation. It’s established that more anatomically-correct art is GOOD, though it doesn’t affect general sales by much – however, is there something about highly-stylised art that gives it an ADVANTAGE over more anatomically-correct, realistic art? Does highly-stylised art tap into something in a typical manga reader’s mind that more realistic art does not?

 

Stylised Art
Stylised art can be anything that is simplified or not realistic – be they exaggerated art styles on purpose or just by plain bad drawing. And most manga work on a simplified form – even the more realistic ones (Berserk springs to mind) – which despite an incredible amount of detail, is still just really detailed cartooning.

I was pondering whether there is an advantage to having a more simplified art style, and perhaps there is. There is one thing simplified art does that realistic art doesn’t – it encourages readers to attempt to copy the art. Because stylised art has such simple linework, it gives the impression that a total non-artist can copy it and draw their own favorite characters in their spare time, which in terms of popular appeal is incredibly important.

 

Stylised Art and Popular Appeal
How many (young) people, Japanese or not, started off drawing manga by doodling in their favourite artist’s style? Many, including myself, and now I draw professionally (and not having formal training is beginning to bite me in the butt). It’s something that explains why most manga artists don’t have art training – they work in a readily-accessible stye that is understood by their peers, and which all their friends can join in even if they can only draw heads. The simplified manga art-style is something that encourages self-practise, not least because it gives the IMPRESSION that it can be mastered without a fine arts degree. It also heightens the degree of interactivity between the fan artists, and the art. It’s no wonder that manga has more fan artist communities drawing it than anything else in the world.

In terms of pure artistry, this must sound horrible. But perhaps from a commercial perspective, it feeds into and somewhat explain the success of manga-style art, both in and outside Japan. It’s “pandering” to popular tastes and preferences – much like highly-successful TV shows such as Australian (American) Idol. If World Idol is any indication, no idol winner will ever sing as well as Ray Charles. But that matters little to the core audience of the show, who watch it mainly to feed into their fantasies of the so-called 15-minutes of fame, but also because they enjoy seeing people who are only a little more talented than they are gain fame and fortune. If you’re looking for mainstream blockbuster appeal, then the commercialised aspect is something you cannot ignore.

 

In Conclusion
Looking at the current Western manga landscape, you’re already beginning to see this form of mass-appeal boomerang back in terms of money. TOKYOPOP’s Rising Stars of Manga is a good example – like the talent-scouting competitions run by the Japanese manga zasshi, it’s a competition that encourages its readers to enter by offering them a shot at stardom. The people who buy the book are the same people as those who enter it, and the competition encourages total mange newbies by hinting that you DON’T need to be a grand art-whiz to score a place. In comparison, if there was a superhero fanart contest going around, I wouldn’t enter it even if I was a total fanatic. Largely because drawing superhero art takes a fair amount of training, and the superiority of the art is apparent to the random reader who won’t even try to copy the art because it’s so well-done.

All in all, I’ve mused about the commercial aspects of stylised art and why it’s appealing, but I haven’t talked about the aesthetics of manga – that which makes it appealing to young children. This is a cultural and age difference that’s probably best for another essay, not least because it harkens back to what you’re exposed to when you’re young. But for the time being, I think I’ve pointed out that stylised can score an audience advantage and how.