The last few years have been absolutely tremendous for American comics. From the omnipresence of superheroes at the cineplex to the appearance of graphic novels on the shortlists of literary awards; from the huge demand for graphic novels in libraries to the growing acceptance of comics in the stacks and in the classroom; from the increasing diversity of comics creators, characters, and readers to the runaway success of SMILE and SAGA and everything in between… all these things and more show us that American comics are reaching more readers with a wider range of stories than ever before.
And with all that success, American comics are still miles behind manga.
In Japan, they’ve known about the power of comics as a storytelling medium for more than a century, and mangaka have been reaching the entire reading public for generations. It’s common to see people of all ages reading manga on the street on any imaginable subject. Entire genres of manga exist to serve the seemingly smallest niches. Even a cursory flip through the catalog you are holding in your very hands will show you the incredible breadth of manga and make any red-blooded, comics-loving American yearn for a homegrown scene as robust and wild.
Fortunately, bringing exciting manga to America is something that Viz has always excelled at. You’ve got ninja action, bawdy comedy, light-hearted romance, heavy and yearning romance, kid detectives, Lovecraftian monsters, historical drama, and mind-bending sci-fi all at your fingertips! The offerings herein represent some of the very best and most sought after manga out there and even the most clueless riajuu* will get a good taste from these pages.
So what is it about manga that inspires such devotion -- devotion that will translate into heavy circulation for you, dear librarian reader? One answer lies adjacent to visual literacy, and the broad appeal of highly visual texts. More and more educators are talking about how important visual literacy is for the way that we interact with our world today, and anyone who spends time on the Internet (so, everyone) is navigating the relationships between words and pictures.
And what else is all about words and pictures? Comics! And in particular manga, which sails beyond the representational nature of Western styles into bold expressionism. Emotions aren’t always conveyed through verbal exposition. A character doesn’t have to say that they’re in love; the sudden proliferation of flowers and mist that swirl around them in a moment of affection shows the reader how they feel, and helps the reader feel it, too. The blur of motion in a character’s action, the dark clouds of a bad mood, and wildly exaggerated facial expressions of every sort. We can see why reluctant readers are so drawn to the medium: the drama and the feeling and the action leaps off the page bringing the reader in, and they are empowered by that understanding. The Japanese language is pictographic by nature, so it’s no surprise manga artists are able to get so much across in such a compact format.
Manga storylines also tend to go on for years, spanning dozens of volumes. While this helps grow dedicated readership over time, we know that committing a lot of shelf space to a single story might make some librarians hesitant. Fortunately Viz sells 3-in-1 omnibus editions of many of their most popular that make getting into a series a little less daunting (and replacing worn-out copies a little more cost-effective). Most likely, you’ll notice that you can’t keep them on the shelves in the first place!
It’s doubtless that your graphic novel collections are ready to grow, so take a moment to use this catalog to beef up your manga, too. Flip to the section laid out for your age group, broken down from pre-school reader to adult (Viz are conveniently very clear about their age ratings) and get ready to dive in. Everyone in your library will be a dedicated otaku in no time.
