Comics

Now I've been a big comic book fan all of my life. I started collecting them back in the mid-70's but stopped somewhere in the late-90's because they just got too expensive; $4.00 for a 20 page comic is just too much for me. Plus, you only really have two choices in America - body builders in spandex or Archie.

In Japan, comics are called manga and unlike in the US, they have tons of different types of manga available - they have manga about food, gardening, raising kids, race car drivers, even body builders in spandex. Manga is much more down to earth than comics and as a result people of all ages read them. It is not taboo to see an old man on the train reading manga like reading comics is in the US.

Above is one of my favorite manga called Saint Oniisan or Saint Young Men in English. It is the story of Jesus and Buddha sharing an apartment in modern day Tokyo. Funny things happen all the time like little kitties wanting to sacrifice themselves because Jesus says he is hungry, people in the 7-11 mistake Jesus for Johnny Depp and it also explains why Jesus really walks on water. You can read the translated issues here: http://www.mangapanda.com/1406/saint-oniisan.html if you are interested.

Manga is very cheap in Japan, you can get a 500 page book for about $2.50! Also, characters are always written and drawn by the creators, other artists and writers do not take over the book. Once the creator finishes his run, the story ends and the character (no matter how popular) is done. As a result, Japanese manga doesn't need gimmicks like The Death of Superman or Knightfall to keep the characters fresh.

Another big difference in Japan is the back issue market. In the US many collectors buy comics in the hopes that they will become rare and increase in value, that will never happen in Japan. as back issues are frequently reprinted and as a result, issues will never be worth more than their cover price.

Once I learn to read Japanese, my wife is going to hate me.