Several manga publishers appear to be having difficulty these days, but then, who isn’t. Aurora Publishing is selling stock at 90% off.
So what does this all mean? Was Elisa laid-off in preparation of shutting down the office or did she simply leave the company? Are the phones disconnected as a way to save money during these lean times or is this just another step towards shutting down the office altogether? Is this major sale with slashed prices a way to liquidate their remaining stock to offset their losses or just a way to build up some capital to keep publishing?
When manga first made it to the wild west, and all things manga sold like crazy, a lot of fans assumed that once their fave book was here it would always be here.
Alas, almost every manga title I truly enjoyed did not sell nearly as well as the fanservice stuff. With a couple of exceptions, most are now out of print in US editions. While I expect a lot of titles will go web only, I would grab the dead tree version while you can. There is no guarantee you will be able to get these editions in future, unless some publishers go POD. (I’ve seen some OOP anime available web only, but I have no idea if its legit.)
When comic creators hit middle age.
Think of Kirby, Ditko, Kane, and Eisner (and maybe also John Stanley). All these cartoonists started off as journeymen artists, had a mid-life crisis which made them try do more artistically ambitious work, but ended up being thwarted either by the limits of their talent or the constraints of marketplace.
Earlier, related posts on this subject at A DistantSoil.com.
Old Masters and Young Geniuses:
A late-blooming economist named David Galenson has spent years studying the nature of creativity and genius, and has determined that the creative life isn’t limited to teen wonders. He postulates that there are two types of innovators – of a tortoise and hare duality – and that the continuum of creativity peaks early for conceptualists who usually do their most important work by age 30, and experimentalists, who often peak quite late into middle age, such as Frank Lloyd Wright (who created his architectual masterpiece Fallingwater when he was 70) or Mark Twain (who didn’t find his unique writer’s voice until well into adulthood).
Practice, Not Genius, Makes Perfect:
The results were clear-cut, with little room for any sort of inscrutable God-given talent. The elite musicians had simply practiced far more than the others. “That’s been replicated for all sorts of things — chess players and athletes, dart players,” says Ericsson. “The only striking difference between experts and amateurs is in this capability to deliberately practice.” The group even determined the number of hours musicians must play to compete at the highest professional level — about 10,000, the equivalent of practicing four hours a day, every day, for almost seven years.
The eccentric, 1980′s era The Desert Peach by Donna Barr is now available as a webcomic. I wish I had thought to make my comic art pages that large for web viewing. Curses.
Very unusual, and original work by Ms. Barr. The site isn’t getting much traffic, but it has been online for some time. Give it a look.
Roberto Macedo Alves, the proprietor of The Seventh Dimension comic shop in Funchal, Portugal has posted a number of photos and links about the disastrous floods on the island of Madeira. My time in Portugal will remain with me as one of the happiest professional experiences of my life.
Many warm wishes to Roberto, Joao, Joana, and Rafaela, and happy hopes for your families, and all the people of Funchal.
ooOoooo Desert Peach! *link* at one time I think I had every issue of this (and Stinz as well, which actually I liked more…)
Ah the 80′s, before the internet, when all the good flamewars were fought on the pages of “Amazing Heroes”…
(oh, and btw, look at the list of some of the THOUSANDS of authors who have opted out of the Googledammerung…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/23/authors-opt-out-google-book-settlement
lets see how long it takes them to loophole their way out of this one…)
Yeah, I saw that. I’ve got a couple of Google articles to link in the next day or so.
Thanks!
Desert Peach used to be very controversial. Not so much now, I guess.
It makes me sad to see some very good comics getting buried by the sheer volume of webcomics out there.
Yay, Desert Peach!
On the issue of middle age affecting an artist’s perspective:
Frank Miller did the following books at the following ages:
Dark Knight Returns: 29
Daredevil: Born Again: same age
Batman: Year One: 30
Hard Boiled and Give me Liberty: 33
first Sin City: 34
Big Guy and Rusty: 37
300: 41
All-Star Batman and directing the Spirit film: 48
I think this tends to bear out the middle aged stifling referred to in the article. YMMV, of course.
I also think Miller’s a dangerous, very talented child.
Well, that is one example (and a matter of opinion,) but we could counter with many examples of artists who did not hit their stride until they were middle aged.
One may define Miller as middle age and stifled, while others would see Miller as an artist branching into a new medium: film.
Most of the examples you list are the works of a middle-aged Frank Miller. How do we know that it is mid-life crises that defines the works we like and the works we don’t? “Constraints of the marketplace”? “Limits of his talent”?
I’m not sure I’ve seen everything Frank can do, and I look forward to seeing what he does next.
Cartoonist Hal Foster did not even start “Prince Valiant” until he was in his 40′s, and that is a masterwork. Art Spiegleman was a middle-aged man when he created “Maus”. Jeff Smith followed up his children’s book “Bone” with the more mature and complex “Rasl”.
A creative person’s best years are not behind them when they hit 30 (which I define as middle aged. The article never seems to define exactly what that is, or when mid-life crises starts). Anecdotal evidence about some creators does not prove anything about others. Life experience affects any artist’s perspective. And the addition of years to that life is not a flaw.
The one thing every cartoonist with whom I have ever spoken agrees on: drawing comics is hard labor. When we get into our 30′s, it’s harder to pull those all-nighters. While it takes less time to draw complex pieces, we can’t work as many hours. We are forced to change our work habits. Some older cartoonists can’t or won’t do the monthly grind of the journeyman anymore. It’s grueling.
That last may be going off topic, but I’m not so sure. The physical demands of creating major works are often ignored.
Let us not forget Jack Kirby was 55 when creating the Fourth World material. And Will Eisner only started hitting his stride at 60. Joe Kubert is still producing darn fine, challenging work right now at age 83.
I’m with you, Allan. I think one of the points in the article is that the later work by these creators that you and I admire is not up to snuff. I just don’t agree.
Joe Sacco is 49. It’s all over for him, now.
The Desert Peach (and other fine Donna Barr texts) are available as print-on-demand books. That’s right! A copy of DP, printed especially for you!
I feel their should be a special Eisner Award for Creator Most Deserving of Re-Recognition. It would be juried, one person selected each year, given GOH status at CCI:SD, with a brief video tribute at the Awards Banquet. The individual should have at least ten years of comics experience, and be somewhat obscured. Kinda like what Mark Evanier does with the forgotten Golden Agers, bringing them back for some laurels.
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Heh… Ms. Doran, where do YOU fit in, in this theoretical genius timeline? Perhaps a Picasso, one who mastered the craft at an early age, then kept creating steadily and expirementally throughout one’s career?
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Yes, FLW did design Fallingwater late in his career, but he did quite a bit before then! Fallingwater was comissioned by the owner’s son, who was a student of Wright at Taliesin. I think he is defined as a genius who was known as such, and did not suffer indifference like many of the artists mentioned above.
Here is my observation: it takes a lot of hard work and many years to become an overnight sensation. Unfortunately, too many of us want the standard “rich and famous” contract, not realizing that it only works if you’re a singing frog.
“Heh… Ms. Doran, where do YOU fit in, in this theoretical genius timeline? Perhaps a Picasso, one who mastered the craft at an early age, then kept creating steadily and expirementally throughout one’s career?”
Good God! Er, not quite so lofty.
One not-fan wrote me years ago to excoriate me and my work by comparing me to teen idol Tiffany trying to make a comeback.
The letter was kind of funny, despite being so vicious.
As for early success; I think it can be a real handicap. Some creators are psychologically frozen. They feel no need to improve once having gotten easy status early.
Young creators get way too many props simply for being fresh. Veteran creators are held to a much higher standard.
If you are often told you are just fine as you are when you are 25, you may be foolish enough to believe it.
Your point about Miller’s age in my examples is well-taken. I deliberately pulled examples from what many consider to be middle age to make my point. I think his work has lost its shine over the years, with some notable exceptions. But I recognize my bias in this. In Miller’s case, I’m so put off by some of the attitudes reflected in his later work that I have a hard time objectively judging the work itself. And The Spirit movie was nobody’s shining hour in my estimation.
Three more creators come to mind whose work, in my estimation at least, evolved throughout their professional lives: Russ Manning, Gil Kane and Curt Swan.
Yeah, I’m old school. No apologies!
But if it’s good work, I’m in favor of it. I also loves me some Eddie Campbell, Dave Stevens and Paul Chadwick, two of which continue to grow as artists at every turn. Would that we still had Dave Stevens around to grow and bless us with new work!
Full agreement.
I love all the same artists you do! Tonight I was just sending some major love thoughts to the late Nestor Redondo. Sigh.
I ADORE Curt Swan. Some people thought his art was dated toward the end, but he had such lovely, quiet strength and clean storytelling. I would throw 100 flashy cartoonists under a bus for one Curt Swan.
“Who are you?!”
“I’m the Bus Driver, and you’re a speed bump.”
Heh… I think I shall start a new blog titled “The One Hundred”. Instead of the bus analogy used above, I shall use the scales of justice. How many bad artists are worth a Will Eisner, a Scott McCloud, a Don Rosa?
Comments may rate a specific artist (top rating=100), or post examples of exceptionally bad or good storytelling. No negativity allowed, even if someone is rated 0. Ms. Doran…? 85-90.
I went to Seattle for Christmas and sifted through a box of books. One of the Desert Peach graphic novels is in there.
@torsten adair: I think someone already used that scale… I remember a ratings system for Comics Journal where instead of stars, it was little old ladies, and there was a quote from some philosopher or other about how “such and such a piece of art is worth any number of old ladies…”
Or maybe I’m just high. I dunno. The name R. Fiore rings a bell.
This would be funnier if I *had* done drugs in the 80′s… I have all the haziness without any of the original behavior that would cause it :-/
It was the “Ode to a Grecian Urn” that was worth any number of little old ladies, as I recall.
Nestor Redondo. Now there’s an unsung talent if ever there was one. Somewhere, in a parallel universe, DC actually published that Legend of King Arthur tabloid series — and that’s the universe I wanna live in.
I thought Gil Kane’s finest period was towards the end of his career when he began inking himself with magic markers. Fabulous, vibrant work. And anyone who thinks Curt Swan ‘dated’ clearly hasn’t seen his late commission work: simply stunning.
And Colleen? She’s only now hitting her stride. Trust me — you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet…
OMG, I spent YEARS looking for that Redondo King Arthur comic after seeing it advertised. I swear, DC ought to track down that art and publish it. I’ve seen some scans online, it is GAWGEOUS!!!
And that was a sweet thing for you to write, Allan. Thank you so much.
I think all the extant art was published in Back Issue #11 — available from Twomorrows in both print and digital form (he says, in his best Stan Lee voice. Hi Heroes!) And very lovely it is too.
Also, if you don’t have it, search out DC’s The Bible tabloid. That very definitely did come out, and is wall to wall Redondo.
OK, I will have to grab that.
I finally nabbed a copy of The Odyssey with Jess Jodloman art. Not nearly as good as his Ivanhoe, but still quite nice.
I saw some Ivanhoe art went for a song at auction a few years back. I wish I had known. Beautiful stuff. Someday I am going to have to add a Redondo piece to my collection.
Donna Barr is a hoot! If you ever get a chance to spend any time with her, Colleen, do so. I used to have most of the Desert Peach and a few of one of her other lines but that was many moves ago. Her wicked sense of humor, her style, and more. I had the pleasure of at least once being able to sit beside her and draw “with” her years ago. It was and still is a happy little memory.