Japanse Comic Books

Japanse comic books are very similar to American comic books in style and language. In Japan, comic books are referred to as Manga, which is a word meaning cartoons or comics. The speech of the characters is shown in word balloons and the panels on the pages show the sequence of events in the story. With some of the comic books from Japan, it is hard to tell whether they are manga or American comic books

One of the major differences between Japanse and American comic books is that the last page of the book is the first page of the story in Japan. The comics are read from back to front instead of what we know of reading a book from front to back. The panels on each page are presented from right to left so it would truly seem that in order to read a Japanese comic book, you have to read it backwards. The writing in the speech balloons is vertical rather than horizontal, but when these books are translated into English, they are created in the same style as the typical American comic book.

Generally, Japanse comic books are in black and white, rather than color. The stories are usually longer and contain more pictures and fewer words. Through the longer stories more emphasis is placed in character development, but the art is usually mush simpler. Instead of a whole scene, you might just see two heads that look as if they are talking. Artistic techniques are used to show the emotions in the characters' faces, such as big eyes.

Many American comic book artists are now adopting some of the techniques used in Japanse comic books, but the major difference in the publishing is not likely to change. There many be thousands of pages in a Japanese comic book story that is often bound into several different paperback volumes. In fact, Japan is the only country where comic books are just as popular as movies.