By Gregory K. Eckert THE POWER OF COMICS CHAPTER 13: COMICS CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD

THREE MAJOR COMICS PRODUCING CULTURES United States Japan Franco-Belgian region of Europe

UNITED STATES High production values High production values Highly effective distribution systems Highly effective distribution systems Characters like Superman and Donald Duck are known nearly everywhere Characters like Superman and Donald Duck are known nearly everywhere

JAPANESE MANGA They appeal to a wide audience—there is something for EVERYONE Shōnen – Intended for young males Shōnen – Intended for young males Shōnen Shōujo- Intended for young females Shōujo- Intended for young females Redikomi – Intended for adult women Redikomi – Intended for adult women

SHŌNEN ( 少年漫画 ) Mostly Action Sports Romance

SHŌUJO ( 少女漫画 ) Often focus on romance and relationships Historical Fiction Science Fiction

JAPANESE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY Manga makes up about 40%--Manga Is not just read, it is CONSUMED In comparison, the U.S. is merely 3% of the publishing trade

FRANCO-BELGIAN BANDE DESSINEE In Franco-Belgian tradition, comics are called “Bande Dessinee” (or simply BD--pronounced “bay day”) In 1964, French Film scholar Claude Beylie refers to the nine arts as: - the first art : architecture - the second art : sculpture - the third art : painting - the fourth art : dance - the fifth art : music - the sixth art : poetry - the seventh art : cinema - the eighth art : television - the ninth art : comic strips

MOST INFLUENTIAL OF THE BANDE DESSINEE The Adventures of Tintin. Developed by cartoonist Georges Remi Debuted in Jan as a Belgian newspaper supplement ( Le Vingtieme Siecle )

TINTIN STYLE Ligne Claire (“clear line”) Where each pen line is drawn with equal thickness and shadows are minimized Creates clean, expressive, simple-looking figures

OUR NEIGHBOR TO THE NORTH: CANADIAN COMIC BOOKS First experienced comic books as American imports (1930’s) In 1940, Canadian government implemented the War Exchange Conservations Act Canadian publishers stepped in to fill the void Maple Leaf Publishing- Betters Comics #1 * Many publishers quickly followed *Canadian Whites- WWII era comics that used black and white interior pages

THE FIRST CANADIAN SUPERHERO First Canadian National Hero (Appeared in 1941 T riumph Adventure Comics) In 1947, the American comic book industry reasserted itself as the dominant source for comics after trade restrictions were lifted

OUR NEIGHBOR TO THE SOUTH: MEXICAN HISTORIETAS Historietas - Mexican comics (“little stories”) The rise of historietas can be partly contributed to the low priority of American publishers to translate and reprint comics Mexican newspaper El Heraldo commissioned Salvador Pruneda to create a strip ( Don Catarino ) Homegrown strips grew rapidly

MEXICAN COMICS newspapers publishers began reprinting comic strips and sold them on newsstands Pepin (1936) become so popular it was published daily 1980’s American imports began to saturate the market

GHETTO LIBRETTOS A mixture of Mexican soap opera melodrama with softcore porn and pulp fiction

TALENT EXCHANGE: BRITISH COMIC BOOKS The British pioneered the modern cartoon format in the magazine Punch. British comics tended to be published as weeklies Between 1914 and 1960, most British comics targeted children In 1960, mature comics started picking up steam.

BRITISH COMICS In 1977, 2000 A.D. was published --helped showcase potential for export.

UNRELATED TO THE CHAPTER: FILM ADAPTATIONS

CULTURAL IMPERIALISM Cultural Imperialism- Cultural Imperialism- Dominant cultures can supplant native cultures through the widespread use of broadcast, electronic, and print technology Dominant cultures can saturate foreign markets with a lower priced and more attractive products.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1.)If you could distribute any American graphic novel or comic book series to people in other cultures, which one(s) would you send? What about the examples you chose do you think makes them suitable for a wider world audience? On the other hand, if you could withhold the distribution of any graphic novel or comic book series on the world market, which would you stop? 1.)If you could distribute any American graphic novel or comic book series to people in other cultures, which one(s) would you send? What about the examples you chose do you think makes them suitable for a wider world audience? On the other hand, if you could withhold the distribution of any graphic novel or comic book series on the world market, which would you stop? 2.)What values do you think are most represented in American comic books? Why would these values be attractive to people in some other parts of the world? Why would such values be perceived as a threat to certain cultures? 2.)What values do you think are most represented in American comic books? Why would these values be attractive to people in some other parts of the world? Why would such values be perceived as a threat to certain cultures?

WORKS CITED The Power of Comics (Chapter 13) ( Wikipedia