Today, I visited my local Chapter bookstore on the prowl for the perfect gift for a 14 year-old bedridden boy. It literally took me two seconds to find two books for myself even though that wasn’t my initial intent; however, finding something for this young boy, who happens to be my brother, turned into a complete team effort.
I am a fervent believer in reading as a tool for intellectual development and social awareness (depending on the material being read). Not wanting to bore my brother with my own thirst for knowledge, I sought after books that were geared towards a pre-teenage crowd without the sexual or violent overload as my brother seems currently uninterested with either one (thank God!). Since every other book dealt with topics seen on Degrassi High, I decided to provide whim with something that would cater to his love for comics, specifically Japanese comics.
This seemingly simple quest introduced me to the world of Manga (Japanese for Comics). In the process, I recruited the help of 3 overzealous staff members: the first one was an obvious people person whereas the other two seemed more interested in indulging in the passion for Manga during their work hours and to challenge their knowledge of the art form (and perhaps share a bit of their passion for it). I needed a G-rated comic with as little sexuality, goriness and demonic/fantastic components as possible which still showcased advanced techniques of graphic art. One hour later (or so it seems) and I was in the “technical drawing” section sorting through books on how to write and draw your own Manga.
I was terribly disappointed at the little amount of “clean material” available in this art form, which is troubling when you think that many of these comic series were first made popular through metaseries such as “Sailor Moon” and “???”. Now I don’t know how much it has to do with the Japanese culture being Manga or simple universal mainstream culture which is currently predominantly occidental. Either way, a change has to be made…
So here’s my final pick for all you Manga DIY lovers:
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