Kudos to customer Frank “Shades” Guzek (okay, so I’m the only one who calls him “Shades”) for bringing in the latest copy of Wired! Magazine, featuring a very interesting article on manga! The feature takes a look at not only the huge presence of manga in Japanese culture, but also at the role and impact of dojinshi, or nonprofessional self-published manga. (Think fan fiction that’s actually published and sold alongside the title it’s based on). It takes an in-depth look at how the professional manga market and the basically illegal dojinshi market coexist and feed into each other. It also questions whether a similar concept might work for the American publishing world.
Along with the fascinating article, there’s a sidebar looking at how manga finally invaded American culture, from the days “Astro Boy” hit U.S. airwaves all the way up to the present day. What’s cool about this, though, is that the 10-page article is presented through manga-style art and is even published in the magazine back to front, right to left, just like traditional manga!
Given the huge interest in manga these days, I thought many of you might be interested in both this cool history lesson and look at the illegal-but-that’s-okay world of dojinshi. So pick up that new issue of Wired, or read the article online. The manga-style sidebar is also downloadable to read as a PDF file.
Thanks again for the cool info, Frank!
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