Episode 1741 Talkback - Manga for American Comics Fans (and Vice-Versa)

Adam_Murdough

Ian Levenstein, Geek of Two Worlds, assumes an ambassadorial role in this episode, as he lobbies for greater mutual appreciation among fans of American and Japanese comics. He begins by making some genre-specific manga reading suggestions for his fellow Geeks; then, in a live recording of a panel he co-moderated at AnimeNEXT 2019, he recommends some American comics to a roomful of otaku. (Say, how d'you say 'Nuff Said' in Japanese?) (1:23:20)

Listen here. ここで聞く。

i_am_scifi

Looks like the closest translation of 'Nuff Said would be 十分に言った (Jūbun ni itta).

i_am_scifi

Here are the slides from the AnimeNEXT presentation for anybody looking to follow along! http://www.speakgeekspeak.com/images/AmericanComicsForMangaFans8.pdf

Bryan

Interesting episode. I may have to check out some of the Mangas you mentioned. I haven’t read much, but my daughter is really getting into it, so I would like to read a little more.

Out of curiosity, is there something about an American comic that makes you recommend it to Manga fans? Or is it just stuff you like?

At the end of the panel you had a question about horror recommendations. DCeased was a good one, but personally when I think about horror books to recommend I would jump to Locke & Key and Gideon Falls. Locke & Key is an absolute masterpiece and Gideon Falls is one of the best books shipping right now, IMO.

i_am_scifi

Thanks for asking, @Bryan! For the most part, when putting together the panel, Kris and I try our best to find titles that are either relatable to those who have seen the most recent comic book movie or TV show releases, books that capture a similar aesthetic to manga and would be a good entryway to people who only read manga, or books that Kris and/or I love that are just shining example of the medium at large. It's usually a little bit of all three of these mushed into one package.

And thanks for mentioning Locke & Key! That's a great suggestion, and one that may very well make it into the next version of the panel.

nweathington

I'm not super-familiar with all of Tezuka’s career, but I don’t think he did any autobiographical material. I’m wondering if @wildpigcomics was referring to Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s A Drifting Life. I don’t read a lot of manga, but I have read a chunk of Tatsumi’s work (he’s pretty accessible since he does a lot of short stories and what we would consider graphic novels).

nweathington

I haven’t read One Punch Man yet, but I’ve watched the first season of the anime, and it’s a whole lot of fun. This may sound like an odd comparison, but if you like Empowered, you’ll probably like One Punch Man.

Brack

nweathington said:

I haven’t read One Punch Man yet, but I’ve watched the first season of the anime, and it’s a whole lot of fun. This may sound like an odd comparison, but if you like Empowered, you’ll probably like One Punch Man.

And if you liked season one of the One Punch Man anime, you will probably feel incredibly disappointed by season two :).

So get a Shonen Jump subscription, and read the manga instead.