Adolescent+Mangas+and+Comics

Manga
Manga is a Japanese term meaning whimsical sketch, also known as a cartoon. Manga is a form of Japanese cartoon that dates back at least to the 18th century of painted scrolls from ukiyo-e artists. The father of modern manga is Dr. Osamu Tezuka, whose career spanned over 43 years. It was during post WWII that the popular Manga form known today was influenced by western comics. There are genres within this literature form such as romance and fantasy.

Manga and Anime interest was sparked by series such as //Sailor Moon//, //Dragon Ball Z,// and //Naruto//. Other series for more mature adolescents such as //Bleach// and //Deathnote// have maintained the following of younger readers as they matured. The mangas for older adolescents created an interest for a newer older high-school age. Vampires have also become popular in Manga sparking new titles such as //Chobits// and many other vampire manga stories. The angst for teachers unfamiliar with Mangas is figuring out what is appropriate for which grade level. Young adolescent characters such as those found in Sailor Moon are meant for the younger 6-8 and maybe 9th grade range. On the other hand, //Bleach// has older adolescent to young adulthood characters and content is more appropriate for the high school age usually 15-21. When there aren't human characters, it's very important to look at the visual content. For instance, at first glance //Pride// would seem to fit a younger age. Animals fleeing from the bombings of Tehran that hit the zoo, bring in historical events. However, there is a rape scene and some graphic death scenes which suggests that it fits in an older adolescent age range.

Currently, there is a controversy among Manga readers about Western Manga. Some adolescents feel that only Non-Western Mangas represent the true literary art form; however Western Mangas are gaining a following.

The difference between Manga and Comics are the panels, the emphasis on facial expression, and the reading direction. Text is read left to right. The panels are read Right to Left (top) down to Right panel to left (continued throughout ) and the reader starts at what would be considered the back cover and reads to the "front" of the Manga.



Comics
Benjamin Franklin created an editorial cartoon "Join or Die." In 1842 Rudolphe Toppfer published the first comic in the United States known as "Obadiah Oldbuck." Wilhelm Bush published "Max and Moritz" in 1865. How many of us remember the comics we read growing up? I read Dick Tracy, written by Chester Gould for distribution in the Chicago Tribune from 1931 to 1977. I remember going from the childhood comic reading of //Archie// to the reading //X-Men, Wonder Woman,// as well as //Garfield, Beetle Bailey, and Doonesbury.// Of course, most comics revolve around the Marvel superheroes and villains and have gained new interest through their release into the media as money-making action-packed, movies.