Alternative manga
Encyclopedia
Alternative manga are Japanese comics
that are published outside of the more commercial manga
market, or which have different art styles, themes, and narratives to those found in the more popular manga magazines.
Alternative manga originated in the lending libraries
of post-war Japan, which charged a small fee for borrowing books. This market was essentially its own marketplace with many manga being printed exclusively for it. The market was notorious amongst parental groups for containing more lewd content than the normal mainstream manga publishers would allow. Consequently the market tended to appeal to a slightly older adolescent audience, rather than the child-dominated audience of the mainstream magazine anthologies of the time.
In 1958 an author named Yoshihiro Tatsumi
decided to create comics that had a darker and more realistic tone. Rejecting the title of manga, which in Japanese means "frivolous pictures", Tatsumi instead called these comics gekiga
, meaning "dramatic pictures". This was similar to the way in which the term "graphic novel
" was advocated by American alternative cartoonists, over the term "comics".
As gekiga gained popularity, the lending libraries gradually collapsed due to the growing economy of Japan during the 1960s. As a result many gekiga artists left the lending libraries and began to set up their own magazine anthologies. One of these anthologies, Garo
, was designed to showcase the newest talents in the manga business. Garo started out as being a gekiga magazine but would eventually grow to a new style with the work of Yoshiharu Tsuge
. Tsuge is widely credited with bringing a more personal stance to manga, allowing for manga to be an abstract reflection of his own experiences. Some critics have gone as far as to call his work the comics equivalent to an I novel
.
As Garo gained popularity particularly with the youth movements of the 1960s, many other magazines followed in its footsteps. At around the same time gekiga elements began appearing in mainstream manga magazines, with Osamu Tezuka
fully embracing the style and doing more work aimed at older audiences. Eventually Tezuka would start up a magazine called COM
, as his answer to Garo. With gekiga being integrated into mainstream manga, and manga being accepted as an art form by the masses around this time period, some people go as far as to call it the Golden Age of Manga.
As the golden age of comics became more commercialized in the 1980s, alternative manga began to take different routes from the mainstream. Currently there are significant influences from cultures outside Japan. Many manga artist
s not wanting to follow Japanese art conventions are looking to European and American comics for influence. The first artist to start this look abroad was Katsuhiro Otomo
who had a profound effect on both mainstream seinen
oriented and alternative cartoonists in Japan.
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
that are published outside of the more commercial manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
market, or which have different art styles, themes, and narratives to those found in the more popular manga magazines.
Alternative manga originated in the lending libraries
Lending library
A lending library is a library from which books are lent out. The earliest reference to or use of the term "lending library" yet located in English correspondence dates from ca. 1586; C'Tess Pembroke Ps. CXII. v, "He is .....
of post-war Japan, which charged a small fee for borrowing books. This market was essentially its own marketplace with many manga being printed exclusively for it. The market was notorious amongst parental groups for containing more lewd content than the normal mainstream manga publishers would allow. Consequently the market tended to appeal to a slightly older adolescent audience, rather than the child-dominated audience of the mainstream magazine anthologies of the time.
In 1958 an author named Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Yoshihiro Tatsumi
is a Japanese manga artist who is widely credited with starting the gekiga style of alternative comics in Japan, having allegedly coined the term in 1957....
decided to create comics that had a darker and more realistic tone. Rejecting the title of manga, which in Japanese means "frivolous pictures", Tatsumi instead called these comics gekiga
Gekiga
is Japanese for "dramatic pictures." The term was coined by Yoshihiro Tatsumi and adopted by other more serious Japanese cartoonists who did not want their trade to be known as manga or "irresponsible pictures." It's akin to Will Eisner who started calling his comics "graphic novels" as opposed...
, meaning "dramatic pictures". This was similar to the way in which the term "graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
" was advocated by American alternative cartoonists, over the term "comics".
As gekiga gained popularity, the lending libraries gradually collapsed due to the growing economy of Japan during the 1960s. As a result many gekiga artists left the lending libraries and began to set up their own magazine anthologies. One of these anthologies, Garo
Garo (magazine)
was a monthly manga anthology magazine in Japan, founded in 1964 by Katsuichi Nagai. It specialized in alternative and avant-garde manga.-History:...
, was designed to showcase the newest talents in the manga business. Garo started out as being a gekiga magazine but would eventually grow to a new style with the work of Yoshiharu Tsuge
Yoshiharu Tsuge
is a Japanese manga artist and essayist. He was active in comics between 1954 and 1987. The content of his works range from tales of ordinary life to dream-like surrealism, and often show his interest in traveling about Japan...
. Tsuge is widely credited with bringing a more personal stance to manga, allowing for manga to be an abstract reflection of his own experiences. Some critics have gone as far as to call his work the comics equivalent to an I novel
I Novel
is a literary genre in Japanese literature used to describe a type of confessional literature where the events in the story correspond to events in the author's life. This genre was founded based on the Japanese reception of Naturalism during the Meiji period. Many authors believed form reflected...
.
As Garo gained popularity particularly with the youth movements of the 1960s, many other magazines followed in its footsteps. At around the same time gekiga elements began appearing in mainstream manga magazines, with Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
fully embracing the style and doing more work aimed at older audiences. Eventually Tezuka would start up a magazine called COM
COM (manga magazine)
was a manga magazine started in January 1967 by Osamu Tezuka. It was started in response to the success of Garo , and as a way for Tezuka and other artists to showcase more avant-garde and experimental works in manga...
, as his answer to Garo. With gekiga being integrated into mainstream manga, and manga being accepted as an art form by the masses around this time period, some people go as far as to call it the Golden Age of Manga.
As the golden age of comics became more commercialized in the 1980s, alternative manga began to take different routes from the mainstream. Currently there are significant influences from cultures outside Japan. Many manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
s not wanting to follow Japanese art conventions are looking to European and American comics for influence. The first artist to start this look abroad was Katsuhiro Otomo
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...
who had a profound effect on both mainstream seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
oriented and alternative cartoonists in Japan.
Movements
- Manga Lending Libraries (1950s-1970s)
- GekigaGekigais Japanese for "dramatic pictures." The term was coined by Yoshihiro Tatsumi and adopted by other more serious Japanese cartoonists who did not want their trade to be known as manga or "irresponsible pictures." It's akin to Will Eisner who started calling his comics "graphic novels" as opposed...
(late 1950s-1980s) - GaroGaro (magazine)was a monthly manga anthology magazine in Japan, founded in 1964 by Katsuichi Nagai. It specialized in alternative and avant-garde manga.-History:...
(1960s-1990s) - La nouvelle mangaLa nouvelle mangaNouvelle Manga is an artistic movement which gathers Franco-Belgian and Japanese comic creators together. The expression was first used by Kiyoshi Kusumi, editor of the Japanese manga magazine Comickers, in referring to the work of French expatriate Frédéric Boilet, who lived in Japan for much of...
(late 1990s-present). - SuperflatSuperflatSuperflat is a postmodern art movement, founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, which is influenced by manga and anime. It is also the name of a 2001 art exhibition, curated by Murakami, that toured West Hollywood, Minneapolis and Seattle....
(1990s-present).