tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post109866112196832511..comments2023-10-02T09:40:54.779-04:00Comments on Yet Another Comics Blog: The Graphic Novel MainstreamDave Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12392905720500587211noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post-1098792351353186682004-10-26T08:05:00.000-04:002004-10-26T08:05:00.000-04:00"Plus, don't discount the fact that girls are far ..."Plus, don't discount the fact that girls are far more likely to buy a boys comic than boys are to buy a girls comic. Lots of little girls will read a currently popular action manga in addition to shojo titles. Boys won't go near anything that doesn't involve fighting in some way."<br /><br />Ah, excellent point, Dorian.Kevin Melrosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07166118608476811948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post-1098764702455498532004-10-26T00:25:00.000-04:002004-10-26T00:25:00.000-04:00I can tell you from first-hand experience that you...I can tell you from first-hand experience that your theory on the buying habits of boys vs. girls regarding manga is mostly correct. Boys who buy manga tend to buy only one or two titles at our store, and they are completely unwilling to go beyond those titles until they have all of them. Girls, on the other hand, will routinely buy three or four different titles at a time and seem much more inclined to stick to particular genres rather than titles. <br /><br />Plus, don't discount the fact that girls are far more likely to buy a boys comic than boys are to buy a girls comic. Lots of little girls will read a currently popular action manga in addition to shojo titles. Boys won't go near anything that doesn't involve fighting in some way.Dorianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14754097613320749614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post-1098734191907537312004-10-25T15:56:00.000-04:002004-10-25T15:56:00.000-04:00I have the Book of Bunny Suicides - all I can say ...I have the Book of Bunny Suicides - all I can say about it is that it's wrong - just completely wrong (but in a funny way). Don't show it to anyone that will get upset over little furry critters doing horrible, horrible things to themselves...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post-1098724567579207152004-10-25T13:16:00.000-04:002004-10-25T13:16:00.000-04:00Well, until those 14-year-old boys grow up and get...Well, until those 14-year-old boys grow up and get into the likes of Taiyo Matsumoto and Mohiro Kitoh, we're stuck with countless reprints of Rurouni Kenshin for now. The fact is, "sophisticated GNs" are just as marginalized in Japan as indycomix and "new mainstream" are here. For all the talk about the diversity of manga, the only real shift in the comics market these days is that guys-with-swords (or cards, or Go stones) is the new guys-in-tights.<br /><br />As for the thing about manga buying habits of boys vs. girls, I've gone to ask the ANN forums since they have a pretty big population of mainstream manga fans.Patahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02963406201091492113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post-1098722848459796182004-10-25T12:47:00.000-04:002004-10-25T12:47:00.000-04:00"On further reflection, one possibility may be tha..."On further reflection, one possibility may be that the shojo audience is spread out more; that is, while the boys buy many copies of a few titles, the girls are buying just as much, but spreading their purchases out over more titles."<br /><br />I was going to write something about shojo vs. shonen in my first post, but I think I lost my train of thought (no surprise there). <br /><br />I'd love to see a study -- I imagine one exists somewhere -- of the manga-buying habits of girls and boys. *Do* they differ? Are boys, as you suggest, dedicated to a handful of titles, while girls are sampling new series? Or is there something else?Kevin Melrosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07166118608476811948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post-1098720684152784742004-10-25T12:11:00.000-04:002004-10-25T12:11:00.000-04:00My experience with 1602 is that while comics fans ...My experience with <I>1602</I> is that while comics fans were lukewarm to mildly entertained by it, Gaiman fans with just a passing knowledge of Marvel super-heroes adore it. Of course, my sample size here is relatively small and vastly unscientific.<br /><br />You're probably right about CMX; they do seem to be going after the shojo audience as opposed to the Shonen Jump crowd.<br /><br />On further reflection, one possibility may be that the shojo audience is spread out more; that is, while the boys buy many copies of a few titles, the girls are buying just as much, but spreading their purchases out over more titles.Dave Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12392905720500587211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7963510.post-1098720148829362612004-10-25T12:02:00.000-04:002004-10-25T12:02:00.000-04:00You make some good observations. A couple of follo...You make some good observations. A couple of follow-ups:<br /><br />On Gaiman/1602: This week's PW reviews 1602, describing it as a "glorious adventure" (my opinion of it isn't nearly as high, but that's neither here nor there). In its "forecast," the magazine writes: "Gaiman’s dedicated following will flock to this; script pages and detailed notes and sketches in the back make it an even more attractive package." I imagine you and PW are right: 1602 will inch up the list, particularly with holiday sales.<br /><br />DC's CMX line: I'm not sure that will make much difference in DC's presence on the list. I just don't see those titles burning up the charts -- at least among the teen-age boys, who, as you point out, seem to be driving sales.Kevin Melrosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07166118608476811948noreply@blogger.com