The Differences Between Japanese Manga & American Comics
June 25, 2008 by tcgames · 4 Comments
What are the primary differences between Japanese Manga (Comics) and American Comics?
There is a big difference in art styles between Manga, which is more stylized (exaggerated) and American comics, which tend to be more “realistic”. There are also quite a few serious differences between the two types of comics. Some of the differences, just to mention a few of them are the cost, creation, diverse audience and genres, presentation and even size.
The creation of Manga as well as its presentation is quite different than American Comics. Manga is printed in black-and-white format while American comics are the majority of the time in full color. Also, when you look at a graphic novel or Manga you will notice a difference in the size. Manga is frequently smaller than traditional American comic books, usually digest-size and roughly half to one-third the size of American comics. But where the American comics are generally thin like a small magazine, running about 32 pages, Manga comic books are thick and can be hundreds of pages in length!
In page count, Manga is quite similar to graphic novels, which are often just collections of the ongoing American comics. But unlike American graphic novels, which are usually just a collection of monthly comics in a single unified story or story arc, Manga books are often apart of an even bigger story and a complete Manga storyline can run thousands of pages.
Another difference between traditional American comics is that mainstream American comics are often created in a sort of assembly-line fashion. They have a writer (story), a penciler (initial sketch), inker (uses a pen to ink over the sketch), letterer (adds dialog) and a colorist (colors the inked sketch). Most Manga books are done by a single creator, who combines all those chores (except coloring).
Also Manga story lines usually move at a much quicker pace. Due to the high page count, one reads a Manga book at an accelerated pace. Manga books almost always have fewer panels and less dialogue (rambling) per page than American comic books. The price for Manga is also more than the average comic book and a bit more than a standard paperback novel, the small size of Manga and black-and-white printing rather than full color keeps the cost down. The lack color is made up when you consider the story development that it’ll have with the amount of pages it has.
In Japan, Manga is not viewed as just for kids unlike the American stereotype. There pretty much is a Manga for everyone. With that being stated there are three main genres in Japanese Manga: Shonen Manga (boy’s comics), Shojo Manga (girl’s comics) and Hentai (adult comics).
Shonen Manga is pretty much comics that are primarily action and/or adventure geared. If you’d like to view some examples of that genre, I’d recommend “Bleach” and/or “Full Metal Alchemist”. Shojo Manga is for the opposite sex; they are often about relationships and/or love interests. Please note that even though a particular genre is geared towards a certain audience it’s not limited to just that audience (unless otherwise stated). Finally Hentai Manga, I won’t delve much into this since it is primarily for adults and NOT suitable for children (just to be safe in case a child is reading this). Anyways, Hentai Manga is sometimes sexually explicit and/or adult-themed. In other words, do not purchase this for your child.
Next time someone asks you what the difference is between Manga and [American] comics, you can surprise them with your knowledge.
Source: Article Devil
Dawn Of War 2 Set For Spring 2009 Release – Warhammer 40K
June 25, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Dawn of War 2
- Release Date: Spring ’09
- Genre: Strategy
- Platforms: PC
Dawn of War II ushers in a new chapter in the acclaimed RTS series – taking players to the brutal frontlines of war to lead an elite strike force on a mission to save the galaxy. With a focus on fast-action RTS gameplay, Dawn of War II brings to life the science fiction universe of Warhammer 40,000 like never before. Experience the intimate brutality of battle as you play through your chosen race’s epic campaign. Clash with enemies on battlefields ablaze with visceral melee and ranged combat. Lead and develop your squads from raw recruits into the most battle hardened veterans in the Galaxy.
Source: Relic.com
Japan Post Service to Issue Patlabor Stamps in August
June 24, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Anime News Network has a cool little news item about postage stamps in Japan. Now why can’t we get something like that here in the states (The Marvel Comics Stamps were very cool though)…
Not-So-Daily Link of the Day: The Japan Post Service will issue Mobile Police Patlabor postage stamps as the eighth installment in its Anime Hero/Heroine Series on August 22. The Headgear production team of screenwriter Kazunori Ito (Ghost in the Shell), mechanical designer Yutaka Izubuchi (RahXephon), director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), character designer Akemi Takada (Maison Ikkoku), and manga artist Masami Yuuki (Birdy the Mighty) created this near-future manga and anime about a police unit with robotic mecha.
The ten 80-yen (about US$0.74) stamps will feature the Ingram and Zero labor units as well as the characters Noa Izumi, Isao Ohta, Shinobu Nagumo, Asuma Shinohara, and members of Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Special Vehicle Section 2. Previous stamps in the series have included Pokémon, Gundam, Galaxy Express 999, Detective Conan [Case Closed], Neon Genesis Evangelion, Future Boy Conan, and Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi.
Source: Anime News Network
Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition: My Impressions So far
June 24, 2008 by tcgames · 2 Comments
This August (2008) will the 30th anniversary of my introduction to Dungeons & Dragons and roleplaying in general. I was 14 years old when I went to a friends’ house to try out a new game he was playing. I was hooked after that and played pretty much every weekend for the next ten years. Most of us in our group that played on a regular basis used a mix of rules from various systems to form our games, including Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Arduin, and a few others.
When Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition was released recently I thought it would be a great opportunity to celebrate my time in the game and to try out Wizards Of The Coast’s newest system. After receiving the 3 core rule books in a gift box set last week, I began pouring over those crisp new tomes one at a time.
So far I’ve rolled up your standard human fighter. I’m going to roll up one of each class to get used to things and to become familiar enough to explain it to others. My kids will be the first to go through the initial adventures with me (I’ve played various other role playing games with them already).
I’ve found everything to be pretty easy to follow. Although I am glad I’ve had the experience in RPGs that I’ve had as it’s made it easier to jump into the character creation without pulling my hair out.
As I continue to progress in the new system, I’ll post updates on my thoughts as well. I like what I see so far, and the real beauty of it is that I can change anything I want to make it fit my needs.
Quentin Tarantino Talks Inglorious Bastards
June 24, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Tarantino maintains he is moving into pre-production right away and that no decisions about casting have been made.
Although the film has been described as his version of 1967′s The Dirty Dozen, the filmmaker said, “what actually got me to sit down and put pen to paper was ‘hey wouldn’t it be fun to do a ‘Dirty Dozen’ kind of thing?’ It doesn’t look anything like ‘The Dirty Dozen.’”
He added that he doesn’t “want it to feel like a period film. I want it to feel current. I want it to feel right now. One of the things I have to battle against is 30 years of Nazi-occupation TV movies where we’ve all seen the big streets and the vintage cars and the Swastikas, and we’ve just seen that ad nauseum.”
“This is a modern, in-your-face movie. This is not a TV movie period piece,” Quentin said. He hopes to have the project done within 11 months in time for next year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Source: ComingSoon.net
The Hulk Kidnapped From Boise Comic Shop
June 23, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Broken feet in the air. Face down in a ditch. Green skin pock-marked and scratched.
Sure, it looked like the aftermath of a 24-hour bender.
But it wasn’t the Hulk’s fault.
Purloined from outside the Outpost 12 comic store on State Street Thursday night, the 7-foot papier maché sculpture met an ignominious end in a drainage ditch at the bad end of 36th Street.
Following what one of the Hulk’s owners, Ray Egusquiza, described as a “semi-anonymous” phone call Friday night from someone claiming to work for “the highway department,” the shattered super hero was hauled from the muck.
He’s currently in seclusion in the Outpost 12 game room.
“His arm is sitting on a table all by itself. Yeah, it’s kind of depressing,” Egusquiza said.
Egusquiza, who has an art degree and crafted the Hulk, is upset. He had planned to start a new project, a life-sized papier maché Supergirl, intended as the Hulk’s companion.
But that will have to wait.
Egusquiza believes the Hulk can be repaired, but estimates the job may require “two or three weeks of dedicated work.”
Healing the emotional injuries might take more time.
“At first I was mad. But at the same time, I thought it was kind of nice that someone thought the Hulk was good enough to steal,” Egusquiza said. “But then, finding out they dumped him in a ditch. That was crushing.”
The Hulk only spent about a week and a half on the job before his assault. But in that time he had already begun to develop a following.
“We had whole families coming in. Kids would pose with the Hulk, parents would take pictures,” Egusquiza said.
“We took him in and out every day with a handcart,” Egusquiza added wistfully.
Outpost 12 co-owner Jeff Doyle was helping a customer about 8:30 p.m., Thursday, when he saw two men in a white pickup truck leave the smokeshop nearby.
They threw the Hulk into their pickup and drove away.
Egusquiza believes the Hulk will reassume his post outside the shop after he recovers.
“But he’ll be secured with a nice, big chain,” Egusquiza said.
Source: The Idaho Statesman
Comic Book News: New Printings & Variant Editions: 06/23/08
June 23, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Couldn’t get a new issue or volume you’ve been anticipating? When a hot comic sells out, the publisher will often go back to press to meet your demand with new printings, or re-release a book with an eye-catching variant cover from a hot artist that you won’t want to miss.
Please Note: Availability of some new printings and variant editions may be limited. Check with your retailer for availability! (Looking for a place to buy comics? Check out the Comic Shop Locator Service!)
This week’s new printings and variants include:
MARVEL
• A second printing of Captain Britain and MI: 13 #2 (MAY08 8090, $2.99), featuring a variant cover by Leonard Kirk, is scheduled to arrive in stores on July 16.
• A variant cover by David Aja for Immortal Iron Fist #17 (APR08 8318, $2.99) is scheduled to arrive in stores on July 23.
• A second printing of Kick Ass #3 (MAY08 8058, $2.99), featuring a variant cover by John Romita Jr., is scheduled to arrive in stores on July 16.
• Two second printings of Skaar: Son of Hulk #1 – one featuring a variant cover by Ron Garney (MAY08 8059, $2.99) and the other featuring a variant incorporating the Jade Giant as seen in The Incredible Hulk movie (MAY08 8080, $2.99) – are scheduled to arrive in stores on July 16.
• A second printing of Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? (MAY08 8091, $3.99), featuring a variant cover by Phil Jimenez, is scheduled to arrive in stores on July 16.
• A second printing of Wolverine #66 (MAY08 8127, $2.99), featuring a variant cover by Steve McNiven, is scheduled to arrive in stores on July 23.
OTHER
• New printings of Fantasy Flight’s Warhammer: Dark Heresy 40K RPG — Inquisitor’s Handbook (MAY08 8066, $49.95) & Purge the Unclean (MAY08 8067, $39.95) are scheduled to arrive in stores on September 3.
Source: PreviewsWorld.com
Macross Ace Frontier To Ship In Japan On PSP This Fall
June 23, 2008 by tcgames · Leave a Comment
Macross Ace Frontier, a multi-player 3D action game that will include characters and transformable fighters from 25 years and six different science-fiction anime works of Macross, will ship on the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) game console in Japan this fall. One to four players (via the PSP’s built-in ad-hoc network feature) will assume the roles of U.N. Forces pilots in three-mode variable fighters in space, air, and land combat. Artdink, the team responsible for the successful Gundam Battle franchise, is 60% finished with the game’s development with Gundam Battle’s engine.
Although the producers emphasize that the game will not be a romance simulation or a music rhythm game, the story will reference Macross anime’s signature love triangles and music. They say the game will have fast gameplay and the anime’s trademark corkscrewing missile plumes. Players can adjust seven parameters of their pilot characters’ skill levels and eight additional parameters for their mecha (hit points, anti-cannon defenses, close-combat defenses, speed, instantaneous boost, balancer system, maneuverability, and radar). To emulate how anime characters quickly transform their fighters by angling a joystick, player will use the PSP’s analog pad to transform.
So far, players can use the all-purpose VF-1 Valkyrie (with or without the Strike Pack upgrade) from the first Macross series and film, the advanced YF-19 prototype from Macross Plus, the unorthodox VF-19 Custom Excalibur from Macross 7, and the VF-25 Messiah, the newest variable fighter from the currently airing Macross Frontier. Players can also pilot enemy mecha such as the Zentradi battlepods, Macross Zero‘s Anti-U.N. SV-51, and the Varauta Fz-109 Elgerzorene fighter. Other mecha such as the Q. Rau powered armor, the Destroid ground robots, and the VF-22 Sturmvogel II special operations fighter also appear in the game’s pre-release images. In all, the game will have over 40 different mecha units and over 30 pilots in over 80 missions.
Bandai Namco’s Yoshitaka Got? and Kei Hirono are the game’s general producer and assistant, respectively. Artdink’s Masanori Yagi is a producer in the game’s development. Macross co-creator and director Shoji Kawamori devised the title of the game. Due to a copyright dispute involving Harmony Gold USA, with its partner Tatsunoko Production, and the creators of Macross, no Japanese Macross game has been officially released in English in recent years.
Source: Anime News Network
Thor: Ages Of Thunder – Reign Of Blood Preview
June 20, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Courtesy of Marvel Comics, TC Games has a preview of Thor: Ages Of Thunder – Reign Of Blood One Shot.
Written by MATT FRACTION
Art by PATRICK ZIRCHER & KHARI EVANS
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
From Ragnarok to Ragnarok, in a cycle that spans the millennia, the pantheon of Asgard lives and dies and is born anew. And with each different form and in each new age, come new adventures, greater challenges…and more dire treacheries! Matt Fraction (THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST) and Patrick Zircher (TERROR, INC.)
unspool the further epic tales of Thor’s warrior heroism, and the Midgard-quaking intrigues of the gods!
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Scheduled to ship June 25th
Superheroes On Your Cell Phone With Digital Comics
June 20, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Suit-clad businessmen reading comic books are a common sight on Japanese trains, but they could soon be poring over their phones with publishers increasingly digitalizing their comics to cash in on the country’s mobile-savvy consumers.
The July 11 launch of Apple’s iPhone could also spur the growth of the mobile comic market as the device’s touch-screen would make it easier and more appealing to read comics on handsets, analysts say.
As the number of mobile phone subscribers approaches 108 million, or 85 percent of Japan ‘s population, carriers are moving away from voice services, beefing up content services and data transmission to increase revenues.
E-mailing, music-downloads and Internet surfing are already popular, and analysts expect comics to be the next big thing with the number of titles for mobile use soaring recently.
Comics led the size of the mobile publication market to double in the last business year to 22 billion yen ($204 million), according to Internet and media research firm Impress R&D. The size is almost three times bigger than the e-publication market for PCs.
“Until now, users had been extensively using mobile phones for emails,” said Shinko Securities analyst Tomohiko Okugawa said. “Now that’s shifting to games and comics … this is the area it’s going to be very interesting.”
Top mobile phone carriers—NTT DoCoMo Inc, KDDI Corp, and Softbank Corp—recently unveiled handsets and services, enhancing features like video downloads and animated e-mails, a move seen benefiting content providers such as MTI Ltd, DeNA and Dwango.
“We cannot be ahead of competition just by prices, features and sounds like we used to, and now we have to improve contents and user-friendliness to position ourselves apart from the rivals,” said Toshitake Amamiya, general manager of KDDI’s content and media division.
“The importance of contents has been growing … It is crucial to pursue what we can do in this market where each adult always carries around a mobile phone and uses it as a life tool.”
Nikko Citigroup analyst Hiroshi Yamashina said the bigger, better screens of new cell phones will help make mobile comics more popular.
Carriers have been releasing handsets in collaboration with popular TV brands, with some of them boasting 3.3-inch screens. Yamashina said the launch of Apple Inc’s iPhone would also push up popularity of mobile comics as it can revive the sense of turning pages on its touch-screen.
