The Shipping News, 11/11/09
Last week, Journalista linked to yet another “trick your woman into liking comics” thought-piece, this one from the Des Moines Register. Plenty about the article had me seeing red, from its dopey title — “Can Women Learn to Enjoy Comics?” — to the author’s smug recitation of all the “cool” titles his wife enjoyed (read: comics with gore and explosions). What irritated me the most, however, were the all-too-familiar recommendations for boyfriends and husbands in search of the perfect proselytizing tool. Maus. Y: The Last Man. Fables. Sandman. All great titles, to be sure, but why no comics by female creators? And sweet Mother of God, how can anyone write this kind of article in 2009 without acknowledging manga?!
Looking at this week’s new arrival list, for example, I see plenty of manga with grrrrl appeal, among them Rumiko Takahashi’s InuYasha (Viz) and CLAMP’s Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles (Del Rey), two titles by Japan’s most successful female artists; Swans in Space (UDON Entertainment), an adventure comic for grade-school girls; 100% Perfect Girl (NETCOMICS) and Ultimate Venus (Go! Comi), two shojo manga; and Blue Sheep Reverie, Ciao Ciao Bambino, and Devil Inside (DMP), three unabashedly steamy comics written by women, for women. There’s also a new shoot-em-up about a teen in the arms trade called Jormangund (VIZ), new installments of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (VIZ) and Yakitate!! Japan (VIZ), and a new volume of Cat Paradise (Yen Press), which, contrary to the title, is not the story of a kindly spinster who runs a cat sanctuary, but a scary-silly tale of super-powered cats battling an ancient demon. In short, this week’s manga list offers something for every feminine sensibility, whether you fancy zomedies, dramedies, or wall-to-wall car chases. More evidence of manga’s wide appeal below!
NEW SERIES/ONE-SHOTS
- Ciao Ciao Bambino (DMP)
- Deka Kyoshi, Vol. 1 (CMX)
- Devil Inside (DMP)
- Great Place High School Student Council, Vol. 1 (DMP)
- InuYasha VIZBIG Edition, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- Jormungand, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- Swans in Space, Vol. 1 (UDON Entertainment)
CONTINUING SERIES
- 100% Perfect Girl, Vol. 10 (NETCOMICS)
- Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Vol. 3: Feud Between Friends (Del Rey)
- Blue Sheep Reverie, Vol. 2 (DMP)
- Cat Paradise, Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
- Divine Melody, Vol. 5 (Dr Masters)
- Flame of Recca, Vol. 33 (VIZ)
- GA: Geijutsuka Art School, Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
- Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 13 (VIZ)
- Higurashi: When They Cry, Vol. 5 (Yen Press)
- Ichiroh, Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
- Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit, Vol. 3 (VIZ)
- Jack Frost, Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
- Millennium Prime Minister, Vol. 2 (DMP)
- Oh! My Goddess Authentic Edition, Vol. 13 (Dark Horse)
- Record of a Fallen Vampire, Vol. 7 (VIZ)
- Sundome, Vol. 6 (Yen Press)
- Switch, Vol. 11 (VIZ)
- Train Train, Vol. 3 (DMP)
- Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, Vol. 24 (Del Rey)
- Ultimate Venus, Vol. 5 (Go! Comi)
- Yakitate!! Japan, Vol. 20 (VIZ)
[...] See original here: The Manga Critic » Blog Archive » The Shipping News, 11/11/09 [...]
[...] Dacey looks at this week’s new manga and finds plenty to please the ladies at The Manga [...]
All great titles, to be sure, but why no comics by female creators?
GAH.
And sweet Mother of God, how can anyone write this kind of article in 2009 without acknowledging manga?!
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
It’s too early for me to be coherent, but GAH.
Well said, Kate!
At one point, I’d planned to write a longer, more systematic rebuttal to the original piece, but then I realized that Shaenon Garrity had said it all before with far more wit and authority than I could. (See link to “trick your woman into liking comics.” It’s a hilarious and sad essay.)
To the author’s credit, he counseled men to investigate their SO’s reading and movie-watching habits before inflicting a superhero comic on their wives or girlfriends. But the whole thing left a bad aftertaste, especially the lack of female creators. No Hope Larson? No Marjane Satrapi? No Gail Simone? No Keiko Takemiya? No Yellow Tanabe? The list goes on.
[...] In her look at this week’s comics, Kate Dacey delivers a succinct takedown of the latest example of that just-won’t-die-or-evolve [...]
Does anyone watch “The Big Bang Theory”? I keep waiting for the episode (which exists only in my head so far) where Penny gets hooked on shoujo manga (or even yaoi) and hilarity ensues in the culture clash between manga and the guys’ mainstream comics.
[...] Kate Dacey asks why the most recent of those “trick your woman into liking comics” (as she puts it) columns didn’t include any comics created by women or any manga. There’s a simple answer to that. [...]
[...] and who am I to buck the trend? Yesterday, Kate Dacey took a moment at the beginning of her weekly Shipping News post to responde to this article from the Des Moines Register on the topic, “Can Women Learn [...]
Well to be fair, let’s look at the other side of it. I would love if my husband shared my love of comics – specifically manga. So I try to recommended manga he would like. Or I try to recommend maybe a mystery graphic novel or something. What I don’t recommend is superhero stuff because I’m not all that well versed in it. Plus if he picked up a superhero that I despise like the Hulk then that would be even worse than him not picking up one at all!
I don’t want to hear about the damn Hulk, EVER.
@Maggie: That sounds like an awesome idea for an episode! I would love to see that cultural clash played out on screen.
@Sadie: Just to be clear, I’m responding to the tone and the narrow scope of the article, not the idea that sharing a hobby with a spouse is bad. Shaenon Garrity put it best when she stated, “Sharing interests is cool; hobby evangelism is not.”
The problem with manga is that the titles you list won’t attract much interest from anyone past high school who isn’t already a fan. Josei is still pretty much missing in action in the US. For more sophisticated tastes, there isn’t much available that compares to a “real” book.
That said, it’s sad to see the same “girl-friendly” US-style comics trotted out over and over. Those wouldn’t be gateway drugs for me either.
@TJ: You raise a great point about josei — the few American publishers who have tried to publish it have failed miserably, even when they’ve licensed great material. In the broader category of “manga for people who also read literature,” however, I think selection has improved dramatically in the last three years. If I hadn’t tied my rant to this week’s shipping list, I might have mentioned Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu, Monokuro Kinderbook, A Distant Neighborhood, Ooku: The Inner Chamber, To Terra, Black Jack, Children of the Sea, A Drifting Life, Shirahime-Syo, Sexy Voice and Robo and Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms as proof that manga has something to offer female readers. I’d add Black Lagoon to the list as well, but realize that other people’s tolerance for pistol-packing nuns may be lower than mine.
Thanks for commenting!
[...] commentary by manga bloggers about this issue of "tricking" your girlfriend into liking your comics here, here, and [...]
Hi Kate, sorry you didn’t enjoy the column. In my defense, I did not write the headline. I’m never happy with my headlines, and left this one to the copy desk. Clearly I should have made my own attempt.
I didn’t bring up manga in my column, because much like Sandman she hasn’t enjoyed much of what I have suggested to her. She loves Scott Pilgrim, but beyond that I haven’t had much luck. I will take your suggestions into account.
I’ve also given her comics by female creators, I just forgot to mention any while writing this piece. When I brought the column home to show her I got two comments: “Did you write that headline?” and “You didn’t mention ‘Fun Home’!”
Hey Joe, your article wasn’t bad at all. If your wife likes horror-type stories, there is so much manga out there that might rock her world, such as Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and Mail (both published by Dark Horse). Try manga yourself, you might like it!
Oh, and in a discussion of comics women like, no one mentioned NANA by Ai Yazawa, and that makes me sad.
@Joe: Like the woman who posted a comment at the Des Moines Register website, my reaction comes partly from frustration: there are a lot of female comic fans, critics, and creators, so why not ask US what we’re reading? I think that’s what you were trying to do in describing your wife’s taste in comics, but I’d have rather read an article by her describing her introduction to comics than the other way around.
That said, I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my comments in a respectful manner, and am relieved to hear that other women found Sandman as talky and tedious as I did.
@Ahavah: I second all of your suggestions: Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Mail and the wonderful NANA. I might also add Reiko the Zombie shop and Gyo to your list of A-list horror titles.
[...] is). It struck what must be a tired nerve with a number of female comics bloggers this week. Kate Dacey of the Manga Critic, Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading, and Heidi MacDonald of the [...]
[...] I admit to being guilty of the above. It must be why I keep pestering JK to watch Merlin with me. Still, as much as I would like JK to love the same things I do, it isn’t going to happen and it would mean I would also have to learn to like the things he does. Anyway, I was thinking about this when I read this article “Can women learn to enjoy comics?” – which starts off on a bad foot because of the unfortunate title – and the accompanying discussions. [...]
[...] to read comics. The first shot came from Kate Dacey at her blog, Manga Critic as part of her Shipping News post. Johanna Draper Carlson picked up on it, and then The Beat at Publishers Weekly. The focus [...]
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