Carmen: They're basically the same. Some people who do not get into them are either not into comics and cartoons in general or have developed a sort of Chauvinist attitude against Japanese comics.

Some Mangas for example are not real Mangas but CMYK photographed images from the anime. For example Sailor Moon had such a book. Am I chauvenistic if I say that it looked bad? A friend I had who even had a Neon Genesis tattoo (!) did say that the Manga (although real one) did not live up to the Anime. We in Sweden have not had a regular Superman or Batman book since 1992, but we have Mangas. If we were to indicate that Mangas in general as they are mass produced by a team, live up to DC, Stan Lee and Marvel I think it would be very chauvenistic against American super-hero comics to say he least.

So much for cultivating open-mindedness in American society...

You probably have more Manga att Viz and Dark Horse than "your own" Disney comics produced in Europe.

Thank you for the Anime artist biographies. I wonder why you just mention the "big eyes", when you know so much. For example, the outbursting baby stylistic drawings that suddenly appear, that's interesting.

Non-related: This is not how Asian eyes actually look, I believe they have them horizontal and "big"

Blade of the Immortal has been on my list of things to check out for years I've just never gotten around to it.  I will make an effort to pick up the first volume soon.  I also just recently picked up the Ghost in the Shell trade but have not read it.

The only real Manga I think I have read would be the first two volumes of Lone Wolf and Cub (which I find enjoyable but I don't think I would need to read dozens of those stories) and I have read all the Gon comics which are very fun and full of amazing art.

Does Usagi Yojimbo count as manga?  If so, I love that but I don't really think of it as manga.

My local comic shop does not do well with Manga from what I have been told.  I used to work for a B. Dalton (owned by B&N), and in my long term there Manga went from 2 shelves to several bays.  And it sold, sold, sold.  Lots of young women read Manga, and most of them bought several titles at once.  The stuff flew off the shelves for us, to a growing teen/young person market.

<<Blade of the Immortal has been on my list of things to check out for years I've just never gotten around to it.  I will make an effort to pick up the first volume soon.  I also just recently picked up the Ghost in the Shell trade but have not read it.>>

The first volume sets everything up and helps make sense of the series, but I think the next four TPBs after the first volume really show the series finding its voice, look, and elegance.

Dreamsong, Volume 4 ( I think), is one of the high points in the entire run, IMO.

I have some scanned pages from Dreamsong here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/156971357X/ sr=1-3/qid=1179687300/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0/002-6325503-27 81657?ie=UTF8&s=books&index=0&qid=1179687300& ; ;sr=1-3#gallery

Looking over at Amazon, I see many of the previous BotI volumes are incredbily cheap in used condition.  Good chance to pick up so volumes as great price!

All three volumes of 2001 Nights are available as well. A wonderful sci-fi series.

For those of you who maintain a cynical view of manga and resent the hack-driven, formulaic, studio publishing system that makes a lot of manga dull and insipid...well let's just say that you might enjoy the (scatalogical, cold bloodedly scathing, lunatic, and raunchy) humor of the following book.

Think of it as "How We Actually Draw Manga but Probably Shouldn't".

http://www.amazon.com/Even-Monkey-Draw-Manga-Vol/dp/15693186 38/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-6213788-6967324?ie=UTF8&s=books&a mp;a mp;qid=1179688452&sr=8-1