Straight of my comics, and manga are books article, I could not help noticing something. Though manga and comics are so similar, they have a number of difference that make them hard to classify together. So it was hard for me to write about it. But what are the differences between manga and comics?
The differences between manga and comics is the reading direction of the work (manga is read from right to left but comics are read from right to left), the production of the work (with manga being cartoonish, and black/white colored, while comics are detailed), and finally, the number of the authors.
The more detailed list would go something like this.
1. Reading Direction
Manga is read right to left, while comics are read left to right.
The first noticeable thing is the reading direction of the manga. While you need to read from left to right when reading comics, you need to read the opposite direction when you read things like manga. You read right to left, and down.
Comics are written in mostly western countries. In Western countries, the writings for the languages were created fairly late. Late enough that paper had already appeared, so they wrote on paper with ink. They were concerned with avoiding smudging their writing, and so they wrote from left to right to avoid that. Meanwhile in other countries, their languages were written a very long time ago, before paper even was created. They used to write their works on rocks, and so they never had to concern themselves with smudging. Instead, they could write anyway they saw fit, and with most people being right handed, this ended up being right to left. This is seen in mostly Middle Eastern countries, who used to be the legendary Babylonians, and Persians at some point.
Finally, you have East Asian countries like Japan. They wrote on scrolls, and as a result, they needed one hand to hold down the scroll when they write, so most writing took the shape of top to bottom. However, people in Japan do not necessarily care what direction they write, and some visitors have noted that most things in Japan are written in any direction. However, it happens to be the case that manga has been locked in left to right writing, and so that’s just how it has stayed.
2. Coloring
Manga are usually just black and white, while comics are usually colored.
The other difference between these two mediums is that comic books tend to be colored. In contrast, manga tend to just go with black and white. The reason for this is a pretty simple one; cost saving, and time saving.
As mentioned in the anime article, cost efficiency is a very important part of Japanese art culture. Here though, it is almost necessary. With Western comic books, people have over a month to prepare their story. Then, they have to publish their comics. This gives them a lot of time to work on their books. Also, comic books have been making a lot of money with their comic book movies, such as MCU movies. As a result, they can afford to pay a massive work force to color their works.
In contrast, manga are published at a weekly basis, as seen with Weekly Shonen Jump. This means that they are expected to make quite high quality stories, and drawings in the span of 7 days. They simply do not have time for coloring. Also, they could not afford it if they did. They do not have that big of a workforce for each manga, so they just skip that part, and just leave their work black and white.
3. Author
Manga are created by a single writer, while comic books are written by multiple writers.
While the ideas for a comic and manga are usually created by one person, manga and comics are very different from there. For manga, the rights to the story, at least in the court of public/fan opinion, is owned by the author. For comics though, immediately after the character has been created, they are overtly owned by the comic company, not the author.
What this means is that for manga, the story is mostly worked on by one person. There is a team around the person that helps them produce the manga. They may assist with story ideas, as we’ve seen how Masashi Kishimoto was advised by an editor to add in Sasuke last minute, and also with how Eichiro Oda’s editor felt the scene with Luffy and Shanks was not epic enough, so Oda had Shanks lose an arm. Spoiler, I guess. But the point remains; these two mangakas could have ignored their editor’s advise if they so felt, but they accepted it because they are of the impression the editor knows what will make their stories be more successful. Thus, the editions to the story are seen as works of the sole mangaka, and not the efforts of a team/duo.
Comic books
Meanwhile, comic characters can be created by one writer, but another writer can pick up the character and work on the character, making changes that public opinion consider to be integral part of the character. For example, when Bob Finger worked on Batman, he initial had him killing people. But later, Batman was made to not kill by a different writer. Rather than the second Batman being accepted as a sort of alternate universe Batman, they are accepted as core Batman, with Batman’s no kill rule being a massive part of his character today.
This has positives and negatives for both. With comics, having multiple writers means that they can go on for a long time. Also, every change that is made will just be accepted as something that was always a part of the character by the public mind. For example, Superman could not fly when he first appeared, yet today all people just accept that Superman could always fly. The downside is that the comic book stories end up bloated, and they are hard to start reading.
Meanwhile, manga having one author means the story will always be accessible and simple to read for everyone. Also, it will always feel like a cohesive single idea. But this also means that if the author is ever injured, or not working, then the story stops. This is seen with Hunter x Hunter, which has many records for its hiatuses.
4. Humor
Comic humor is more verbal based, while manga humor is more slap-stick, and cartoonish.
Comic books style means that they are rendered to be more realistic than manga. As a result, most comic book humor is found in the dialogue. Characters say snappy things, awkward things, or sometimes sarcastic things, and this is the full extent of the focus on humor.
Meanwhile, manga is created mostly as a product to be consumed through viewing, instead of reading. This means that manga are always trying to express more than just location and speaker with their drawings. One of the many things that they wish to express with their drawings is humor. So you will often find that manga will use their unique art style to draw extra cartoonish characters. Also, this creates situations where humor is derived from the situation rather than from specific word plays. The downside of manga being that many of those situations tend to be perverted, or sexualized.
5. Diversity
Comics tend to use recycled material, thus appearing stagnant, while manga always creates new material, thus diversifying their world
The consequence of comics having multiple writers being able to work on the same characters is that they end up treading the same path. They will often use the same character, the same powers, the same world, the same villains, and sometimes, the same character development. The only thing that they ever add is a new plot.
Meanwhile mangakas are forced to create entirely new worlds, new characters, new power systems, and new villains, with varying levels of success of course. But the point is that you will often see extremely diverse worlds. If you were to look at 3 of some of the most popular comic characters, Superman, Batman, and Spiderman, you’ll find that all these characters share the same world with 2 going as far as sharing the same universe. Then you look at 3 famous manga characters, Naruto, Luffy, and Ichigo, you’ll see that these 3 exist in completely different worlds.
This way, manga always feels diverse, and exotic, while comics will often feel similar.
6. Art style
Comic art is usually more realistic, while manga art is usually cartoonish
Comic art is better than anime art. I do not think that is controversial. Yes, you will often find some manga art that is just stunning, but that’s not the same throughout the entire manga. With comic books, you will read an entire story, and find that each and every page is filled with stunning pen work, color compositions, and detailed anatomical work.
Meanwhile, manga art is usually not realistic. Yes there are benefits to manga’s cartoonish style of writing. For example, cartoonish faces are easier to emote. But this does not mean that all simple drawing in manga is deliberate. In fact, there have been instances of mangakas who find success that cannot even draw. The first example that comes to mind is One of One Punch man. But a more fitting example would be Nobuyuki Fukumoto. This man was fired from his first manga studio because he could not draw. Yet, his manga is now winning awards.
The reason for the disparity in manga and comic art is economy. Manga is expected weekly, and worked on by a team guided by one man’s vision. Meanwhile, comic is expected monthly, meaning people can spend more time coloring each page. Also, multiple workers of comics means that some only need to focus on story, and others on the drawings. It makes everything easier for comics.
What Can Writers Learn From What’s the Difference Between Manga and Comics
Think about writing with a partner
I am not saying actually consider writing about a partner. I am saying if you are planning on writing with a partner, think about it for a moment. Are you prepared to have a story that turns into a tradition? Are your prepared to have the same things recycled, and the story becoming stagnant, with no space for improvement? If you are, then you are welcome to write with partners.
But if you intend on doing a series that you can have full flexibility in, you should make sure you write alone. This way, you can have enough space to make it closer to mastering mastery.