How does the Japanese manga culture compare to that in the US?
One could say that the only similarities are that both American and Japanese comics use images in a certain sequence to tell a story. Beyond that it’s entirely different. Japanese comics and characters are owned by the artists (unlike famous characters like Superman and Spiderman, which are owned by their publishing companies). Japanese comics are read by everyone, male and female, young and old; even Japanese people who say they don’t read comics actually do read them…but the comics are in the form of instructional brochures, owner’ manuals, how-to books, and short features in magazines. Comics are so pervasive in Japanese culture; people read them without knowing it. America has a long way to go before that happens.
