Comics in the Classroom has a good interview with Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide. He describes the book as for anyone who is curious about manga. The book weighs in at almost 600 pages and reviews more than 900 manga on a scale of 0 to 4 stars. The interview offers a good overview of what manga is, why it has become popular in the US market recently, and some tips for navigating the manga landscape.  Thompson says of manga’s appeal:

Manga addresses a market that American comics had neglected: essentially, everything but superhero comics. Through a combination of factors, American comics had become marginalized. Part of the reason is that, with the exception of hard-to-find indy comics, they completely neglected the women’s market; women make up a huge proportion of manga fans. Another reason, I think, is that (again with the exception of indy comics), American comics were not stories; the mainstream superhero comics are all franchises owned by corporations and they don’t have endings, resolutions, or a creator’s personal touch. Even the most commercial manga has a beginning, an ending, and a single artist associated with that title. Most manga are intended for entertainment, but as I say in my book, they have at least the dramatic continuity of a long-running TV series or a series of paperback novels.

Popularity: 4% [?]