Manga vs. Comics

I must admit that I developed a stigma against comics growing up. No, not the stereotypical 'kid's stuff' one, I have always known that you can convey any message with any medium. My stigma was against the whole 'super human' gag. I can't place why, nor will I try to at this moment, but I never enjoyed stories about one extraodinarily gifted person being the saving grace for a populus.

Like many an American geek, however, I took to manga and anime. I felt the characters were easier to relate to -not on such an offset plane as super heroes were to me- the stories flowed smoother, and further more the visual styles always held more appeal. I had always been aware of the use of the valley of uncanny for emphasis on not only people, but objects; to separate important objects, and -as McCloud pointed out- to separate the characters that the reader identifies with from the others. There are other techniques which I had been aware of, but I had never isolated from the works as a whole.

Scott McCloud has also put terminology to these: the balance of "action-to-action," "subject-to-subject," and "aspect-to-aspect" transitions that western comics don't use so much, especially of "aspect-to-aspect" in making sure the reader connects with the setting; the use of balance between positive and negative space over the use of subjects inherant from a long history of fine art; the portrayal of emotions using abstract forms in negative space around the subject, and in using common icons; and subjective motion¹. These techniques have supported each other in such beautiful ways that make Japanese comics a different creature than western comics.

Ref -----
1. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art - Scott McCloud