I saw a member of a forum wondering if manga have literary value. By extension, we can apply this question to all types of comics: graphic novels, manhwas, etc.
According to this person, manga should have literary value since one of the forms of expression in this medium is through writing. However, he wondered why most works were so shallow and full of ecchi/hentai (sexually suggestive or explicit content).
I thought about this a bit and will argue that yes, manga/comics do have literary value, even though they have a nature quite different from books.
Let’s look at the arguments:
1. Comics are a new medium
Comics are a very new medium, having consolidated less than 100 years ago. Books, on the other hand, have thousands of years of history and have gone through a whole process of maturation and philosophical discussion to get to where they are today.
It’s natural that as a medium ages, it matures due to the growth of its main authors and audience, the consolidation of techniques used, among other factors. Therefore, we need to give it time.
2. We compare the best books with average manga
Books, as I mentioned, have thousands of years of history, and it was once difficult to preserve them: they had to be rewritten by hand, very different from today where you can just use copy and paste. Because of this, only the best books from past eras were copied. It was a matter of prioritizing the most important.
Moreover, in the past, writing was very expensive. The price of paper, ink, and other materials was very inaccessible, and illiteracy was the norm. To write something, you needed a certain social status and willingness to do so.
Thus, not everything from that time remained documented: only the best books of each era survived. Even when we think of more recent times, such as the 19th and 20th centuries, we remember the best books of each era, not the hundreds of dubious quality works that fell into oblivion.
But while we view books with this positive bias, we look at comics with a simplistic bias: manga full of sexual connotation and romances that go nowhere, superhero comics that follow the same formula and lack depth, etc.
Therefore, we end up comparing apples to oranges instead of apples to apples. It would be better to compare the books and comics of the last 30 years, now that both media are easier to produce: we will see that most works are fantasy or romance, with sexual innuendos and little depth. In this, they are very similar.
3. Comics combine literary and aesthetic value
In comics, it’s not just the reading that matters: the author’s drawings are also fundamental.
are comics with a lot of text and little happening (like some moments in Hunter x Hunter and One Piece) and others where the drawing already tells you everything you need to know (like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Blood on the Tracks). Sometimes, even within the same work, we see these two moments alternating.
Depending on the author, the work, and many factors, the aesthetic or literary value has more importance, like on a scale:
I made this ridiculous drawing in Paint to help illustrate.
Therefore, we must consider that comics are a mix of painting and literature and, because of that, differ from books. We need to judge them appropriately, as their own unique form.
The verdict
Personally, I think no other form of art surpasses literature. I believe it is the freest art form, as I mentioned in another article, and it allows us to see the introspection of characters like no other medium can.
However, this doesn’t mean that comics aren’t a genuine form of art. If we look beyond the most famous works, we will see extremely rich comics that can leave a lasting impression on our lives.
Authors you should know
That said, I want to recommend some authors worth knowing:
Shuzo Oshimi: My favorite mangaka, he has a very distinctive style and stories that mix drama, romance, and suspense. Most of his stories deal with the transition from adolescence to adulthood. I recommend Aku no Hana, Blood on the Tracks, and Drifting Net Cafe, my favorite works by him.
Naoki Urasawa: His artstyle is were western-like, so he’s great for western audiences. His words have a tone of suspense and investigation, using some sci-fi elements. I recommend Pluto, 20th Century Boys, and Monster.
Kentaro Miura: One of the best illustrators ever. Although the story of his main manga, Berserk, doesn’t go much further after its two main arcs, it’s still worth reading. Berserk sums up all those Enlightenment stereotypes against the Middle Ages, but I still suggest you check it out.
Yoshihiro Togashi: If you want something more action/adventure but with increasing complexity, I recommend his most famous work, Hunter x Hunter. He does this “mind games” like no one else.
Junji Ito: He has gained a lot of notoriety in the West in the last few years. His specialty is horror, and he does it better than anybody. I recommend Uzumaki and Tomie.
Other notable authors include Inio Asano, Osamu Tezuka, Takehiko Inoue… there are many! Unfortunately, I still know little about Western comics, but I have really enjoyed everything I’ve read from Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore.
I plan to read some recommendations from my girlfriend and bring more Western recommendations in the future.