I’ve been gone from the site for awhile. On my time away, I started shopping for textbooks. Then I needed to shop for teen literature and plays for two other classes. When I noticed some of my orders didn’t reach the “$25 and over free shipping,” I started to get a few comics I’ve been waiting to buy. Though none were manga, which I need to catch up on, many of them were bargains. And because they were bargains, I think it is a good time for some people to go back and invest in their favorite hobby: collecting comics and manga.

Barnes & Noble is holding an After Holiday Sale and Clearance on many comics. Sadly, the online site is running out of stock on most comics. But hopefully there are a few copies left at the actual retail (just check for the store availability link usually on right side). I found Stephen King’s Dark Tower lying in the bargain section under Silver Surfer and Punisher for seven dollars. Now seven dollars is around the same price as a manga, but this was a hardcover book. Hardcovers usually sell around $20 to which I just wait for the paper back cover.

If Barnes & Noble isn’t your store for books, then Borders is the next best thing (or better). They may sell at retail prices, but they always have a discount to go with it. Right now the Borders website allows customers to use multiple coupons on their orders. If the bargain bin in B&N doesn’t tickle your fancy, try something more along your taste at a reduced price in Borders. For info on coupons, look at the greatest site ever made.

There is also Powell’s and Amazon’s online stores. Powell’s sells used books, and if you’re lucky comics and manga, and Amazon…everyone knows about Amazon. If there are other sites with great deals on comics and manga, now is the time to start sharing. It’s understandable if people still want to save their money, especially now. But if we can stretch our dollar for some quality entertainment, then why not?

I think I should stop making my titles into questions, but this is quite an issue we are talking about. While surfing the web for some manga news, Lori Henderson from Manga Xanadu posted an editorial that ranted on the School Library Journal’s choice for “Best Books for 2009″ (though Henderson pointed out that the list’s title was actually “Best Comics and Manga for 2009“). Somehow the discussion in the rant led to a concern for children reading comics over books. For some reason when it comes to the comparison of novels to comics, there is some biased agreement that novels are a “superior” form of reading to comics. I’m sure this isn’t new to anyone, especially those who read comics or manga. However, this biased thinking really needs to stop.

Novels and comics are two different mediums. Just because reading is the main interaction readers have with the two doesn’t meaning comparing one to the other is fine. No one would compare a film to a television show just based on the fact people watch what’s happening (if you do, you really shouldn’t). All the mentioned mediums execute their stories in a different structure from the other. Focusing back on novels and comics, one uses only words to move the reader through the story while the other uses a juxtaposition of pictures and words to progress the story. But as said before, because reading is the main sense people use for both mediums, the two are automatically compared and placed under a ranking or status. And we know who is ranked where.

There is only one reason why I think people still view comics as an “inferior” reading material to novels…

There’s Pictures

*Insert Sarcasm* Novels don’t need pictures to move a story. The pictures are visualized in the mind, “painted” by beautiful sentence structures and details. There is no need for pictures when words will do just fine. *End Sarcasm*

Pictures somehow degrade comics into a lower reading status, somewhere behind children’s books. It’s seen as elementary, something meant for kids. People still think this way even though the medium appeals to adult audiences as well. But pictures, or artworks as it is more appropriately called, are used with words to move a story. It’s an art form that specializes in this type of juxtaposition, one a novel cannot do.

There could be other reasons to the degrade comics gets, like terrible storylines or writing (which I’m sure novels have as well), but the picture issue seems to be the main one. If others want to add their take, comment as well. Would like to hear from you.

It’s been awhile since I wrote another for the blog. But I’m curious to know one thing. When you read a manga and there are numerous cliches in the story, is it okay? You’ve heard my take on the subject of walking cliches, but I wonder about other people’s opinions.

For those who don’t know what a cliche is (shame on you), here is the definition from Wiki:

A cliché is a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel.

Now if you need an example, just read a few manga titles and find some common element within each manga. The “good” guy character, rain equals sick person, love, etc. I don’t really consider “fan service” as a cliche, but it is a well known technique used in many manga titles.

Personally if the story is strong or the character develops into something more, then it isn’t such a problem. But it becomes bothersome when the cliche doesn’t go away. But I’m more interested in others opinions of the subject.

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No, really. Go look at the Great Manga Project.

Just Bento is also doing a give away. The prize is The Manga Cookbook. Link here.

For those who want to show off their art skills, Holiday Anime Faire is calling for entries in postcard art and coloring contest. Children from Kindergarten to 6th grade can enter in the coloring contest while everyone older will have to enter the postcard contest. Offical rules at their website.

Ever wanted to watch that one episode of Robot Chicken where Voltron gets served or that episode of Boondocks where Granddad gets whipped by a blind man, but didn’t want to pay the full price of the DVDs just for one episode? Well now you can with Adult Swims new marketing pitch.

Starting today, Adult Swim will allow customers to customize and purchase their newly made DVDs. They can select episodes up to 110 minutes from Adult Swims programs, choose the disc art and a cover image, design the DVD menu, and have the thing shipped all for a mere $20. It seems, however, that this is restricted to US customers (sorry international friends). 100 TV episodes will be available, including some not available on DVD. I’m assuming this is content that wouldn’t be in the original DVD.

It’s unknown whether Adult Swim will include their anime lineup with the selection, excluding Boondocks. I wanted to try out the customization, but couldn’t get the page working. Anyone else get the page to work? And if you did, what do you think about the whole thing?

We’ve all done it before. When we don’t want to solve that impossible math problem, when we don’t want to remember all those Latin-based biology terms, when we don’t want to write that stupid essay due tomorrow, we do something else that is more fun. Video games, television, and the internet are some of the big helpers that create the procrastinating effect. But how about manga, or even anime? Sure manga is not as interactive as video games or the internet, but it does take away your valuable time from what you could be doing. Like a novel, it needs the reader to help unfold the story right before our very eyes. It consumes us, and our time.

Using me as an example, I am starting to see my grades slide a bit. But if you ask me what has been keeping me from doing my homework properly, I’ll just list them:

(1) Video games – I am just rediscovering why video games are so awesome.

(2) Internet – I just need to check my emails, and my site, and other people’s sites, and movie news, and new games, and things that are on sale, and…

(3) TV shows – I’ve been trying to catch up on a lot of shows I’ve missed. And they are so good.

(4) Manga

Some of you understand the power of the first three, but the last one doesn’t seem like a big factor. Well it is. Recently I was reading Katekyo Hitman Reborn! just so I can get through the first lame story arc. Well I got through it, but when I moved on to the second story arc things got a little interesting. The third story arc got my attention and the fourth story arc completely got me hooked. As you can see reading three story arcs grabbed and held my full attention through these days. I continued to read the manga until I finally caught up. Geez. I sacrificed valuable homework time just to start following the manga’s storyline. Because of this I’m sure the quality of my two paged essays went down a lot.

Though I haven’t been updating much content on the site, I have been getting a lot of school work lately. But as I said before, I have been lacking in my homework and that has led me to procrastination. (This in turn makes me forget I pushed the site aside to make room for school work.) Some of the reasons I don’t do homework: one, I hate essays (I’m a creative writing major, but I have to go through all the English major requirements); two, I have a site to run (which I haven’t been doing a good job as of now); and three, I work better under pressure. But it’s number three that has been getting me in trouble as of late. I did a close analysis essay on the same day it was due, and I’m sure it read like shit. We are getting around holiday vacation time and I’m already ready! If only I could closely analyze manga as an essay topic, that would be more interesting to read than freaking Donna Haraway.

Anyway, the point of the matter is this: never become an English major. Though I am curious to hear from others if manga or anime has kept them from doing their homework.