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November 11, 2005

The Next Stage in the Funny Page

"Doonesbury" and "Peanuts," make way for "manga." Come January, the Sunday funnies of several major North American newspapers will have doe-eyed women in frilly outfits, effeminate long-haired heroes and other trademark images of the Japanese comic style.

The reason? Newspaper editors want to attract more young readers. A study released earlier this year by the Carnegie Corporation put the age of newspaper readers at 53 and climbing — hardly a recipe for circulation growth. [And the rest of the industry numbers ain't reassuring either]

The outfit, Universal Press Syndicate, is gonna start things small. Just test the waters with two American made manga:

"Van Von Hunter," by Ron Kaulfersch and Mike Schwark, is a horror spoof about a warrior and his female sidekick who dress in Gothic-inspired costumes and are on a mission to fight evil.

The quirky "Peach Fuzz" explores conflicting views of reality. It depicts 9-year-old Amanda's desire to become friends with her pet ferret, Peach, who harbors delusions of being a pampered, veil-donning princess.

Okay, those sound harmless. Not that crazy raped-by-space-alien-tentacles-and-evil-tree-roots manga. Quite a relief. Call me a prude, but I, for one, feel quite strongly there’s little room for tentacle rape in newspaper comic strips, even if tastefully done. (Been getting racy enough lately as it is, what with all the bed-hopping that silver fox Mary Worth's been up to. And Rex Morgan, M.D.? Have you read it lately? Sex Organ M.D. is more like it.)

To get a head start, you can find strips of Van Von Hunter here. And ladies, a little info on that adorable Peach Fuzz here.

For those of you depressed by what this augers, grumbling and mumbling yourself into some deep, funny-page-nostalgic-funk, Slate did a nice slide-show essay earlier this week on the best strip ever, Calvin and Hobbes. Read and remember.

posted by Dr. Reo Symes at 01:00 AM

Comments

Dammit, Doc-- I *want* my crazy raped-by-space-alien-tentacles-and-evil-tree-roots manga!

Oh well. I guess I'll settle for this stuff, as long as I can get an anime chick that looks just like MSNBC's Chris Jansing. Ya gotta love the Stewie Head!

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge on November 11, 2005 01:40 AM

How absolutely typical of Stale to portray Watterson's brilliant, joyous work as your ordinary gloomy, leftist, anti-corporate rant.

Posted by: someone on November 11, 2005 02:15 AM

My wife was part of the crop of manga-ka from whence Van Von Hunter sprang, and I can say that unless you are an anime affictionado , you could probably care less one way or the other.

That is, unless you really go for anime style catgirls, in which case you need to visit the Wilde Home for Wayward Catgirls:

http://www.bewildered-art.com/catgirls

Just recognize that in spite of the fact that I am (and the wife is to a lesser extent) are Right Wing Death Beasts, we continue to love those crazy Japanese influences...

Posted by: J. Wilde on November 11, 2005 02:19 AM

For a country so small, Japan is an impressive "cultural exporter", second only to the anglosphere. (Even back when I was a kid, every girl who was anyone had all the latest Hello Kitty gear.)

Posted by: SJKevin on November 11, 2005 02:42 AM

I will always remember.

Posted by: Russ on November 11, 2005 03:13 AM

Ahhh,

You've hit on the reason why newspaper circulation fell by at least ONE. I bought my last newspaper the day they quit printing Calvin and Hobbes.

Morons.

Posted by: RightNumberOne on November 11, 2005 07:01 AM

I suppose they have to do something, but I suspect that a couple of watered-down manga strips is not going to turn the tide of millions of younger people who get their news and information pretty much exclusively from INTERNET.

Posted by: Phinn on November 11, 2005 09:01 AM

Call me a prude, but I, for one, feel quite strongly there’s little room for tentacle rape in newspaper comic strips, even if tastefully done.

What? There's always room for tentacle rape. Haven't you been reading For Better or Worse lately?

Posted by: Evil Otto on November 11, 2005 09:08 AM

There's actually some potential here.

Who here wouldn't mind to see Zonker Harris go head-to-head with Tetsuo Shima?

Posted by: Xoxotl on November 11, 2005 09:59 AM

You know, one thing they could do to get the interest of the kids is maybe try to put the newspaper on those newfangled computer boxes all the kids are talking about.

I know, it would lose some of the charm of having someone throw a sack of wet, filthy, ink-smeared garbage on your doorstep, but at least you'd still get to pay to read what people who are no smarter than you tell you how to think.

Posted by: Tom on November 11, 2005 10:26 AM

Wow. Peach Fuzz got a mention in "Ferrets" magazine.

Peach Fuzz Accolades Keep Rolling In

Kudos

Posted by: on November 11, 2005 12:09 PM

"Bloom County," the first time around - none of that "Outland" crap for me, thanks - was better.

But Calvin and Hobbes is a close runner-up.

Posted by: Knemon on November 11, 2005 03:04 PM

If anybody cares, Rex Morgan, M.D. actually has a current storyline about a badly wounded Iraq vet. It's still unclear what political statement, if any, they're trying to make.

A few months ago, they had a storyline about somebody who died of cancer after he lost his job and couldn't afford health insurance, but they didn't come out and blame either political party.

Posted by: loge on November 11, 2005 03:16 PM