New Moon Graphic Novel Volume 2
Madelyn Westfall
The following is an interview with Sourya regarding the release of the graphic novel, Talli, Daughter of the Moon Volume 2, through Oni Press. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Sourya about his creative process in returning to the world of Talli, Daughter of the Moon, how he infuses his early manga influences into his artistic style, and more! Plus, enjoy a preview from the graphic novel following the interview!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the second release from your graphic novel series! What can you share with us about your experience in returning to this world and characters of Talli, Daughter of the Moon and seeing them evolve over time?
Sourya: I honestly am not sure, haha! I hope in a positive way. For me, my manga Talli tells the story of a young teenager struggling to find her place in the world, searching for her path in life. Most of her journey is about how she learns more about herself and her feelings at each volume. So, I just hope readers connect to these emotions and feel inspired by her journey!
High Moon, Vol. 1
At first, I thought High Moon was just about werewolves, and I was seriously wrong. High Moon might contain werewolves, but it tackles so much more in its short, three-chapter graphic novel that it is almost offensive to assume that Gallaher and Ellis were making only a werewolf comic.
While trying to index the indivual issues of various comics (let alone the varient covers etc.) is a daunting task, the work is eventually released as a hardcover book. The only downside is that the booksellers don't always make it clear which titles are graphic novels, and I've gotten a number of angry letters from readers who spend money on what they assumed was the next book in the series, only to get a graphic novel . . .
Comic books are a different medium, and there are some subtle changes to the story. Basically, it's hard to have characters doing page after page of thinking (what boring graphics those would be), so the comics tend to be a little more action-focused. The shorter length means that it's difficult to include all the small details of the original novel, so doing a good adaptation is surprisingly difficult. The team at Dynamite did a great job!
By the way, this cover is one of my favorites. It was drawn by Amilia Woo, who also drew much of the interior art. The production schedule for these comics was demanding, but it shows what an artist can do if the time (and budget) permits! Moon Called: Part 2 If you enjoyed the first half of the story, here's the second half!
I changed several details to make the graphic novel work. Small things mostly, but an astutue reader will see some inconsistencies. The comic Mercy is going to be slightly different than the "real" Mercy. Changes need to be made to tell a good story in a different medium, and I want the comics to be enjoyable reads.
Sophie Campbell has worked in comics professionally since Oni Press's Too Much Hopeless Savages all the way back in 2002. Since then she's gone on to do 7 volumes of Wet Moon, Shadoweyes for Iron Circus Comics, a couple graphic novels for Tokyopop and DC, a few issues of her self-published fantasy comic Mountain Girl, 12 issues of Glory for Image, 13 issues of Jem & the Holograms for IDW, over 50 issues for IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a bunch of other stuff she can't remember. She lives in upstate New York with her cat Rambo and an ever-growing hoard of Japanese monster toys.
Manga is an umbrella term for a wide variety of comic books and graphic novels originally produced and published in Japan. Unlike American comic books, which are usually printed in full color, Japanese manga are almost always published in black and white. Full-color prints are often only used for special releases.
In Japan, manga are typically released on a monthly or a weekly chapter-by-chapter basis through manga magazines such as Weekly Shōnen Jump, (which has been in circulation since 1968). If a series is popular enough, its chapters are then collected and published into volumes called tankōbon volumes, which usually feature a few chapters of the overall story.
Most manga series are long-running and can span multiple volumes. This is something to keep in mind when starting a new series as it is imperative you read the volumes in the correct order. This might be easier for small series, such as Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon, which only has about 12 volumes, versus longer-running series such as Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, which has 42 volumes.
Anime is yet another umbrella term for all forms of animation created and published in Japan. When most people hear the word 'anime,' they think of adaptations of manga series, such as Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon. Both television shows boosted the popularity of Japanese anime in the west when they aired on American TV during the 1990s.
If a manga series is popular enough, it might then become an anime, as was the case with both Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon. In some cases, the opposite is true; a popular original anime will be given a manga adaptation. However, the two terms are not interchangeable.
Manga is chiefly categorized by audience first, then genre. For example, CLAMP's Cardcaptor Sakura is a shojo (young girls) "magical girl" (sub-genre) manga. However, this does not mean a boy cannot enjoy the series. That is simply how they are marketed. If you were looking for manga for a young boy who likes fantasy or mystery, you would search for "shonen (boy) fantasy" or "shonen mystery" manga.
We would need an entirely different blog post to cover the gargantuan number of manga genres and sub-genres that exist so, for now, we will simply cover the types of audiences to which manga are marketed. If you are looking for more information on manga genres and subgenres, then check out: Beginner's Guide to Manga 3: Genres and Subgenres.
Shonen manga often feature lots of action and comedy, and some sort of coming-of-age camaraderie between characters. The manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump and its American counterpart, Shonen Jump, have routinely published some of the most popular shonen manga series of the last 30 years including Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, and Shonen Jump's most recent mega-hit, Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.
The focus here is less on action and more on drama, emotion, and, almost always, idealized romance. Like shonen manga, shojo manga usually feature the coming-of-age story of a young protagonist. You can usually identify shojo covers by their use of pretty pinks, flowers, or other cutesy images.
This is not to say that shojo manga consists only of cute, fun stories. Their narratives vary as much as any other genre. For instance, Ai Yazawa's Nana is technically classified as a shojo series because it was published in a shojo magazine, although the story follows two young women as they navigate their way through personal relationships, sexual relationships, and drug use on their way to fulfill their dreams. This is completely different from, say, CLAMP's Cardcaptor Sakura, which follows a ten-year-old girl with magical powers who has to save her city from monsters.
Naoko Takeuchi's Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, a.k.a. Sailor Moon,is probably the most famous example of a shojo series. It follows Usagi Tsukino, a normal 14-year-old girl who finds out she is the reincarnated form of the legendary Sailor Moon, a defender of love and justice from the now-destroyed Moon Kingdom. With her fellow Sailor Senshi (Sailor Scouts), she must defend the Earth from the forces of evil in the name of the Moon.
Just like shonen manga, seinen manga features action and violence, but with a more serious or darker tone, as well as adult content such as sexual situations, graphic violence, or foul language. If a series does not fit into any other category such as Shonen or Shojo, then it will be put under seinen.
Whereas shonen series often feature characters with an idealized, naive, or innocent view of the world, seinen series usually follow protagonists who must face a reality where the hero does not always save the day. Seinen covers are often dark and gritty, and feature male protagonists.
Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is probably one of the most recognizable seinen thanks in part to its epic anime adaptation that paved the way for Japanese animation's popularity in the west. Kentarō Miura's Berserk has been in publication since its debut in 1989. Whereas Akira is set in a post-apocalyptic future, Berserk takes place in a high fantasy world based loosely on European mythology, illustrating the wide variety of genre manga available.
Yun Kouga's Loveless is probably one of the most well-known josei manga series. It follows 12-year-old Ritsuka, a character who must rely on a mysterious and older man named Soubi to find answers regarding his older brother's mysterious and brutal murder.
Many manga series cross gender and age divides to be enjoyed by everyone, such as Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist. There are also manga that defy the conventions of their genre, such as Kaiu Shirai's Promised Neverland and Kiyohiko Azuma's Yotsuba, which are technically shonen manga, although both feature female protagonists.
We mention this so readers can have a better understanding of what differentiates certain manga series. More often than not, people assume all manga is geared towards teens or children, which can lead to problems if a well-meaning educator, parent, or librarian unwittingly gives a young child access to a sexually explicit manga meant for adults.
As with any other form of narrative, manga can run the gamut from serious, heart-wrenching drama to silly, mindless fun. Most manga feature over-exaggerated situations, comedy, or art, as over-exaggeration is practically a staple of the brand.
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