Since pretty much forever until recent times, American comic books have been the main graphic novels that people read. Some of the world’s most popular fictional characters come from these comic books.
A lot of our favorite superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man have been around for so long that there are many different versions of them in different universes created by different writers.
Unless you magically happen to keep up with every new continuity like myself, you are going to be very confused about where to start reading.
Comics are also plagued with the issue of having to read multiple runs or events to have a hint of understanding of what is currently happening.
In addition, it does not help that collecting comics is very expensive and prices can add up quickly. Most trade paperbacks that collect about five to six issues are $20 at the bare minimum.
Japanese manga, on the other hand, does not suffer from this problem whatsoever. Almost every manga you can think of is only a singular story from beginning to end.
Manga readers are not often forced to read multiple series or events to understand the full picture. They can just start from chapter one and get the full experience.
Manga offers a wider range of genres, giving audiences of multiple interests various options on what they can read.
According to Publishers Weekly, manga accounted for almost 45% of all comic book sales in 2022.
To add on, Eichiro Oda’s critically acclaimed pirate story “One Piece” is currently the second highest-selling comic of all time, only being surpassed by “Superman.
As anime is becoming more mainstream here in the West, manga is only going to continue to grow and will keep the comic business going forward.