An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

drawn in the style of

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses all foreign comics which draw inspiration from the "form of presentation and expression" found in Japanese

. This may also apply to manga-inspired comics made in other languages.

History and nomenclature

The growth of manga translation and publishing in the United States has been a slow progression over several decades. The earliest manga-derived series to be released in the United States was a redrawn American adaptation of

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

's ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...

'' published by Gold Key Comics starting in 1965. In 1979, the Gold Key published the comic book '' Battle of Planets'', based on a television series of the same name. Marvel published a series based Shogun Warriors, bringing characters of the mecha anime and manga series: '' Brave Raideen'', '' Chodenji Robo Combattler V'' and ''

Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace is a Japanese science fiction on television, science fiction anime series created by Leiji Matsumoto with Dan Kobayashi. ''Danguard Ace'' was Matsumoto's only contribution to the mecha anime and manga, mecha genre. Synopsis Danguard Ace ...

''. Original English-language manga first began to appear in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. The San Antonio-based publisher Antarctic Press produced the anthology '' Mangazine'' in 1985, and the Ohio-based Rion Productions published two issues of ''Rion 2990'', by Doug Brammer and Ryan Brown, in 1986. Between 1986 and 1988, First Comics published a serie about a

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

, '' Dynamo Joe'', created by Doug Rice, it was scripted first by John Ostrander then by Phil Foglio. Ben Dunn sometimes filled in for Rice on the art. In the late 1980s, Antarctic and Eternity Comics published manga-inspired works like Ben Dunn's '' Ninja High School'' (debuting in 1987) and Jason Waltrip's '' Metal Bikini'' (debuting in 1990), as well as adaptations of

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

like '' Captain Harlock'', ''

Robotech ''Robotech'' is an American-Japanese science fiction Media franchise, franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United St ...

'' and '' Lensman''. As early as 1993, Japan-owned

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

issued a line of American manga. Shortened to "Amerimanga", it is thought to be the earliest colloquial name for these types of works. Other variations on OEL manga, such as western manga, world manga, global manga, manga-influenced comics, neo-manga, and nissei comi can occasionally be heard as substitute names, but the term OEL manga is most commonly used today. OEL manga gradually became more widely used, even if usually incorrectly, because it was a more inclusive, global term that included works produced by all English-speakers encompassing works originating in countries such as Canada, Australia, and United Kingdom as well as in the United States. Anime News Network columnist Carlo Santos made the first recorded use of the term on April 28, 2005, on his personal blog, and others began using it on forums and spreading the popularity of the phrase. By October 2005, publishing industry journal

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

was also making use of the term, but manga publishers have yet to use it in official advertisements or press releases. However the original parent loan word,

, is still used by publishers such as Tokyopop,

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, and various small presses as a blanket term for all of their bound graphic novels—without reference to origin or location of its creator(s). The significance of the word, however, has mutated outside

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

as a reference to

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

originally published in Japan, regardless of style or language.

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an list of companies of the United States by state, American company that publishes reference work, reference books and is mostly known for Webster's Dictionary, its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary pub ...

's dictionary defines the word

as meaning "a Japanese comic or graphic novel", reflecting the change of the meaning this word has had once used outside Japan. Because the word "manga"—being a Japanese

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

in English use—means comics initially published in Japan, there have been attempts to find more appropriate terms for the growing number of publications of manga created by non-Japanese authors. Beside the term “OEL Manga”, there is also the term “manga-influenced comics” (MIC) in use. For example, '' Megatokyo'', which was scheduled to be published by the largest manga producer

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

, is still referenced as a "manga-influenced comic". Anime and manga news site

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

currently uses the term "world manga", coined by Jason DeAngelis of Seven Seas Entertainment, to describe these works in their column entitled Right-Turn Only. In May 2006, Tokyopop officially changed the name of their line of non-Japanese manga to "global manga", considering it a more respectful and accurate term than Amerimanga with its negative connotations of being a sub-par quality of work in comparison to Japanese manga; however, the Tokyopop books themselves, whether they come from Japan, Korea, or some other country, all say manga on them and are shelved in the manga section of the major bookstore chains such as Barnes & Noble alongside Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, Chinese manhua, French la nouvelle manga, and American graphic novels of similar size and dimensions. It is understood, however, that

does not act as a

when used in the original

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

and therefore it only takes its original meaning of, simply,

Creators

Notable OEL manga creators include: * Wes Abbott * Queenie Chan * Svetlana Chmakova * Mark Crilley *

Nunzio DeFilippis Nunzio DeFilippis is an American writer of comic books and television. He writes with his wife, Christina Weir, whom he met while they were both students at Vassar College. Career DeFilippis and Weir have written for two seasons on HBO's '' Arli$ ...

* Ben Dunn * Rod Espinosa * Fred Gallagher * Amy Kim Ganter * ILYA * Sean Lam * M. Alice LeGrow * Nina Matsumoto * Fred Perry * Madeleine Rosca * Siku * Felipe Smith * Hans Steinbach * Waltrip brothers * Adam Warren *

Christina Weir Christina Weir is an American writer of comic books and television. She writes with her husband, Nunzio DeFilippis, whom she met while they were both students at Vassar College. Career Weir and DeFilippis have written for two seasons on HBO's '' ...

* Odunze Oguguo * Eric Wight * Joseph Wight *

Tommy Yune Tommy Yune is a South Korean-born American comic book author who became known for his manga-style work on ''Speed Racer'', which was followed by a comic industry revival of classic anime shows such as ''Battle of the Planets'' and ''Robotech'' ...

Original English-language manga publishers

Antarctic Press

Antarctic Press most notably publishes the extremely long-running '' Ninja High School'' (debuted 1987) and '' Gold Digger'' (debuted 1992) comic books, with heavy inspiration from manga in terms of art and high-paced imaginative action/humor storytelling style; and also publishes newer works like '' Neotopia'' (debuted 2003). These are consistently collected into pocket-sized

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

format. If the original comics appeared in color, Antarctic Press also publishes the collected manga in color as well.

eigoMANGA

eigoMANGA publishes two Original English-Language manga anthology comic books and several graphic novel series. '' Sakura Pakk'' (debuted 2004) is a shōjo-based anthology graphic novel while ''

Rumble Pak The is a removable device from Nintendo that provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player i ...

'' (debuted 2004) is their shōnen-based comic book series. eigoMANGA means "English Comics" in Japanese and they market themselves as OEL manga publishers.

Eternity Comics/Malibu Comics

Eternity Comics/

Malibu Comics Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. (launched as Malibu Graphics) was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. Notable titles published by Malibu included ''Th ...

was one of the earliest American publishers to adapt popular anime into comics form, and put out original English-language manga. Operated from 1986 to 1994.

Kodansha

is one of the largest publishers in Japan. Through bi-annual international manga contests the company seeks talent outside Japan. According to Eijiro Shimada, editor-in-chief of ''Morning Two'' and deputy editor-in-chief of ''

Morning Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and nigh ...

'', some readers in Japan are interested in manga produced in other parts of the world. In May 2004,

formed a partnership with

Del Rey Books Del Rey Books is an imprint (trade name), imprint of the Random House Group, a division of Penguin Random House. The imprint was established in 1977 under the editorship of Judy-Lynn del Rey and her husband, author Lester del Rey. Today, th ...

called

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint (trade name), imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cr ...

to publish many of their books in English in the United States. Some of the more popular titles published by

include ''

Negima! Magister Negi Magi ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from Febru ...

'' by Ken Akamatsu and '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' by Clamp.

published a Japanese language edition of '' Megatokyo'' in 2009.

Seven Seas Entertainment

Seven Seas Entertainment has published many Original English-Language manga and manga-inspired webcomics, such as '' Amazing Agent Luna'' (debuted 2005), '' Aoi House'' (debuted 2005), '' Hollow Fields'' (debuted 2007), and an adaptation of

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...

's ''

Ringworld ''Ringworld'' is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. ''Ringworld'' tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, an ...

''.

Studio Ironcat

Briefly before its closing in 2006, American manga publisher Studio Ironcat published a magazine series called ''AmeriManga'' from 2002 to 2003. A few of the titles in the compilation have since moved on to be published in other formats by other companies, most notably TOKYOPOP. Other similar magazines are still in publication today, including EigoManga's '' Sakura Pakk'' and ''RumblePakk'' titles; Purrsia Press's ''Mangatron''; ''Mangazine''; and ''Shōjo''. International magazines of the same type include Britain's ''MangaMover'' and ''Sweatdrop''; the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n publication ''Kiseki''; and the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

magazine ''Kitsune''.

Tokyopop

Tokyopop was formerly the world's largest publisher of manga-inspired comics written in the English language, and used to publish over two dozen titles. From 2002 to 2011, the company actively promoted new writers via its popular '' Rising Stars of Manga'' annual competition and collection. Several winners from the competition eventually published their own books under the Tokyopop imprint. In a 2006 deal with

, the company announced the expansion of its distribution and new adaptation projects based on American prose novels. It was indicated that Tokyopop planned to produce over 100 new comics over the next two years.

Scholastic

On Spring 2022, Tezuka Productions launched an international Kickstarter campaign to fund an English-language manga reboot series of

's '' Unico'' called ''Unico: Awakening'' by writer Samuel Sattin and artist duo Gurihiru on Spring 2022. After the campaign was fully funded within 24 hours,

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

announced publication of the series as part of Graphix Imprint on September 20, 2023. Both Scholastic and Tezuka Productions also announced the series to be expanded to 4 volumes with activity and handbooks to accompany them.

Reception

According to Lillian Diaz-Przybyl, an editor at Tokyopop, their best selling OEL manga sells about half as well as their best selling Japanese-origin manga. The trade magazine ''ICv2 Guide to Manga'' lists the top 25 and top 50 best-selling manga based on sales data obtained from bookstores and comics shops across the United States. The table below shows those OEL manga that reached the top 25 or top 50 sales status in 2007 and 2008 with their sales ranks and ICv2 references. ''ICv2''s editors write that titles not released during the time period shown tend to drop down or off the list, while titles released during the same time period tend to rise."New Series Make the Grade." ''ICv2 Guide'', #59, November/December 2008. page 6.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Original English-Language Manga Anime and manga terminology Comics formats