Manga vs Comics: Viral Photo Sparks Debate Over the Future of Graphic Novels

It seems like the debate of manga vs comics will never end. For decades, the two mediums have gone back and forth in the public's eyes as trend cycles make their move. Comics have held a tight grip on the Western market for decades, but once manga was popularized with readers in the 1990s, all bets were off. Though the uptake process was long, manga now accounts for the majority of graphic novel sales in the United States, and viral photo on social media has sparked a new argument over the industry.

As you can see below, Twitter user Ursula K LeChina prompted debate after posting a photo from their local bookstore. It is there you can see an entire wall of manga titles being stocked while graphic novels are relegated to a single corner. The striking image has been viewed nearly 8 million times, and it is drawing conversation from every corner of the comics fandom.

It is actually so fucking over it never even started. pic.twitter.com/nUAngkpk1e

— Ursula K LeChina (@Java_jigga) March 15, 2023

You can find a handful for those replies below, and honestly? They shed some much-needed light on the ongoing debate. For years, the conversation has been manga vs comics when it comes to graphic novels, but it does not need to be that way. Both would be better for readers, but for now, it seems manga is taking the lion's share of the market.

After all, NPD BookScan has carefully tracked print sales of graphic novels in the United States for years, and their data from 2022 to now is eye-opening. According to the latest data, manga takes up 53% of the graphic novels market where sales are concerned. It grew 4.1 points year over year while its next competitor in the market, juvenile fiction, decreased 1.4 points. The genre still holds 26% of the market share, but most of the market categories are in decline. The largest point loss went to the superhero (adult) genre as it lost 1.7 points, leaving it with 4% of the market.

While juvenile fiction titles like Dog Man are doing very well with U.S. readers, the genre cannot compete with manga. Publishers like Viz Media and Kodansha Comics have posted record sales in recent years... and their profits are still rising. This is also accounting for print sales strictly which now overlooks a sizable portion of the manga industry. Thanks to Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app, it is easier than ever to read manga online, and those services are growing annually.

There is no easy answer as to why manga is ballooning in sales compared to Western comics, but netizens have their suspicions. From lack of variety to rehashed concepts, publishers like Marvel and DC Comics have been critiqued as of late for their work. Combined with higher production costs, the bottom line for comic publishers is very different from that of manga publishers. And right now, the latter group is making money hand over fist. 

What do you make of the latest shifts and trends in the comics industry? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.