Manga madness

Alex recently posted an article on manga that pointed out that American comics didn't have much appeal for girls. Here's another one from the LA Times article that makes the same point, but goes a little deeper. (It also makes the point I made over on Alex's blog that part of the reason manga is selling so well is that kids are interested in it simply by virtue of being from Japan. Stuff from Japan is cool!)

I don't mind manga. I think people reading more comics is good for comics. And I especially think that manga's diversity of content has made Marvel and DC sit up and take notice, if not scramble around wildly trying to keep up. I think it's an important step in the legitimacy of the art form. Sure, it's mostly being read by high school girls now, but today's Inuyasha fan might be tomorrow's Love and Rockets reader. Manga is succeeding where American comics aren't, and that's bringing in younger readers.*

*I know high school isn't really the age range people are thinking of when they suggest that there needs to be comics for "younger readers," but high school is still younger than your average American comics fan.