This is kind of an aside, but one thing that I have noticed about superhero manga is that the characters are always shown training day and night and going through immense trials to earn their powers, while American superheroes often are either born with their powers or gain them through some kind of freak accident.
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Something, something, manifest destiny.
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I kind of agree that it’s hard to find good modern US comics and they tend to rehash the same stuff over and over and over. I’ve been digging deep into the Comixology library for going on 8+ years now and I can probably count using both hands the few times I found something new-ish I thought was truly great versus “pretty good” or “ok”. (a few examples: Locke & Key, Saga)
However, I also haven’t found any manga that appeal to me much… if I was, say, a huge fan of
- Watchmen
- Batman: Year One
- The Dark Knight Returns
- V for Vendetta
- Daredevil (2013 Mark Waid era)
- Hawkeye (2012 Matt Fraction era)
- Elektra: Assassin
- Sin City
- Saga of the Swamp Thing (Alan Moore era)
… what great manga in that general area should I try? What do you recommend for someone with those preferences?
(also, if you haven’t re-read Elektra: Assassin recently, try it out. It’s so incredibly gonzo and over the top, even today. Back in the 80s it blew my mind.)
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You know what about looking at this another way for some one like myself. Like for me one of the draws to a lot of manga I like is that it focuses on emotional realities and draws attention to a variety of characters and their internal lives and ways of relating to each other. Of course not all stories are like that, but those are the kinds of stories I like, especially partial to stories that give me a sense of some escapism from dark, angry, hypersexual, and violent content… and even if they do sometimes go there I prefer if they do so with a lot of compassion for the reader and the characters.
Is there a US comic series that is more like that? Like for shojo fans who like shit like fruits basket or Kakuriyo?
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Allison Bechdel? American Splendor? Something Positive? I know there are others… Even something like Saga, which is space opera fantasy, has a kind of gritty and emotional realism to it…
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Love And Rockets is grounded and funny and women-centred, full of music and wrestling and counter-culture references. It looks nice, too
If your definition of “manga” can stretch past “has to be made in Japan” then it really does fit that slice-of-life kind of storytelling.
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Tekkon Kinkreet
Saint Young Men
Lone Wolf and Cub
Barefoot Gen
Solanin
Onward Forward Our Noble Deaths
Buddah
Doing Time
Akira
Uzumaki
Bambi
Some of these comics have live action and animated versions.
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second tekkon kinkreet.
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What about that series where time stops when they are having sex? I remember that one being fun and lighthearted and interesting?
And thank you so much for the detailed recs @BakaNeko 
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It looks like european Indie comics.
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You might like the work of folks like Dan Clowes, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, Seth, and folks like that. Raina Telgemeier might also be a good starting point.
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Not American but not Manga either: Glorious Summers from the other comics thread is pretty much that. It may not be for everyone because that is sort of all it is. I guess many would complain that almost “nothing happens” in that comic.
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You can try another obscure yet vibrant scene. Italian comics, aka Fumetti, are diverse and rich as the japanese ones.
Tex, Dylan Dog, Ken Parker, Ranxerox, Diabolik, Valentina, Corto Maltese are titles to check out.
Spanish comics are good too. Try works by Miguelanxo Prado, Fernando de Felipe, Max, Jaime Martin, Ernesto Murilo and Paco Roca
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The Hernandez brothers are very good. Do you like The Palomar Chronicles?
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I haven’t heard of that, what is it?
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Oh, the real name is “Heartbreak Soup”. I call Palomar Chronicles because It takes place in a small town called Palomar, lost somewhere in Central America. It is part of “Love and Rockets” along with the stories of the Mechanics, that are urban/sci-fi/punk tales. I think It is very good, yet Very bittersweet.
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Por nada. You’re welcome. I wish I could write a lot more about these comics, give you some links. But I am using this small cellphone.
But I couldn’t recommend these comics books more. It was parte of my late library.
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Cool! I’ll check it out, thanks
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