Manga, or comics from Japan has contributed immensely to visual storytelling all over the world. This course focuses on the history and cultural context of manga through assigned readings, lectures, in-class discussions, and both in-class and out-of-class assignments. This class is focused on the history, creative and business ecosystem of manga publishing in Japan, and how manga creators learn their craft, and create stories and characters that keep readers coming back for the latest chapters every week/month.
In addition to weekly exercises / explorations, students will be encouraged to create two short stories this semester: a “doujinshi” or fan/parody comic based on characters and worlds depicted in existing comics/movies/TV series and an original comics short story that can be entered in either the VIZ Originals One-Shot contest or the Silent Manga Audition Competition, sponsored by Coamix.
In addition to weekly exercises / explorations, students will be encouraged to create two short stories this semester: a “doujinshi” or fan/parody comic based on characters and worlds depicted in existing comics/movies/TV series and an original comics short story that can be entered in either the VIZ Originals One-Shot contest or the Silent Manga Audition Competition, sponsored by Coamix.
- Instructor: Debora Aoki