Owner-controlled
comics and art inspired by anime and manga are the two hot trends in
21st-century comic art. Those developments seem fresh and unprecedented
to today's fans and artists, but the trend had some fascinating
pioneers -- Richard and Wendy Pini, creators of the Elfquest comic
series. Elfquest broke the pattern of American comics when it made its
debut, a quarter-century ago. It literally drew from Wendy Pini's
appreciation of the style and format of Japanese comics. The highest
compliment that came from the Sequential Tart web site, when a
reviewer called their series "the first American manga." The Pinis
chose the art style of Elfquest because they liked manga, long before
it was fashionable or even well-known in the U.S. Elfquest was born in
the mid 1970's, when Star Wars was a revelation and the first wave of
modern fantasy fiction was finding and audience. However, American-made
mass distribution comics were, just as in the early 21st century,
dominated by costumed superheroes. Fantasy fiction was finding new
acceptance, but fantasy comics were all but unknown, especially in a
comics industry that had seen the demise of romance, western, war and
any other kind of comic that didn't have guys in costumes socking each
other in the jaw.
And
while 21st-century anime and manga fans have a wealth of material
available in mainstream book and comics stores, the Pinis had to search
to find event a tiny amount of information on things such as the Brave
Raideen giant robot series. They had briefly seen the series on
television in California and looked for more in Japanese bookstores,
but couldn't find anything. The Pinis also pioneers in producing and
owning their own comics. It came from necessity, because the mainstream
comics producers weren't interested. Richard and Wendy took their work
to DC and Marvel, the industry giants then and now, and were told
matter-of-factly that the big companies were not interested. The
stories and Wendy's art style were said to be too strange for readers
used to stories featuring heroes in tight outfits, packed with more
muscles than brains. To reach readers in an era long before web comics,
the Pinis had to publish their own stories- even if they didn't want to
take that step. Decades later, the Pinis can laugh and admit that they
made plenty of mistakes, but they also can point at a successful effort
that was far ahead of its time.
Owner-controlled
comics and art inspired by anime and manga are the two hot trends in
21st-century comic art. Those developments seem fresh and unprecedented
to today's fans and artists, but the trend had some fascinating
pioneers -- Richard and Wendy Pini, creators of the Elfquest comic
series. Elfquest broke the pattern of American comics when it made its
debut, a quarter-century ago. It literally drew from Wendy Pini's
appreciation of the style and format of Japanese comics. The highest
compliment that came from the Sequential Tart web site, when a
reviewer called their series "the first American manga." The Pinis
chose the art style of Elfquest because they liked manga, long before
it was fashionable or even well-known in the U.S. Elfquest was born in
the mid 1970's, when Star Wars was a revelation and the first wave of
modern fantasy fiction was finding and audience. However, American-made
mass distribution comics were, just as in the early 21st century,
dominated by costumed superheroes. Fantasy fiction was finding new
acceptance, but fantasy comics were all but unknown, especially in a
comics industry that had seen the demise of romance, western, war and
any other kind of comic that didn't have guys in costumes socking each
other in the jaw.
And
while 21st-century anime and manga fans have a wealth of material
available in mainstream book and comics stores, the Pinis had to search
to find event a tiny amount of information on things such as the Brave
Raideen giant robot series. They had briefly seen the series on
television in California and looked for more in Japanese bookstores,
but couldn't find anything. The Pinis also pioneers in producing and
owning their own comics. It came from necessity, because the mainstream
comics producers weren't interested. Richard and Wendy took their work
to DC and Marvel, the industry giants then and now, and were told
matter-of-factly that the big companies were not interested. The
stories and Wendy's art style were said to be too strange for readers
used to stories featuring heroes in tight outfits, packed with more
muscles than brains. To reach readers in an era long before web comics,
the Pinis had to publish their own stories- even if they didn't want to
take that step. Decades later, the Pinis can laugh and admit that they
made plenty of mistakes, but they also can point at a successful effort
that was far ahead of its time.
