According to an Associated Press article, several North American newspapers are going to be carrying manga-style comics in an effort to attract younger audiences.
"We thought if teens and young kids are reading manga, then why don't we get something in the paper that teens want to read?" said John Glynn, vice president at Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes comics and columns globally to newspapers. "Newspapers are being seen as their parents' medium."
The Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Vancouver Sun and Seattle Post-Intelligencer have already signed on to carry two strips: Van Von Hunter and Peach Fuzz. Both strips are created by American writers/illustrators and are currently being published by TOKYOPOP.
The Detroit News (my hometown newspaper) is also planning on carrying manga, but it's unclear whether it will be the same ones or something different.
"I know how popular manga and anime are among a young demographic. Go to any bookstore and there are kids swarming around the manga shelves. And by kids I mean everyone from high school into their 30s. There is even a local store devoted to manga paraphernalia [Where?], which is always packed," [Martin Fischhoff, assistant managing editor at The Detroit News] said in an e-mail. "But this trend clearly hasn't made itself felt in newspaper comic sections."
[Source: Slashdot]
The real test will come when/if newspapers actually start carrying strips that are original to to Japan, like Azumanga Diaoh. Now that would be cool.
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