The Push Man

 

Is part of a new genre among manga, called gekiga (and to me gekiga seems similar to the move from comics to graphic novels) which distinguishes iteself from the steroid packed, big eyed, big breasted, hacking, slashing stabbing, kicking, punching and spellcasting when not fanservicing mainstream manga titles these days.  Yoshihiro Tatsumi's work The Push Man depicts the lives of young worker class japanese as they live through life. The themes are quite repetitive of one another, as are the looks and characters of the main charachters (The Push Man is a series of shorts), but to me, a novice as of yet incapable of producing a serious body of work, the novel is inspiring. I can only see pluses in this series. (Or at least, compared to mine, The Push Man is a perfect 10)

So how does one make a cliche adventure story or an action without it looking like that other manga?

I've thought of many things, and there are some aspects of mainstream I wish I could half remove without taking out the core. My personal universe is a universe of magic, after all.

So I've come up with a list of to-do's:

DESTROY THE GIFTED YOUNG PROTAGONIST CONCEPT

Never learn to draw cute girls (at this point that is far from being a problem)

Portray death realistically - but make the theme seem darker if that is the case, otherwise the death sticks out like a sore thumb, (think Kekkaishi)

Utilize themes as well as character development (all good comics have both.)

Make elaborate backgrounds

Write less, draw more

Make fight scenes quick and deadly

Give all fight scenes a meaning, and avoid tedious explanations. Quick and cool is the way to go.

Have characters struggle through more than just fear or weakness or whether to kill or not kill.

Use hard subject matter (think FMA) and then use comedy as desired.

Use vibrant and interesting characters

Use some mysterious characters that you think you've figured out but can never be sure.

Let their actions speak louder than the words they say.

Kill the misogynist concept of the perfect wife omnipresent in many manga and anime.

Read more Graphic Novels

Write more stories.

Practice different styles

Learn to use tones

Never throw out a concept. Rewrite it.

Actually rewrite it.

Recognize that you don't have natural talent.

Work hard and long and care for what you do.

Make people believe in your work and your ability.

Always push for more and better.

Write what you like, like what you write.

Become a comic book artist.

Get good enough so others recognize you as a graphic novelist.

Tell them that you're not.