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Yo, as a fellow aspiring mangaka, I got some tips for you:

Write for yourself, not for your audience (it's fairly obvious when you're intentionally trying to play to your audience [fanservice, super Japanese sugoi nihongo wo hanase dekiru yoooooo] and fans, especially Americans, will NOT appreciate it)

Shounen heroes can range from Ichigo (shatter fate, straightforward) to Yuuhi [Lucifer & the Biscuit Hammer] (brooding and thinking protagonist), this applies to every genre; research accordingly.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I assume you are producing an OEL (Original English Language) manga. Don't fall into the stylistic trap, take a look at Osamu Tezuka's "Phoenix" and Hiroaki Samura's "Blade of the Immortal" to really see the artistic pioneers of the genre. Even things like word bubbles and panels can change the feel of an entire page. Don't fall into the Nick Simmons faulty thinking that manga is a specific formula.

If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics". No matter how good of an artist you are, there are certain nuances to the comic trade that need to be explored, if not the entire trade of art.

Take a look at the difference between the wildly successful Jason Chan and the sadly less employed Shaun Healey

Jason Chan is employed by everyone from Wizards of the Coast to Marvel Comics. Would I read a comic of his? Probably not. He can establish a temporary narrative (paint a sweet portrait of a single moment) but so far, seems to lack the ability to pace. A crucial element of manga.

Compare Oh! Great (Air Gear) to Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist). Holy shit is Oh! Great's art freakin' amazing. Have you seen how he renders people flying upside down and shit? This guy knows anatomy like crazy! Does his story make sense? HELL NO! He seems to make things up as goes along and abandons character development in favor of explaining his ridiculously complicated made-up physics (Air treks stopped making sense like 5 characters ago). On the other hand, Hiromu Arakawa's characters look like they've been through a steam roller, but hey, you can recognize them, they are fully developed characters, and you can understand their motivations.

Naoki Urasawa is an excellent mangaka. He created "20th Century Boys", my favorite piece of literature, and collaborated with Tezuka himself on "Pluto". They guy who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize pretty much said that Urasawa should've gotten it instead. His art? MEH! But it's a style that makes characters readily differentiable!

STYLE is important. Know what you're trying to say and SAY IT. Ichigo may look like Ikkaku, but their motivations, the stylization of their eyes, and Kubo's backgrounds create entirely unique atmospheres.

Know anatomy, start from ground zero (gesture, proportions), emphasize what you think is important and become unassailable in your knowledge.

DO SOMETHING, even if it sucks, practice, post, copy, learn. Enjoy what you do, manga is awesome.

I'd say your strongest point is your ability to convey action. The leaping on page 16 is particularly well executed. You also actually have a pretty good grasp of perspective drawing with the environments! It could use a little work, but I feel like every artist could do with more practice!!

The main suggestion I could give you is to start drawing from life. I know you are heavily influenced by Japanese comics, but trust me when I say that all professional manga artists are able to draw from life. What I mean is, take a figure drawing class, or at the very least pick up this book, or any other figure drawing book really. It will help you greatly with getting proportions correct, as well as help you with understanding the internal structure of the body. By skipping learning how to draw from life, and learning to draw from looking at Manga, you're really only taking the face value. Like, have you ever used a copy machine to make a copy of a copy? The original page looks crisp and clean, but that first copy has a few spots and scratches, and then the copy of that copy has big black splotches on it, and eventually the text is completely illegible. Not to say that your art is really bad! It's actually pretty decent for your first comics! I just believe that doing some observational studies will help your work greatly!

The next major thing you should work on is the writing. I get that his blindfold is what keeps his demons at bay, but by starting the comic off with the central character punching a guy's body in two, and then ripping another guy's arm off... it makes me not care about the character. I feel like if you would have shown the readers that he was a kind person, by like, helping the elderly, or defending his father or something, then I'd be like, "Why is this sweet kid suddenly a vicious murderer?" But since you didn't I was like, "Is this a violent comic for the sake of drawing a violent comic?" Therefore, when the dad was brought in to be killed, he started talking about how innocent the kid was, which is the exact opposite of my first impression. Also, why did they kill the dad? Why, then, did they let evil demon kid live, only to exile him? Wouldn't killing Kai solve all of their problems?

Anyway, I feel like you have potential, mainly because you were actually able to produce this much work! Do you have any idea how many people say they want to make comics but pale at the sight of how much work it is? You are a hard worker, and I know that you will be able to persevere and evolve into something so much better than you already are! On that note, buy Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. It will change your life. I'm being 100% serious here. McCloud is not only the go-to comics theorist, but he was also one of the first professional Americans to see the potential of drawing comics influenced by the Japanese! Once you have devoured this book, because you will want more, buy Making Comics, also by Scott McCloud. While Understanding dissects the medium and explains things you never would have thought about before, Making Comics applies those thoughts into a school-like setting.

tl;dr: It's good, but could be much better. Worship Scott McCloud.

I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I recently got the 2-volume deluxe etc edition of Nausicaa and was blown away by its quality.

Super super super nice.

Step 1. LOOK at the art.

It sounds like you're doing this, that's great! The artist probably spent 2–10 hours on that one page, I'm sure they'd like it if people did more than glance at it. You might find it useful if you pay attention to these things in particular: shapes, how lighting works (the shadows, shading, and highlights), line width, composition and layout, foreground/background and perspective, anatomy and proportions (which can be unrealistic and still look good), textures and effects.

Take a look at through the Escher Girls tumblr if you want to see what inaccurate anatomy can do to otherwise skilled artwork.

Step 2. Learn about what goes into artwork. For comics, manga, and other sequential art in particular, I HIGHLY recommend reading Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. It is not a how-to-draw book. It's also well worth your time, and odds are good you can find it at your local library if you live in an native English-speaking country. The sequel, Making Comics, is also really good.

Step 3. Keep looking at the art for multiple series, over time eventually you'll start to notice what works and what doesn't, when rules are broken to good effect and when they really should've listened.

The Garden of Words is another good oneshot I recommend. It also has a movie, both of which I found to be enjoyable. Unfortunately I don't have any other recommendations that are under 5 volumes in length but these are ones that I would recommend.

The Evangelion Omnibus has 5 mega volumes out and is finished (about $100 plus tax) - 14 total volumes. Claymore is quite a bit longer but it has a box set of all 27 volumes for about $140 (~5$ each volume) and it seems right in line with your interests, just shop around for the best price online.

If you're into rom-coms then:

• Monster Musume has 8 volumes out and is ongoing (slow releases; next release is in september)
  
  
• Ninja Girls has 9 volumes out and is finished.
  
  
• Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches has 8 volumes out and is ongoing.
  
  While not manga, Bryan Lee O'Malley has Scott Pilgrim (6 volumes) and Seconds (one shot) - both of which I highly recommend.
  
  edit: links in the doobly-doo

It's a great series, so I guess it all comes down to how much money you have free to use. That said where did you see it for $172 and did it come something else special because right now I'm seeing all 27 volumes for $146 on Amazon. At that price it's definitely worth it for a Berserk fan if you're not broke.

Yes, the one and only Hayao Miyazaki. That grumpy old 'animu is a mistake' guy. Also made some of the best animated film classics, from the action-packed Mononoke Hime to the adorable My Neighbour Totoro.

Now on to the series itself. A warning, the series is not in Batoto, so you can go buy the absolutely excellent box edition for Nausicaa here which I can personally vouch, and fully recommend. If not, sail the seven seas, which I don't really recommend. Anyways.

This series itself is chosen because there are a plethora of things to discuss. From the unique artstyle, to it's steampunk setting, to it's messianic main character. That and Book Club has done way too many SoLs.

Nausicaa has some of my favorite war scenes throughout all the manga world. I've read Kingdom, Vinland Saga, Bokko, some of the big name war series in the manga world and there's something about the composition of the war scenes in Nausicaa that makes it feel more visceral than most. Definite must read if you're a fan of war scenes.

Another interesting thought is the relevancy of the message contained in the series to our current times. Protecting the environment. If you watched at least 2 of Miyazaki's works, you'll know that he is a big enviroment buff. Just look at the details in which he draws the flora and fauna in any of his series.

Also thank Nausicaa. From his interviews it appears that without Nausicaa to channel his grudge on the destruction of the environment, we wouldn't get cute, fluffy series ala Totoro and Ponyo.

Quoted from Wikipedia:

"He also noted that his continued struggle with the subject matter in the ongoing development of the Nausicaä manga allowed him to create different, lighter, films than he would have been able to make without Nausicaä providing an outlet for his more serious thoughts throughout the period of its creation"

Last thing to note, the anime adaptation is a must-watch classic, but only covers 1/3 of the manga.

Personal thanks to /u/motogmxposed for the Aria recommendation last month! Great choice right there, sorry for having to forgot to credit you last month.

I highly recommend it. If you've seen the movie Edge of Tomorrow you know the basic premise of the story. While the premise of the manga remains the same, the storyline is different. Both are great though and I highly recommend reading it. And yes, the omnibus is a two in one, you get both volumes of the series in one book.

I just picked up Vinland Saga. It's the first Manga I've picked up since high school, so the first I've read in 6+ years. It's amazing. If you like vikings, ultra-violence, feats of badassdom, and a good story to go with it, I highly recommend.

The visual metaphors in this chapter are incredibly beautiful, just as the graceful touch she has defining her newfound life and fulfillment are inspiring. Yet the thing I am most pleased to see is the happiness she made for herself.

It feels inappropriate to think of her story as just a heartening tale, as the struggles and obstacles she faces and still contends with are not over, yet they are also not dissimilar to the struggles of life all of us face in our own way. For that similarity, and for her overcoming of them, I am happy too.


Thanks for finishing her report Tetsu-scans! I'm sad to hear they are not planning to translate Nagata Kibi's next published book but maybe we will eventually see it licensed officially like this volume!

Great idea. One Piece isn't the world's best selling manga for nothing.

I recommend using the manga box sets for your read through. They come in stylish boxes that are easy to organize, have a few extras like bonus manga and posters and stuff and gives you 23 volumes at a time for cheap.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1421560747/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_UyuKBbB6AXDZN

There are tons these days. It's a real popular format. Some stuff I'd recommend:

Just Good Stuff:

• Gunslinger Girl
  
• Umineko no Naku Koro ni
  
• Vinland Saga
  
• Victorian Romance Emma
  
• Another
  
  Classic Clamp from Dark Horse:
  
  
• Cardcaptor Sakura
  
• Chobits
  
• Clover
  
  Yuri:
  
  
• Girl Friends
  
• Whispered Words

The Amazon listing has some info. It contains Used Record, Shiver (whose name was used for the collection as a whole), Fashion Model, Hanging Blimp, Painter, The Long Dream, Honored Ancestors, Greased, and apparently an entirely new story called Fashion Model: Cursed Frame. After each story there's also a short author's commentary section talking about what inspired the story.

<Me and the Devil Blues> has a black protagonist, not sure if it's been licensed though. Afro Samurai is a pretty good anime if she's willing to try that out (I don't think anyone's translated the manga). I'd have to get back to you on the college manga, cos all I can think of are high school ones. I think FMA is a really safe bet though, definitely give her that.

I think the popular buys nowadays are Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan though, if you want to try those. Oh, and if she's going to Ireland, The Ancient Magus' Bride takes a lot of mythology from around that area (like Gaelic and Anglo-Saxon).

That is the right series but I recommend picking up this, it has all 3 volumes and has a beautiful hard cover .

well, my suggestion is mediocre, but here:
If you want an easy guide to the basics, and you've got a few bucks, try this: http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Manga-Mark-Crilley-drawing/dp/1440309310/.
bought a copy myself, vastly inproved in a few hours (sorry no examples, no scanner)
If you are broke like myself, he also has a lot of stuff on youtube. good luck!

I can't help on the promotion side of things, but on the creation side I highly recommend reading Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki (author of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure). This will explain everything you've ever wanted to know and more about the comics creation process.

Since you're not aware, it should be mentioned that most manga tend to be long series and span multiple books, so it's rarely just one book.

I would recommend something like Cardcaptor Sakura. This particular edition of the series has 4 books in total. You can search them using the search term "Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus".

Since you've mentioned she likes Hayao Miyazaki's works, check out this manga box set by him. It's called Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

This Nausicaa boxset is the nicest set of books of any type that I own. Just beautiful. And big.

EDIT: A couple more images.

Mark Crilley has a great series of books on how to draw in the manga style, as well as a very in-depth YouTube channel showing how to draw and not just manga. His realism work is insane. He's also the author of several children's books, so he knows his stuff and his content is very good for all ages.

Surprisingly, Jojo author Hirohiko Araki's book "Manga in Theory and Practice" is actually available in English. In it, he himself admits to being inspired by a Hitchcock reference.

Mark also has an excellent guide book called Mastering Manga. I highly recommend it for beginners.

It's always expensive here in Australia unfortunately, matey potatey. $14 is actually on the cheaper end of the scale to be honest.

I know of a site that you can use to compare prices for books, and I looked up Tokyo Ghoul for you, and the $14-16 range is looking like your best bet for new.

If you're willing to try Amazon, it's here for $3 apparently, but that's not including shipping.

You might be able to find a eBook, they could be cheaper.

And if you don't care about physically collecting it, and...y'know, technically committing a 'crime', you could always just read the scanlations on MangaDex. Don't worry, you won't be arrested. We all do it here.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness 1 Volume | Amazon

The Gods Lie 1 Volume | Amazon

A Girl on the Shore 2 in 1 Omnibus | Amazon

Solanin 2 in 1 Omnibus | Amazon

not simple 1 Volume | Amazon

All You Need is Kill 2 in 1 Omnibus | Amazon

Complete stories in 1 or 2 volumes.

They sell a box set, here it is on Amazon for $135 but generally yeah like 10 dollars a volume for Manga is right its expensive especially for a long series with lots of volumes

There is a really nice hardcover version available if anyone likes to collect those: http://www.amazon.com/Uzumaki-3---1-Deluxe-vols/dp/1421561328/

Black Edition volumes feature larger, better quality pages compared to the normal volumes. There are many pages you can compare to the normal volumes that the coloring looks better.

The All-in-One Edition is the entire series in a single book. As you can expect, the book is massive.

One of the best sites to get Berserk

All You Need Is Kill is a pretty solid choice. Amazon link

I think it's in Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories. Luckily it's been published in English. Link on amazon here.

You try amazon or Bookdepository at all? Both sites are my go-to for manga purchases that also deliver new or used.

Tomie, Uzumaki, and Gyo are all famous horror titles by Junji Ito that are commonly suggested to people and are sold in complete editions. (All volumes are condensed into 1)

The names are linked to their respective amazon listings as well.

A Naruto Box Set. ~26 27 Volumes I think.

Bought one for Death Note soon after (:

Edit: Added links.
Also have my eye on this.

you also have this, which is a better bargain
but if you're just buy to collect, then both the box set or the black edition seem fine to me.

yeah you could get the 3 in 1's but i prefer the big collection it saves a fair amount of money

The boxsets typically depend on which online site you get them from but you can buy them from amazon or right stuf. I'm going to link the amazon ones so check them out.

• One Piece Box Set 1 @ Amazon
  
  
• One Piece Box Set 2 @ Amazon
  
  
• Full Metal Alchemist Box Set @ Amazon
  

Check this out it might help you.

English translated LN will came out on December FYI:
https://www.amazon.com/Goblin-Slayer-light-novel-Light/dp/031650159X

I looked around a bit on the internet and if I understand correctly, ordering from .de has lower to no shipping costs, while ordering from .com has high shipping costs. So if possible it might be a better idea to order from .de instead of .com.

As PMMMsvd said, this one looks like what you want (vol. 1 in English).

hopefully amazon gets hold of some of the new copies, i ve been wanting to read berserk for ages but getting it in the UK is so difficult

edit: just found this

To you I highly recommend Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. It's not manga, but it is a comic about the mechanics of comics.

Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Lesbian-Experience-Loneliness-Nagata-Kabi/dp/1626926034

@ 6.69 per volume for one piece, anyone knows if there's a cheaper alternative somewhere online? If not I think I'll buy 1-23 from amazon @ 116 (http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1421560747) and the rest from rightstuf (free shipping in Canada on orders over 250)

I live in a very small country, so its from a local internet store. But if you live in the states you can find it on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Uzumaki-3---1-Deluxe-vols/dp/1421561328/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452699174&sr=8-1&keywords=uzumaki+junji+ito

There is always amazon and from what i can tell its a decent price buying it new. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fullmetal-Alchemist-Box-Set-1-27/dp/1421541955/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394739376&sr=1-1&keywords=fullmetal+alchemist+complete

https://www.amazon.com/One-Piece-Box-Set-Baroque/dp/1421560747/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549865554&sr=8-2&keywords=one+piece+box+set

This is Amazon if you don't like Amazon you can try Rightstuf too

if you wanna see it

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Note-All-One-Tsugumi/dp/1421597713

its one book

Link here.

Staring August? Isn't it already available? http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Titan-1-Hajime-Isayama/dp/1612620248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373207225&sr=8-1&keywords=attack+on+titan

I bought it on Amazon, first translated volume is out (by YenPress).

http://www.amazon.com/Fullmetal-Alchemist-Box-Hiromu-Arakawa/dp/1421541955/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347996240&sr=8-2&keywords=fullmetal+alchemist thats the link where i got it. should work for you.

https://www.amazon.com/One-Piece-Box-Set-Baroque/dp/1421560747/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526032671&sr=8-1&keywords=one+piece+box+set

~20 bucks on amazon too! I'm about to buy that for myself after Christmas!

Take one Making Comics by Scott McCloud and call me in the morning.

Comes out June 16th: Amazon Link

Claymore

Bedog is right, buy this:
http://www.amazon.com/Fullmetal-Alchemist-Box-Hiromu-Arakawa/dp/1421541955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341912865&sr=8-1&keywords=fullmetal+alchemist+set

I'd suggest getting Shiver, which has an assortment of his one-shot stories.

To be honest, the book box sets are a better value for your dollar. The Omnibus volumes tend to have thinner, shittier paper so the volumes aren't as thick but it means that the overall quality is lessened. The only problem with the box sets is you have to wait for all the volumes to be available before you can purchase the set so you will be always behind for collection purposes. Also <100$ for ~25 volumes is a price you won't likely get even with the omnibus.

https://www.amazon.com/One-Piece-Box-Set-Baroque/dp/1421560747

https://www.amazon.com/One-Piece-Box-Set-Skypiea/dp/1421576066

https://www.amazon.com/One-Piece-Box-Set-Thriller/dp/1421590522

You mean hardcover volumes and/or omnibus?

First things that come to mind are (these are all hardcovers)

Nausicaa box set (2 hardcover books for all 7 volumes)

Gundam: The Origin 2in1 hardcover volumes. 8 out 12 total out. Volume 12 comes out in December. Although I know Japan did get a Aizōban release so not sure if much other than the covers are different.

Vinland Saga - 2 in 1 hardcover volumes. 5 out more coming out later this year.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1 - Phantom Blood - Volume 1 Hardcover although only 1 volume out at the moment. Volume 2 in May and Volume 3 in August.

Highschool of the Dead Color Omnibus 2 books first one has the first 4 volumes 2nd one has the next 3 all in full color.

Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano

Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko)

The Angel of Elhamburg by Aki this one just came out this week

A Bride's Story (Otoyomegatari) with Emma getting a hardcover release soon

I am sure there are more but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

This one is the english one.

Edit: misread your question

Shingeki no Kyojin already licensed http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Titan-1-Hajime-Isayama/dp/1612620248/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320649191&sr=1-7

This is called critical theory. Try https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Comics-Invisible-Scott-McCloud/dp/006097625X

They are! I'm from the UK and got this off amazon. Currently the first two box sets are only £85. The second one was £130 only a couple of weeks ago. I snatched this up as soon as I noticed the price drop.

Death note has all 13 volumes for a decently reasonable price of 70 bucks ATM. I own the set myself

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Note-Box-Vol-1-13/dp/142152581X

Actually bro All You Need is Kill Omnibus at Amazon is $8.99, which beats RightStuf's price.