Exposing the Independent: Gen Manga
Since I rarely get to update my blog as often, utilizing pockets of my own free time, I realize how important it is to help grow the indie scene by providing exposure while at the same time putting some filler in between progress updates. Since I have a few minutes before I start studying for a bit, the one thing that comes to mind is the publisher GEN.
GEN is an indie manga publisher that produces comics from Japan's underground comic scene (and manhwa titles from South Korea) to the West. As much as how scandalous "underground" may sound, the comics that I've read are far from the notions of moral decay, perversion, and illegality as I would have hoped to enjoy. No, the form of underground that is implicated is of purity and not adulteration, meaning submitted final drafts with little or no intervention from editors and are exactly as how the creator have made them.
I do recall encountering representatives physically at Comic Con during freshman year of college (though I am not 100% sure if it could have been them). They had the gung-ho spirit that I lack which is a good sign, but unfortunately I've never picked up a comic until years later with the first volume of an anthology also called "GEN".
Just as advertised, the comics of GEN Vol.1 lack the polish of conventional manga, but whole-heartedly sets this as their charm of which is analogous to the brevity of pioneers navigating treacherous landscapes. If that doesn't convey respect, then I apologize if my words cannot accurately describe so. But what I feel is the Achilles' heel of indie manga is also its Donald Trump card in which the lack of polish can make the stories feel a bit underwhelming in comparison to their standard professional counterparts. However, as a person who admires merit and gets butt-hurt over advice, I can't help but find that companies like GEN will always invoke that "mom-and-pop/ searching for the American Dream" feel that will always drag you back for more. It's inspirational and I hope that GEN can grow to be a real underdog for the industry.
GEN is an indie manga publisher that produces comics from Japan's underground comic scene (and manhwa titles from South Korea) to the West. As much as how scandalous "underground" may sound, the comics that I've read are far from the notions of moral decay, perversion, and illegality as I would have hoped to enjoy. No, the form of underground that is implicated is of purity and not adulteration, meaning submitted final drafts with little or no intervention from editors and are exactly as how the creator have made them.
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I do recall encountering representatives physically at Comic Con during freshman year of college (though I am not 100% sure if it could have been them). They had the gung-ho spirit that I lack which is a good sign, but unfortunately I've never picked up a comic until years later with the first volume of an anthology also called "GEN".
Just as advertised, the comics of GEN Vol.1 lack the polish of conventional manga, but whole-heartedly sets this as their charm of which is analogous to the brevity of pioneers navigating treacherous landscapes. If that doesn't convey respect, then I apologize if my words cannot accurately describe so. But what I feel is the Achilles' heel of indie manga is also its Donald Trump card in which the lack of polish can make the stories feel a bit underwhelming in comparison to their standard professional counterparts. However, as a person who admires merit and gets butt-hurt over advice, I can't help but find that companies like GEN will always invoke that "mom-and-pop/ searching for the American Dream" feel that will always drag you back for more. It's inspirational and I hope that GEN can grow to be a real underdog for the industry.
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