Supernatural Gekiga?

Since I have yet to send off PULP to the printers, I've had far too much time to let my mind play, wander and ask amusing, annoying, off-color and dangerous questions of itself and of the work I create.

Should I be toying with the idea of producing my work more along the lines of manga rather than traditional American comics. Supernatural Gekiga, or supernatural manga. Gekiga is Japanese for "dramatic pictures." Whatever we call it we're basically talking Manga. Gekiga is a term used for manga stories that tend to be drawn a bit more realistically and is a bit less "fantastic" concerning it's contents containing a more down-to-Earth feel. It's a darker, grittier, more grounded in realism form of manga. (I think. I am so far in over my head with this it's not even funny.)

The reason for this sudden, giant (possible) leap of design is many-fold. The smaller size and the black and white nature of manga would make my work simpler to create and cheaper to produce. Being one person, working alone, I do everything from writing to lettering, inking (usually) and pencilling. If I could cut out the need for coloring I could speed up the production of my work by as much as 25% or more. In addition to the time considerations there is also the cost. It cost me a tremendous amount more to have a full-sized comic book printed in full-color than it would a manga-sized black and white book.

It's an intriguing, perhaps even a practical idea. I've always worked in B&W and feel most comfortable there. I love the noir quality, the boldness and the design elements that go into creating work in B&W. Color is new to me but B&W feels like home. Still, is this the wisest decision for me? Is it a wise decision at all?

This is something that's played at the back of my mind since I was asked to contribute work to the UK anthology series, "Manga Quake". Buuut ... will I? Should I? Am I insane? I really don't know, maybe.

So I sit here wondering if I should go main-stream or manga.

I am nuts. Certifiably. Why do I do this to myself?

... Ahhh ... No.