Shoujo aesthetics in the west
from an interview with Rob Vollmar
“Q: I’ve noticed that some (though certainly not all) female artists draw in a style that has some relation to manga art (Lea Hernandez, to give one example), presumably as a reactionry stance against masculine western art. Do you think there’s any truth to this statement, or is the western feminisation of manga too broad a topic to draw definite conclusions (especially since said style in adult manga is already perceived as masculine in Japan anyway)?
A: Actually, let me answer those in reverse…
Manga has its own very defined standard of femininity in its shoujo tradition. Shoujo manga is loosely defined as “manga for girls†and not only are most of its most celebrated mangaka women, but the broader category of shoujo has, in turn, produced a vibrant tradition of women’s manga in Japan that puts the blatant sexism of the comics publishing industries in a much clearer light in contrast.
““I’ve noticed that some (though certainly not all) female artists draw in a style that has some relation to manga art…â€
This tradition began, as I can peg it, with Wendy and Richard Pini’s ELFQUEST which is an almost perfect marriage of shoujo manga aesthetics with comics storytelling methods. I think it is perfectly valid to see this as a protest, as women were all but excluded from comics for several generations beginning in the late 1950s until the 1970s. But, as I see it, the protest comes not in the incorporation of a “foreign style†but in the reinforcement of a singularly female tradition, ie shoujo manga. Lea Hernandez RUMBLE GIRLS’ is also an excellent example of an adept Western mind adapting not just the visual stylisms of shoujo manga but also the core themes of the form. ”
You can read the rest on the interview there