A busy bookstore in the heart of Akihabara where there are no concerns for manga, comics or OEL terminology... or chicks for that matter.

There seems to be a lot of discussion on what people should call J-comic style books being produced in North America. What are they? What defines it? What's with the dichotomy? Aren't they just comics? I, personally, would opt for the last stance on this. They ARE just sequential images on paper afterall and show any dude(tte) off the street and they'll tell you the same. Of course, if you're the one making them and want props from the kidz this isn't exactly a satisfying answer. Well, okay, so now what?

This argument reminds me of what the difference of being Canadian or American is. We live on the same piece of dirt and talk the same language. We listen to the same music, watch the same crap on TV and read the same comics. WTF. To me, being a Canuck is defined by what we aren't more than what we are. We aren't American, that's for sure. And we aren't exactly British either. So, what the hell are we? Well, it's subjective but one thing I can say for sure is that we're unique. We have our own heroes/heroines, our own history and our own logic. Our values stem from a different set of circumstances and there's no getting around that. It's set. It's stone. It's our path, people.

Another great example is J-baseball. It's, like, the great American pastime being played in Japan. Well, all over the world for that matter. Is it the same game? Well, yes and no. The rules are the same. 4 balls and you take a base. 3 outs and you switch from offy to deefy and vice versa. But the appreciation for the game is, like, apples and oranges. They are SO freakin' into it, man. It's crazy. They've literally implanted the samurai spirit into the game. Respect. It's all about respect. Respect the game, the players, the fans, the ball, the bat, the diamond you walk on. The game is also about teamwork more than the individual. I remember watching an interview with Shinjo a while back where he was asked what he found different about the game compared to how he played back home. His answer was something to the effect of "you're a team in Japan but an individual here. It's about how many homeruns you can hit"

Alright, I'm getting a bit off topic, but the jist of the argument is that I don't think I've ever heard an American argue how the Japanese weren't keeping the game 'real'. If such an argument ever did come up then it's pretty evident that they have a broom stick up their jack seat. And if you ever DO manage to attend a J-game, it'll be quite the experience. You'll be eating ramen and takoyaki instead of hotdogs and nachos. You'll have a brightly coloured plastic megaphone and chanting team songs instead of doing the wave. My point; it'll be different but a uniquely J-experience.

So, back to OELs/comics.

Whatever book I draw will be a comic. I don't care what anyone else says, that's what I'm doin'. And if I ever DO decide to do a full length comic it would be an OEL comic. If some kid in butt-fuck-nowhere tells me different, well, screw 'em. I can throw in as many J-references as humanly possible on each page with J-SFX and J-storytelling but it's still gonna be a comic but a comic that's uniquely me. Sometimes, when I work off a script I feel like an extra panel would work nicely for transition or a different shot would be more fitting and I do just that. Luckily, I haven't been fired yet so I guess I'm doing something right.

So, what is an OEL? It's something homegrown and something unique. It's made up of more "aren't"s than "are"s but that's exactly why we're here in the first place. Do you really want an immitation Dragonball or Kenshin? If so, then you suck. In the meantime, I'll be reading the MBQs and Scott Pilgrims, enjoying something called diversity and relishing in a uniquely North American-experience.