TokyoPop, one of the leading players in the world of manga, are set to premiere their new volume of Star Trek comics, "Shinsei Shinsei," for the U.S. market. With the publishing of the new Star Trek Manga, lots of questions came up so we decided to get Luis Reyes, editor for TokyoPop and this particular title, to answer them.

What is manga? How does it differ from the comics that readers in North America are familiar with?

Manga is comics. That's what it means. Even in English the word comics could mean so many different things (i.e. the Sunday morning funnies, the stuff that R. Crumb does, Art Spiegelman, and of course, the superhero stuff that DC and Marvel puts out). Many American comics creators take their cues from the Japanese and vice versa. Everyone influences everyone else. So I guess the main difference would have to be a socio-economic one. The Japanese create manga for everyone (though most of it is aimed at teens) and it is a part of their general culture. It is disposable, cheap, black and white primarily and covers a wide range of subjects. American comics tend to have higher production values, but is somewhat limited in its scope. However, for any marked difference I name, there is some title that offers an exception to the rule. Manga, as it has settled at least commercially in this country, refers to 200-page volumes of black and white art that bares some stylistic difference in art and storytelling from the 22-page full color American comics.

Why is it so popular in Japan? Is it true that commuters read a lot of Manga?

It is true that commuters read manga, for many of the same reasons I listed above. It is quick, disposable, you can digest a whole story in very little time. It's a nice diversion for commuters. I'm sure if we had manga more readily available in this country, and tackling subjects that could appeal to a wide range of people, people would be reading it on the New York subway. Why it is so popular in Japan is a little more ambiguous. In part, we can look at the events of World War II as a catalyst. Much of Japan's other media outlets — television, radio, libraries — were severely damaged. Drawn cartoons was the simplest way to entertain. It was in that post-World War II era that people like Tezuka (Astro Boy) and Ishinomori (Cyborg 009) and even a little later Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha) became legends of manga. Another reason that manga is so popular is the very nature of the Japanese language. It is more metaphorical and iconographic as opposed to the more representational language of English. I'm oversimplifying here but the Japanese therefore are more used to visually represented forms of communication. I'm sure many more people far more expert than me can give you a more thorough analysis of manga's popularity in Japanese culture, but here's at least a start.

What are some of the popular titles?

Titles that are currently popular are Naruto, Rurouni Kenshin, Fruits Basket, DN Angel. Legendary titles include Lupin III, Rose of Versailles, Lone Wolf and Cub. Saiyuki does quite well, and it is also a popular anime. GTO (Great Teacher Onizuki) is one of the most popular manga of all time, with an anime and a live action TV series attached to it.

How did Star Trek get manga-ized? Who proposed this idea?

I think TOKYOPOP came to Paramount/CBS licensing with the idea to do a manga for Star Trek. And it was less a case of "manga-izing" something rather than telling some stories faithful to the original series in a manga style. So I guess you could say that we were "Star-Trekizing" manga. But what we've done with Star Trek is a great example of manga's appeal. We've created over 200 pages of Original Series content expressed in a visual medium that — by virtue of it being black and white, done by multiple artists and produced in bulk — is story driven, inexpensive and widely available. You can get through the whole book on a commute.

What does the title, "Shinsei Shinsei," mean?

It's two different kanji that are pronounced pheonetically the same. There is a common Japanese practice of repeating expressions, such as mushi mushi when you answer the phone and such. So it is a play on that practice. However, in one kanjim, "Shinsei" means "new life," and in the other it means "new star." I figured that both were appropriate for the Star Trek book, so we used both.

Will we see future Star Trek Manga books published?

Right now we are waiting to see how well this book does, but we are certainly interested in doing another volume for the Original Series as well as a Next Generation book for the upcoming 20th anniversary.