For millions of people, having a successful career in the arts is a dream—and that goes double for comic creators. The prospect of being able to exist within the same land of imagination of your youth and earn a living in the process sounds like the plot of the movie Big more than an actual person's life.
In America, the comic industry is in dire straights. Declining readership and an abysmal pay structure for creators make the dream of becoming a comics professional seem like a Faustian bargain.
American creators can take solace in one fact: at least they're not creating manga.
Despite stomping a mudhole in American comics in sales and popularity, manga's rise to global dominance isn't all roses and revelry. The sad truth is that even the brightest manga creators are subjected to brutal schedules, due to the antiquated weekly release model the medium practically mandates.
In the video linked above, YouTuber Anime Culture Corner goes into the struggle manga creators endure to live their dream- that can often end in serious health issues and death for some of the world's most famous artists.
