The Evolution of Manga Editing

My friend Dave threw me a behemoth of an idea my way last night as I was searching for a blog idea that would strike my fancy.  He suggested that I explore the evolution of manga editing, which honestly sounds more like a research paper than a blog post. It would cost me a lot of time and money in order to fully explore the evolution of manga editing, but here’s my go at the idea with only a few series as examples and my own experience under my belt.
So far I have been an editor on little over a dozen manga. As far as manga editors go, I am pretty sure this is a pretty paltry number, but I kind of, sort of just hit the one year mark of working in the manga industry (if you count internships.)
These days, manga editing is really streamlined. Each major company has its own style book and rules to follow and more likely than not, more than one editor reads a manga before it goes to print. Then again, most of the manga publishers these days have been around for years or have other publishers backing them with expectations, rules and editorial talent. There aren’t too many start-up companies around either.
Less than ten years ago, however, it was a bit of a different story. It was only seven years ago that TOKYOPOP first published Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances) by Masami Tsuda. Since there are only two names I recognize on the credits page (the COO and the CEO), I hope no one takes offense to me picking one of my employer’s titles or that the company doesn’t take offense to my criticism of an old series. (Although senior editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl tells me that all the mistakes I pointed out were corrected to the best of TOKYOPOP’s ability in the omnibus editions.)
I’ve been slowly re-reading Kare Kano over the past few weeks and the first few volumes were utterly painful. There are many things where I’m surely one of the very few who noticed, but there are numerous instances where Japanese text wasn’t erased before the English text was put over it, where the artwork or tones were erased and never replaced properly (or at all) and text intruding awkwardly on artwork, amongst other things. Sure, the editing improved after the first few volumes and I’m more than sure many things were corrected for the omnibus edition of the manga, but I have to say-no wonder legally published manga had/has a reputation of lower quality when compared to scanlated manga! Not that I think it’s true anymore…That was seven years ago, when TOKYOPOP hadn’t even been around for seven years yet! And now, I know for a fact that TOKYOPOP editors are aware of these past mistakes and know what to look out for. You won’t easily see any garish use of photoshop to replace screentones that were erased in the lettering process or an aside comment that never got translated. The company has sharper editors and sharper touch-up artists these days, but back then they were still learning the ropes.
Viz, however, had nearly 20 years to perfect it’s editing craft when it made (what I think) is a fairly big mistake of a different kind. In the first volume of From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa, someone left the word “hella,” a Northern California slang word, in a line. When I first read From Far Away, it struck me more because I really dislike the word (being from Southern CA and all), but now it just seems like an amateurish error that they left it in there when the character never ever uses similar slang past the first chapter. (There is an instance of “omigod” in the first chapter, but I feel that it’s more forgivable because it’s just a slight variation on a very common phrase.)
Is this “hella,” however, as grave a manga-editing offense as messing up the artwork and forgetting to remove Japanese text under the English? Yes, because editing manga in the U.S. isn’t just about making things look just as shiny as the Japanese edition, it’s also about creating an ease of reading for the audience. Editors don’t want readers to be caught up in trying to understand a phrase and it’s important to keep a character’s voice sounding consistent to the readers, so using a fairly local slang word is likely to bother them and create confusion when the character does not continue to speak that way. Is it worse that they didn’t continue to use slang to make the character sound like a young girl through out the volume or worse they left in this one inconsistency? I don’t know, but either way it’s an error.
What I watch for in my editing process is a long list. Basically, I look for mistakes that have been made in the art after the manga has been lettered, I look for all the grammatical and spelling errors you would expect, I look for ways to re-write lines so that they sound smoother in keeping with the manga and the character saying them and I look for other things such as making sure the text doesn’t stray too far out into the bleed zones, making sure the size and format of the text conveys the mood and feel of original and making sure words are hyphenated properly. If there are lines that have not been translated into English, I translate them myself or get the help of someone more fluent than I am. If the translators or re-writers have left multiple choices for me to use in the script, I choose which one is the best and/or write in an explanation of some kind. I never catch every mistake that’s been made whenever I edit, but I figure that will improve with time and, in the mean time, I have other editors supporting me and finding what I missed. It’s a tough process and I’m 100% sure that other manga editors have let mistakes slip through and go to print. For example, Del Rey’s version of Mushishi regularly has text cut off. Either half a sentence will disappear at the ends of a page or you’ll have to seriously crack open your manga’s spine to get at it.
Even so, the way manga is published in the U.S. has improved greatly. There is little or no fear of reading a book right-to-left, which not only makes things more authentic to the reader, but easier for everyone who’s ever had to face changing dialogue because a character is now on the left side instead of the right! While there is major censorship around at some companies (and by censorship, I mean someone has a pair of pants on that they didn’t have before),  no one is re-writing entire manga with American names and American references anymore.  I’ve no doubt in my mind that what I’ve learned as an editor is based on years and years of figuring out what works, what doesn’t and finding the little things that no one caught before. I believe that the editorial process will only continue t0 improve the quality of manga as we editors work on more and more titles. The mistakes that I found, made long ago, are already obsolete in the manga made by those companies as it is!

Going Digital: Three Things Every Manga Publisher Needs

I’ve been thinking a lot these days about what goes into publishing manga, mostly because I would love to begin publishing books on my own, but mostly because I feel like the market has begun to totally change. E-readers are becoming more prevalent for serious fans and even a number of the less serious fans have iPhones, Droids or other smart phones that make viewing manga on the go a lot easier. Of course, the manga industry, and the comics industry in general, has been a bit slow to fully embrace digital. Whether their reasons be because companies still favor print (and so do their readers) or because rights holders are still hesitant to give digital rights, I honestly don’t think the industry can turn away from digital comics any more. Sooner or later, almost everyone is going to own an e-reader just like suddenly almost everyone owned an mp3 player.
Of course, the future is unknowable to us mortals and we can’t predict what will change the industry next, but here’s a few things I think manga publishers need to adopt now to be prepared for the onslaught of fans who no longer want print copies.
1. Offer dirt cheap manga for just about every platform imaginable:
This one should be pretty obvious. The music industry survived it’s piracy wars by letting songs go for 99 cents a pop, the same thing should be possible for the comics industry in theory. Of course, 99 cents is a little low, but prices should be as low as feasibly possible. Why? Because the pirates don’t value manga now, just like pirates didn’t value music then. There will still be piracy, of course, but by taking a big gulp and doing whatever is possible to make prices low for readers, it might be possible to begin attracting some of the casual pirates back.
This, unfortunately, is made difficult by the e-reader wars going on. The best strategy is to just offer the manga on any platform that’s humanly (and financially) possible. Sites like ComiXology are obviously a great go-to site for multiple digital platforms and manga publishers like Viz, TOKYOPOP, DMP and Dark Horse are already there. Plus, you can read on the web in case you don’t have an e-reader, which solves the problem for that side of the market who hasn’t been able to buy the expensive gadgets yet.
2. Regular Online Serialization:
Oh man, do I think this is a great idea. A bunch of SigIkki series and Rin-ne became instant favorites when I discovered I could get chapters online for free. It was a ton of fun to get Neko Ramen strips in my mail box each day. But other than the Viz titles, I can’t think of any publisher who is doing regular online serialization with a large number of series. It’d be great to have more pubs jump on to give those people who want to “preview” their manga before they buy what they want. Solving the problem of people just being able to read a series for free all the time, Viz just pulls the chapters once a book goes out, leaving nothing but the first chapters of every volume for those “preview” pirate types.
There are a number of publishers who serialize online, but I find the problem with them is that they do so too infrequently to hold the attention of readers who are devouring manga at the pace of scanlation readers normally do.
3. An open mind and a better website:
It’s no big secret that most manga publisher websites suck. If they aren’t too busy and overwhelming, they’re hard to navigate and it’s difficult to find the information you want. Minimal web design is popular now for a reason- the faster users can find what they want, the faster they get gratification. I’m not saying that manga publishers can’t add flourishes here and there, but unnecessary content, tabs and whatnot should be taken down. We don’t need manga companies to be our social network stand-ins anymore, but every company should run a blog that publishes a bit more than just PR copy. I particularly like some of Viz’s blogs for Rin-ne and SigIkki and TOKYOPOP has some fun cultural content every week in its newsletter. (I used to write articles for it as an intern. It was great fun.) But there should be a blog and it should be the publisher’s hub for getting information out to the masses. And, most importantly, it should not  be written like a press release.
Technically having a open mind should be a fourth thing on this list, but it’s something that really applies to it’s predecessors on this short list. Without an open mind, publishers are going to want to give up and just stick to print. But that’s not going to fly anymore. Publishers need to realize that experimentation is going to be necessary. If a digital publishing venture isn’t making money, it might be best to drop it and turn to a new idea. Internet culture changes so very quickly and there’s always some new device, technology or service out there and surviving will definitely go hand in hand with the ability to be nimble and able to adopt new things.
Is there anything else you feel that publishers should think of when working on digital publishing? I admit, it’s late at night and I might have missed something. Share what you think manga publishers should be doing to accommodate online readers.

Life of A (Rookie) Editor: Success and Secrets

There’s been a lot of good happening in my professional career lately.
I’ve been pretty busy, so if you’ve noticed a drop in the number of posts, it’s mostly because it was what I like to call “copy-edit hell week”, which has stretched into 3 weeks now. Sooner or later (please, sooner, please!) that copy-edit hell will go away and break into a fresh new burst of busy!
But during all this hustle and bustle, I’ve gotten a raise from one client and been asked to work for another manga publisher. It’s amazing news and a huge relief to me. I was debating moving away from manga editing slightly by getting a part-time job. It’s not that this line-of-work is a deliberate money thing for me, but I just want to keep doing it AND pay my bills. Plus it’s great to re-affirm that I can do freelance manga editing as a career because it seems like such a crazy pipe dream at times.
On top of that, Hetalia Axis Powers vol. 2 has been on the New York Times bestselling manga list for a number of weeks now, bringing vol. 1 along for the ride and back into the top 10. That always makes me happy for the simple reason that it’s a title that I’ve worked on and the first manga I’ve worked on to make it to the list!
Speaking of Hetalia, I actually knew Tokyopop had licensed it before the rest of the general public did (even before TP’s not-so-subtle Twitter hints that they’d picked it up.) Of course, I found this out when I technically wasn’t working or interning for Tokyopop, but just happened to be visiting the office. When I put two and two together (there was a lot of Hetalia paraphernalia about), I was quickly and sternly warned not to mention it to anyone.
It was the first time I had known a publishing secret. It was a little scary, actually, because anyone who knew anything about popular manga knew that Hetalia was a huge phenomenon. I hadn’t gotten into the series yet because the only way to read it was obviously illegal, but I was pretty stoked that the company had snagged such a popular manga. It was big! It was exciting! Fangirls would scream! I couldn’t help but hope for it’s success considering that Tokyopop had drastically downsized the previous year. (This was in 2009.) It’s so cool to see it succeed like I hoped it would! A lot of people in the office were waiting with bated breath to see if Hetalia would be picked up by the American fandom.
To some, it might seem a little silly to keep a license announcement secret. After all, letting fans know sooner rather than later will only result in excited otaku and good press for the company, right? Wrong! It’d be one thing if it was a really minor leak, like when Deb Aoki recently spilled the beans on Kami no Shizuku being licensed by Vertical Inc. just before an episode of ANNCast was set to break the news. The result was pretty much only some grumbling and the release of that ANNCast a little earlier than expected because Vertical pretty much had the license set up already.
But a premature license announcement can have a lot of disastrous results. If the news got out too early, it could displease the Japanese rights holders and put negotiations on shaky ground. Or a publisher could be unprepared to release the information because publishing dates and technicalities aren’t set in stone. This has happened before, most recently when Vertical announced No Longer Human a little too early, had to retract the statement last October and couldn’t confirm the license again until last month. Obviously, no one but the folks at Vertical know what happened after their first, mistaken announcement, but I can’t imagine it was pleasant to deal with.
Lastly, retracting or losing a license due to an unintended, early announcement isn’t going to get any favorable reaction from fans. Over all, it looks terribly unprofessional for the company or whomever let the secret slip early. That’s really serious, since the loss of a reliable reputation can cost a publishing company future licenses they may want. For an individual worker, it means a not just loss of their reputation, but a potential blacklisting.
So there you go, manga publishing secrets are serious business. It’s always best to listen to official license announcements by the publishers themselves, since, as the manga blogging community has witnessed, sometimes a book popping up on Amazon doesn’t always mean a title is going to be release when the listing says.

Borders Vs. Manga Publishers

I’ve had a horribly depressing week.* First, I learned Lillian, Asako and Troy were laid off, then I learned the awful reason why. Borders hasn’t been paying Tokyopop for many, many months, during the holiday season no less, and because of those losses, the publisher is on shaky financial ground.
Since I learned the truth behind the situation from Mike Kiley at Tokyopop (he wanted to explain things since he read my blog and saw that I was upset about it), I’ve been wondering how virtuous my previous efforts to build Borders back up again were.
For one, Borders was deeper in the hole than my little blog could ever fix. If I had the kind of readership support to bring Borders out of bankruptcy single-handed… Well, I’d probably put that energy and buying power towards my own goals. Sure, the money that you readers spent at Borders will likely go into paying off their debts and hopefully some of that money will return to Tokyopop, but in reality Borders has a lot of other, larger publishers to pay off first. It was a bit naive, although very well meant. I’m sure feeling the burn now.
Secondly, well, I feel a lot of loyalty to Tokyopop. Without them, I wouldn’t be doing what I love. Heck, I might not even be doing this blog. Say what you  want, but *I* owe them a small debt of gratitude that I doubt I’ll ever be able to forget. I don’t want them to go under. I want them to succeed. I want to see my work for them succeed. That being said, I don’t want any other manga publisher to go under because of the Borders bankruptcy either! (Although, a lot of other companies have the financial backing of either large Japanese or American publishers. Tokyopop doesn’t really have that.) I seriously can’t think of any company whose work I care so little about that they could disappear from the market and I would be unaffected, especially since a lot of the smaller manga publishers were wiped out by the terrible economy already.
Third, Borders just hasn’t been smart like its competitors have. For example, while Barnes & Noble is in its own sticky situation, they have a branded e-reader that is well known on the market and an online marketplace to supplement anything that can’t be found in their stores. Borders does not have an e-reader and their online store is not as good. They have better, more regular deals than Barnes & Noble, but if there’s no Borders around and the website can’t provide… I don’t blame customers who shop elsewhere. Manga readers benefited from Borders mostly because Barnes & Noble didn’t stock yaoi and other kinds of mature titles and because Borders usually had more shelf space allotted to manga. (That’s my opinion, at least.) So Borders’ sales wound up being a large chunk of the manga market and here we are today in a choke hold.
So what do I do? Which side do I root for?
I want to root for Tokyopop and the other publishers because they are the ones making the books. Without publishers, Borders wouldn’t even exist. Aside from the fact that some of these companies employ me, I want to see manga publishers succeed and continue to print manga that I want to read. That is an extremely strong desire. I want to see a lot of manga get licensed and discover manga that I didn’t know where great. If the American manga industry crumbles, it would literally rip away my career and ten years of devotion.
On the other hand, I like Borders. It was a fantastic bookstore to browse in and I could rarely resist making purchases when I went into their stores. Because of this, I’ve been terrible at developing online shopping skills. For the most part, I’ve had the options of other stores to peruse, be they comic book stores or other chain stores, but I haven’t been interested in them. Most Barnes & Noble locations I’ve been around haven’t really enticed me since I was about 15 and I discovered a manga-focused shop in the local mall. And while my hometown LCS stocks a fantastic array of manga that puts any chain store to shame, the other comic book stores I’ve frequented in college and in the present are great for anything BUT manga.
So I’m turning this conundrum to you readers. Which do you think should survive? The manga publishers or Borders? To me, the answer is quite clear, even though I’m aware it makes me hypocritical. (I’m even planning a trip to a closing Borders after this post gets published.) Your thoughts, please.
*My weekend has been notably better.

How To Download Manga

Copyright

This software is Copyright by Dan Minut.

Distribution

This software is free for non-commercial use. Any distribution of this software must include all of the files originally packaged into the archive. If you would like to re-distribute this software in a commercial setting (pay-for download sites, CD-Rom bundles, or any situation in which money, goods or favors are exchanged for the receipt of this software), you must receive permission to do so from the author first. Re-distribution through p2p software, non-cost download web sites, and other types of data exchange in which money or goods does not change hands is permitted without notification to the author. While it is not a requirement to notify the author when hosting a free download of this software, a courtesy e-mail including the web address would be appreciated. Exceptions include the libraries (infozip, winrar, winace) which carry their own license and restrictions for modification and distribution.

Usage

The author makes no warranty and accepts no liability of any kind on the use or installation of this software. Further, the author makes no guarantees regarding this software. If your country/state of residence requires a software warranty, then this software is illegal to distribute in your country or state. If the user's hardware spontaneously disassembles in a fiery blast of circuits and cooling fans, every file that begins with "candy" is deleted or any other disaster befalls the user's software or hardware after the installation of this software, then the fault lies entirely with the user and not with the author. With that said, the author has taken every step within his means to ensure that the software does not do anything damaging to the users machine.

Other Terms

This software is free, but not Free. While the author understand the advantages and the philosophy of the GPL and related Free software licenses, he does not wish to open this particular software package at this time.
If you really like this software, I will be accepting tips in the near future. Even as little as $5 to $10 will help offset the costs I incur in licensing the libraries I use with this software. These tips are entirely optional and the amount should be what the user feels the software is worth to them. If the demand warrants, I will create special services for "registered" users including such things as personalized software, e-mail notification of updates and priority e-mail support.
Special services are available for a negotiable one-time cost. These services include adding desired features, customization with special logos or artwork and other changes. The cost of these services covers the labor involved and not the end result of that labor. All changes will remain the property of the author.

Support and General Information:

dminut-AT-animefest-DOT-org
convert the capital words to symbols and remove the dashes.

Screenshots and Download links:

Version 1.3.10 Full (2.90MB)
Version 1.3.10 Upgrade for 64 bit systems (105KB)
Upgrade version 1.3.10 to version 1.3.11 (172KB)

Quick Feature list:

• Allows for a "Base" manga directory with several Manga subdirectories as well as individual "Manga" directories.
• Allows for multiple "Base" and "Manga" directories.
• Can find images in just about any configuration as long as they don't go further than Base\Manga\Volume\Chapter\. I've tested against all of my subdirectories and it works.
• Can read .jpg, .png, .tif, .pcx, .psd, .pcx, .gif and .bmp files.
• Can read each supported image format in a .zip file in about any configuration (subdirectories or no). It can also read .zips within .zips (configured as Book.zip/Chapters.zip).
• Allows one-key and mouse scrolling of manga. If you scroll to the bottom of a page, it will bring up the next page. If you scroll past the last page in a chapter, it will open the first page of the next chapter. Does not currently scroll to the next book as this would be completely evil.
• Several resizing and filtering methods are available including bilinear resize and Brightness/Contrast.
• ability to save Manga/Book/Chapter specific preferences in a file. Allowing different Manga to have different filter settings.
• Info file window displays text files (.txt; .nfo; .readme) in Chapter directories/zips.
• Togglable Manga/Book/Chap/Page HUD in full screen mode.
• Custom Key/Mouse settings (edit through .ini file).
• Sorting done by numerical value (last set of numbers in string) instead of pure alphabetical (sorts 1,2,10,20 instead of 1,10,2,20)
• Set the currently displayed manga pages as the desktop wallpaper.
• Add one-shot temporary Manga directories from the menu.
• CopyTo feature allowing you to copy a manga page to a different directory.
• Manga Reader settings stored in My Documents\.MangaReader allowing normal User accounts to use Manga Reader.
• Screen can be rotated in any direction allowing for more flexible manga reading.

Recommended Specs:

• Basic Features:
• Pentium I class processor and VGA video card
• 256 color setting at 640x480
• 24 Megs of RAM
• Windows 9x, 2000, XP (NT untested)
• Recommended:
• Pentium II or Celeron class processor.
• High Color setting at 1024x768.
• 64 Megs of RAM.
• Windows 9x, 2000, XP (NT untested)
• Advanced Filtering:
• Pentium III class processor and modern VGA video card.
• 16 Million color settings at 1024x768+
• 64+ Megs of RAM
• Windows 9x, 2000, XP (NT untested)

Instructions:

Getting Started: Open the main program file by clicking on the installed icon. In the upper right hand corner of the window, there is a menu labled File. Choose "Base Directories" under the file menu and a new window pops up allowing you to add directories to the Manga database. If you have a subdirectory with multiple manga directories in it, select this directory and click "Add" and leave the default "base" as is. If you have a subdirectory that contains only one manga title, add this directory and double click the word base until it changes to "manga." When you have finished adding Manga and Base directories, click "Ok" to continue. Using the program: The top menu block on the right contains the Manga/Book/Chapter/Page pulldowns. Use the pulldowns to navigate and read your Manga. There are many ways to change the Book/Chapter/Page you are viewing, but you can only change Manga through the Manga pulldown. The Second menu block contains the resize/filter settings. Resize Method: None: No resizing of the pages takes place. Vertical: Resize the pages to fit vertically in the display window. Do not resize horizontally. Horizontal: Resize Horizontally, but not vertically. Both: Resize in either direction, whichever allows the largest image to be fully displayed in the window. Resize Filter: Simple: Very fast resizing method that most image display programs use. Causes Jagged edges, but works fine for images that don't need to be resized very far. Bilinear: Fast and smooth resizing that removes jagged edges. Use in conjuction with the sharpness filter to help eliminate fuzziness. Others: I have included a variety of other filters that offer differing quality and speed depending on the source image. In general, the ones closer to the top are faster, but not as good and the ones near the bottom are slower, but better quality. In most cases it is very difficult to tell the differences in the various filters. I have found, however, that by using Lanclos3 on images that are scaled down (from larger to smaller), you can get much crisper text. I would recommend using this filter if you are running in 640x480 or 800x600 with a vertical resizing method. Image Controls: Brightness: Adjust the brightness of the image. No adjustment is 0 in the middle. Move left for darker and right for brighter (range = -10 to 10) Contrast: Adjust the contrast of the image. Same controls as above. Sharpness: Adjust the sharpness of the image. No adjustment is 0 on the left. Move right for more contrast. (range 0 to 10) Text Block The third menu block contains the info text block. This block will display chapter text files as well as error messages. Menu Selections: File: Choose Base Directories: Add/Remove directories to Manga list. See description above. Add Temporary Manga Directory: Add temporary directory to Manga list. Will not be saved when the program is exited. Exit: Exit's the program. Edit: Info Box: Toggle the info box in full screen mode on/off. Change Background: Changes the background color behind the Manga pages. Default=Black. Full Screen Mode: Changes to Full Screen when checked. Set Page as Wallpaper: Set currently displayed page as your desktop wallpaper. Page: Manga/Book/Chapter/Page: Same as drop down menu items above. Manga Options: Normal Page Sort: When checked, uses alphanumeric sorting. When unchecked, uses special algorithm to guess page order. Best when pages are labled 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 VS 01,02,03,etc. Enable per Manga Page Settings: Allows the program to remember what page you were last reading when you change Mangas. This will only work if you are reading Mangas off of a read/write media (eg. Reading off of CD-Rom prevents you from saving these settings). Manga Reader stores small .ini files in each Manga directory that have the name of "mrManga.ini." Do not delete these files if you wish to keep your settings. Enable per Manga Image Settings: Allows the program to remember what filters you are using on a Manga by Manga basis. It works similar to and uses the same files as the first checkbox. Resize Method: Change the resizing method. See above for details. Filter: Change the filter. See above for details. Brightness: Change the Brightness. See above for details. Contrast: Change the Contrast. See above for details. Sharpness: Change the Sharpness. See above for details. About: Info: Info about MangaReader. Keyboard/Mouse Controls: All keyboard and mouse settings are adjustable by editing the MangaReader.ini file located in your install directory. Recommended for advanced users only. Instructions and key format are located in the MangaReader.ini file itself. Mouse: Scroll up: Scroll down: "Back" button: "Forward" button: Left Click and drag (image): double click (on image): Move to previous page. Move to next page. Move to previous book. Move to next book. Move image. Full Screen/Normal mode. Keyboard: Page Up: Page Down: Shift-Page Up: Shift-Page Down: CTRL-Page Up: CTRL-Page Down: Space Bar: Arrow Up: Arrow Down: CTRL-F: CTRL-ENTER (in Normal Mode): ESC (in Full Screen): Enter (in Full Screen): Home: End: I: +: -: 0-6: Alt-C or CTRL-C CTRL-H CTRL-R CTRL-+ CTRL-= Scroll to top of page. If at the top, go to previous page. Scroll to bottom of page. If at the bottom, go to next page. Move to next available chapter. Move to previous available chapter. Move to next available book. Move to previous available book. Same as Page Down. Scroll up. If at the top, go to previous page. Scroll down. If at the bottom, go to the next page. Full Screen/Normal mode. Full Screen. Normal Mode. Normal Mode. First page in chapter. Last page in chapter. Toggle Information HUD in Full Screen mode. "Zoom" in "Zoom" out Set Filter Level (0 = Simple Resize, 6 = Lanczos3) CopyTo. Copy page to another location. Hide mouse in full screen mode. Turn simple preview on/off. Speed up GIF Animation. Slow down GIF Animation. Supported File Formats: ZIP: Images (by Chapter) can be compressed into ZIP files. ZIPs inside ZIPs are not currently supported. RAR: Images (by Chapter) can be compressed into RAR files. RARs inside RARs are not currently supported. PNG: Portable Network Graphics. Open Source and Patent Free image foramt. JPG: JPEG image format. Small files, but lossy compression. PCX: PC Paintbrush image format. Some compression, but lossless. TIFF: Tagged Image File Format. Cross-platform image format. Large. BMP: Windows Stanard image format. Very large and uncompressed. TGA: Targa. Like PCX: Some compression, but lossless. WMF: Windows Metafile. READ ONLY PSD: Adobe Photoshop file. Reads the fulled composed image tagged to the end of the file and not the actual layer information. READ ONLY TLA: Smaller Animals Software image format. Unencrypted READ ONLY. GIF: Compuserve Graphics Image Format. Palatized lossy compression. READ ONLY. At this time GIF is supported with a kludge using Microsoft's .GIF reading algorithm. In 2004, Smaller Animals can add .GIF support to the primary library.

Version History:

***************************************************
V1.3 Overall polish improvements

Fixes:
+Fixed: Program used to store configuration files in Program Files directory.  Now automagically moved to
 Docs and Settings for the current user.
+Fixed: After a CopyTo command, mouse scroll was reverting to changing mangas instead of pages.  For some reason,
 gblShiftkeys was getting set.  It is now cleared on an exit from the CopyTo form.
+Fixed: Problem with LoadManga function.  Fixed using FSO object.
+Fixed: Internal problems with reading .cbr (comic book rar) files.
+Fixed: In Base Directory, when selecting an unavailable device, the previous drive is selected instead of getting
        an error
+Fixed: Removed some straggling performance measurement code from the gif routines.
+Fixed: Removed some legacy code in the directory reading code and sped up the Manga reading times.
+Fixed: A folder with a bunch of chapter zips will now show up as a list of chapters instead of a list of books.
+Fixed: After choosing a Base Directory, first manga in the list is displayed.  Also fixed other problems with
        Base Directory code.
+Fixed: Removed 4 character extension use and switched to variable length extension code.
+Fixed: 7-zipped book of zipped chapters now works properly.  Fixed other small issues with not reading archive extensions.
+Fixed: Going back a chapter inside a 7z chapter that's compressed in a 7z book currently works.
+Fixed: Can now delete first/only manga/directory entry in manga directory list.
+Fixed: Mouse back/forward buttons no longer trigger when app loses focus.

Features:
+Added: 7z support.  Calls the 7z.exe through the command line interpreter instead of using a .dll due to lack of
 vb6 support.  Unzips entire chapters to a temp directory to reduce interpage loading times.
+Added: Using Visual Studio Installer to create .MSI installers now.  Installation works better across platforms
        and file size is much smaller.  Installer also looks much more like a standard installer and is easier for
        a user to use than the old VB6 packager.
+Added: Double clicking a .cbz, cbr or .cba file can open Manga Reader and display that file directly.
+Added: Dragging and Dropping a compressed chapter/book/manga or a folder into Manga Reader will open it as a
        temporary manga.
+Added: More keyboard commands.
+Impvd: Page loading doesn't wait for the page to complete before allowing the page to be changed.  Goes fast when
 flipping through pages to get to a specific page.
+Added: Debug Widow menu item under tools.

ToDo:

 Fix: Going back a chapter then back forward a chapter in a 7zip of zips can sometimes skip a chapter.
 Fix: A zipped book of zipped chapters in a subdirectory will not show up as a book, but a chapter instead.
  Added a fast search toggle to make this work, but should find a better solution.

 Fix: Form doesn't seem to receive keystrokes (no manga picture)


 Add:   Real Icon.
 Add:   Multi-Drag/Drop creates one temp manga.

Known Issues:
-Resize matches up against previous page's scrollbar settings.  If pages switch from scroll to no-scroll or
 vice versa, size is mismatched.
-Possible crash when MangaReader.ini contains invalid settings for window positions.
-When closing app on temporary manga, current manga settings are lost. Defaults to first Manga in manga list
 on re-open.
-Memory allocation problems with high zooms. (zoom currently disabled)
-Zoom resets view to upper-left.  Should zoom in on center. (zoom currently disabled)
-Some zip files will crash the unzip dll.  Unicode seems to do it as well as the Java.zip source.  Limitation with
 unzip32.dll?  Problem with interface code?
-Some Issues with setting a root directory (eg. C:\) as a manga directory.
-Some Issues with newer zip files (proprietary Winzip additions?) Fixed with new DLL?
-No optimization of library routines.  May take up a larger memory footprint than necessary.
-Strange delay problems with animated GIF frames.  Sometimes they work fine, other times they don't.


***************************************************
V1.2 Forked for speed optimizations.

Fixes:
+Fixed: Some performance issues when reading files out of zips and rars.
+Fixed: Problems reading ACE files.  ACE returns a full path when listing contents.  Needed to strip that out.
+Fixed: Problems reading GIF files.  Switched to using Imgsource.dll for reading GIFs.
+Fixed: Greatly increased Manga loading speed by assuming every zip and folder is a "Book" in the root manga
        directory.
+Fixed: Increased Manga loading speed again, by assuming that if there is more than one archive in a folder, then
        it is not a "Book."
+Fixed: Can now properly read multipart RARs.  Seems to be a bit slow extracting from them, however.  Pretty sure
        this is a problem with the dll and not MangaReader.
+Fixed: Pages now sorted by path instead of name.  Useful for large archives that contain paths.
+Fixed: Problem with page numbers not being displayed on a Manga change.
+Fixed: Animated GIFs now work properly.  Doc error in ImgSource and found clarification on other parts.
+Fixed: Problem with locking up when scrolling through GIFs.  Added code to check on gif drawing status.
+Fixed: Extraneous GUI line stuck on main form.  Was showing up on some animated gifs.  Removed line.
+Fixed: Small memory leak in GIF animation code.
+Fixed: Made inter frame GIF delays more accurate by measuring the time it takes to draw frames.


Features:
+Added:   Animated Gifs will now animate.  Resize type is ignored.
+Added:   CTRL+ and CTRL- keystrokes to speed up and slow down GIF animation.
+Added:   When a previously used directory is used again in the CopyTo dialog, that directory is placed at the
          top of the list.
+Added:   Only the first part of a Multi-Part rar is now displayed.  Still have problems with reading certain
          multi-part rars.
+Added:   Ability to rotate display 90, 180 or 270 degrees.  Does not operate on Gif images.

+Changed: Update of dll files for Ace, Rar and Zip extraction.
+Changed: Updated code to use ImgSource30.dll for reading GIFs instead of using the ugly native VB code hack.
+Changed: Added a top level menu and cleared up some of the ambiguous menu wording.


Known Issues:
-After a CopyTo command, mouse scroll reverts to changing mangas instead of pages.
-Program configuration files stored in Program Files directory.  At this point Manga Reader requires an
 Administrator or possibly a Power User account to run.
-Resize matches up against previous page's scrollbar settings.  If pages switch from scroll to no-scroll or
 vice versa, size is mismatched.
-Possible crash when MangaReader.ini contains invalid settings for window positions.
-When closing app on temporary manga, current manga settings are lost. Defaults to first Manga in manga list
 on re-open.
-Memory allocation problems with high zooms. (zoom currently disabled)
-Zoom resets view to upper-left.  Should zoom in on center. (zoom currently disabled)
-Some zip files will crash the unzip dll.  Unicode seems to do it as well as the Java.zip source.  Limitation with
 unzip32.dll?  Problem with interface code?
-Some Issues with setting a root directory (eg. C:\) as a manga directory.
-Some Issues with newer zip files (proprietary Winzip additions?) Fixed with new DLL?
-No optimization of library routines.  May take up a larger memory footprint than necessary.
-Strange delay problems with animated GIF frames.  Sometimes they work fine, other times they don't.

***************************************************
V1.1 Dead Fork

***************************************************
V1.0bx Forked code for Callback experiments.  Will also try windowed zoom.

Fixes:
+Fixed: Custom Key-Bindings are matched to existing internal database.  Allows future versions to add
        commands without having to worry about editing the .ini file.
+Fixed: LQ buffer dump was not at same alignment of final HQ dump.
+Fixed: Non-Existant directories and bad directory names in the CopyTo function were crashing program.
+Fixed: Only width and height of image were displayed in CopyTo Function.  Added file size and time stamp.
+Fixed: Crash when Removing directory from list in CopyTo Function.
+Fixed: Copying to a non-existing drive letter will now warn the user.
+Fixed: Background colors now saved and loaded properly.
+Fixed: Last/First page of chapters no longer "disappear" when scrolling too fast towards them.
+Fixed: Help menu now shows up on menu bar.

Features:
+Removed: Double Buffering Code and Timed Delay for HQ image.

+Added: CopyTo feature to allow individual pages to be copied to other directories.
+Added: Visual compare feature and renaming scheme to CopyTo feature when duplicate filenames are found.
+Added: Key buffer to allow buffered keystrokes.
+Added: Rendering can now be interrupted by a keystroke.
+Added: LQ buffer dump before HQ rendering displayed.  Added so that a perceptible change happened
        immediately after a keystroke.
+Added: ACE reading functionality.
+Added: In CopyTo feature, first file in history list now appears as default CopyTo directory.
+Added: Ability to turn off LQ buffer dump: Turned off by default.
+Added: Clickable links in Help/About.
+Added: Ability to turn off mouse cursors in Full Screen

+Changed: Full Screen mode no longer "Always on Top."  Now acts more like ACDSee.

Known Issues:
-Resize matches up against previous page's scrollbar settings.  If pages switch from scroll to no-scroll or
 vice versa, size is mismatched.
-Possible crash when MangaReader.ini contains invalid settings for window positions.
-When closing app on temporary manga, current manga settings are lost. Defaults to first Manga in manga list
 on re-open.
-Memory allocation problems with high zooms. (zoom currently disabled)
-Zoom resets view to upper-left.  Should zoom in on center. (zoom currently disabled)
-Some zip files will crash the unzip dll.  Unicode seems to do it as well as the Java.zip source.
-Some strangeness with changing background colors.
-Some Issues with setting a root directory (eg. C:\) as a manga directory.
-Cannot properly retrieve images from multi-part rars.
-Some Issues with newer zip files (proprietary Winzip additions?)

***************************************************
V1.0x

Fixes:
+Fixed: Changed scale mode on main display from twips to pixels.  Will test to see if resizing errors go away.
+Fixed: Crashing bug when backing up to empty chapter directory.
+Fixed: Zoom in was not displaying image (Rendering Delay bug).
+Fixed: Resize/Filter/Contrast/Brightness/Sharpness all instant feedback again (Rendering Delay bug).
+Fixed: Mouse scroll tracks properly to main display (twips to pixels conversion problem).
+Fixed: Nasty code in .ini reading routines that crashed when manga's had a "[" in their name.

Features:
+Added: SetResizeNone and SetResizeBoth command and bound them to + and - for a cheap zoom feature.  If running
        previous versions of MangaReader, .ini file will have to be manually edited or deleted.
+Added: SetFilter0 to SetFilter9 commands and bound them to 0 to 9.  Manual editing or deletion of entries in
        .ini file required for key bindings.
+Added: Delay before rendering the HQ version of the page.  Allows quick parsing of pages.
+Added: Code to bypass quick render routine if 0 seconds (or less) is selected as a HQ Delay
+Added: Software now deletes contents of app.path/spool/ on program exit.

Known Issues:
-Resize matches up against previous page's scrollbar settings.  If pages switch from scroll to no-scroll or vice
 versa, size is mismatched.
-Possible crash when MangaReader.ini contains invalid settings for window positions.
-"Boucey" scrolling in Normal mode when switching directions.
-When closing app on temporary manga, current manga settings are lost. Defaults to first Manga in manga list on
 re-open.
-Memory allocation problems with high zooms. (zoom currently disabled)
-Zoom resets view to upper-left.  Should zoom in on center. (zoom currently disabled)
-Some zip files will crash the unzip dll.  Unicode seems to do it as well as the Java.zip source.
-HQ render routine doesn't always catch buffered image.  It does appear once the image is displayed however.
-HQ render has problems with zip-in-zips

***************************************************
V.9x Beta: Forked code for buffering experiment. (buffering experiment failed)

Fixes:
+Fixed: Ripped out tree selection in Base Directory for stability reasons.
+Fixed: Changed combo boxes for Manga/Book/Chapter/Page to "non-editable" to cut back on inadvertent focus
        and selection problems.
+Fixed: Page/maxpage labels should work properly now.
+Fixed: Issues with Manga temp directory selection.
+Fixed: Issues with Manga changes when changing from Full Screen to Normal mode.
+Fixed: Problems with right-click menu items hiding themselves.
+Fixed: Problems with Page menu on Full Screen mode having residual pages.
+Fixed: MnuMain not fully synched with MnuFull -- only one form and one menu now.
+Fixed: Problem with Info Display staying on in normal screen mode.
+Fixed: Normal-, Full- and ToggleFull-Screen now working properly.
+Fixed: Problem reading .RAR chapters in chapter directories.
+Fixed: When checking/unchecking "Normal Sort," page list is properly updated and current page selected in
        new list.
+Fixed: Navigation labels not always updating.
+Fixed: Page checkmarks not always displaying.
+Fixed: Last image/manga settings still displaying on null manga.
+Fixed: Focus issues.  Clicking in Text box or pull down controls no longer shifts control to those items.
+Fixed: Extra pages being loaded and displayed on Manga changes.
+Fixed: Inability to read zip-in-zip books if they are in folders.
+Fixed: mrmanga.ini files created in temp manga directories.
+Fixed: Crashes sometimes when directories removed.
+Fixed: Crashes when Manga Reader tried to pass a directory name to be unrar'd
+Fixed: Manga settings not properly saved in all manga directories (bug w/ temp manga code)
+Fixed: Added error checking/correction code for a renamed or deleted MangaSettings directory.
+Fixed: Directory+File names over 80 characters were being truncated.  Expanded internal code to 4096 characters.
 Could go to ~30,000 characters, but file system limitations should be reached before 4096 character limit.
+Fixed: When selecting manga/book/chapter/page and filter properties, combo box retained focus.  Moved focus back
 to main picbox so that the scroll wheel behaved consistently.
+Fixed: Bug in zip-in-rar and rar-in-rar routine.
+Fixed: Bug in numerical listing of page/chap/mang counts.
+Fixed: Bug in directory scanning routine that would attempt to scan a null directory string.
+Fixed: The Add Temporary Manga Directory form is now forced in front of the main form.

Features:
+Added: faux menu strip to top of control strip and removed extraneous buttons and checkboxes.
+Added: Set Page as Wallpaper menu item.
+Added: "Add Temp Manga" menu item.
+Added: Directory display to Base Directory and Add Temp Directory dialogs.
+Ripped out: separate form serving Full-Screen mode.  Many problems cleared up and file size decreased.
+Added: check mark to current manga, book, chapter and page in menus.
+Added: Resize, Filter, Bright, Cont, Sharp to menus.
+Added: Ability to Read zip-in-zip/rar-in-rar Books/Chapters.
+Moved: manga mrManga.ini files to program\MangaSettings subdirectory.  Program reads legacy
        mrManga.ini's and moves them to new location
+Updated: unzip.dll to version 5.50.  No new features, but various bug and security fixes.
+Changed: Switched directory searching routines from VB Dir() function to Window's API FindFirst/FindNext
          functions to speed up large directory searches.
+Added: Status bar that displays current status of program.
+Added: Initialization status that turns cursor to hourglass on startup.
+Added: The Add Temporary Manga Directory remembers the previous chosen directory.

Known Issues:
-Resize matches up against previous page's scrollbar settings.  If pages switch from scroll to no-scroll or
 vice versa, size is mismatched.
-Possible crash when MangaReader.ini contains invalid settings for window positions.
-"Boucey" scrolling in Normal mode when switching directions.
-When closing app on temporary manga, current manga settings are lost. Defaults to first Manga in manga list
 on re-open.
-Memory allocation problems with high zooms. (zoom currently disabled)
-Zoom resets view to upper-left.  Should zoom in on center. (zoom currently disabled)

***************************************************
v.8x Beta: Forked code for v3.0 DLL and rar support

Fixes:
+Fixed: Problem scrolling in Width-only and Height-only resize mode.

Features:
+Switched to faster and feature added _ISource30.dll
+Added Bicubic Filtering.
+Added .RAR read support.
+Added About screen to right-click menu.  Now you can see what version you're using...
+Added advanced sort for pages/chapters/books numbered without leading 0's (sorts p1,p2,p10,p20 instead of
 p1,p10,p2,p20)
+Added kludge to get .gif files working.  Fine for US markets.  Can not use Image Source .dll for this until next
 year.

Known Issues:
-Not all command functions implemented.
-Issues with Manga changes in Full Screen Mode.
-Last image still displayed on null manga.
-Resize issue in Width-Only mode.  Size mismatch.
-In Base Directory form, clicking on Desktop for the first time results in two events (closing desktop node after
 opening it)
-"Boucey" scrolling in Normal mode when switching directions.
-Memory allocation problems with high zooms. (zoom currently disabled)
-Zoom resets view to upper-left.  Should zoom in on center. (zoom currently disabled)

***************************************************
v.7x Beta:

Fixes:
+Fixed: Page resampled and blitted more often than it needs to be causing some slowdown on startup and resize.
+Fixed: Display issues with dynamic resizing.
+Fixed: If a wide image is displayed and a horizontal scroll bar appears, the next image will have a vertical
        scroll bar even if it doesn't  need it.
+Fixed: Double-registering of clicks on scroll bars.
+Fixed: Page changes when adjusting contrast, filter settings, window size, etc.
+Fixed: Double-click off image in Full Screen did not switch to normal mode.
+Fixed: Normal to Full screen transition doesn't always display page properly.
+Fixed: Issues with MS5 and MS6 events. Timers running simultaneously on both Full Screen and Main forms.
+Fixed: Book/Chapter/Page pull downs don't resize properly when scrollbar is moved.
+Fixed: Issues with choosing pages from right-click menu in full screen mode.  Took out references to frmMain
        objects.
+Fixed: Issues with MSDN and MSUP shifted events
+Fixed: Clicking ADD in Directory Selection form before clicking on directory causes problems.

Features:
+Added toggled Heads-Up-Display in Full Screen Mode accessible with both the right-click menu and the 'I' key.
+Background color on Main and Full screens now linked and saved in mangareader.ini
+Added Manga/Book/Chapter/Page menu items to right-click menu.
+Added Custom Key config in .ini file.
+Horizontal Rule bar position is now saved.
+Added Support for Back/Forward Intellimouse buttons.
+Added Basic Zoom In / Zoom Out support

Known Issues:
-Not all command functions implemented.
-Issues with Manga changes in Full Screen Mode.
-Last image still displayed on null manga.
-In Base Directory form, clicking on Desktop for the first time results in two events (closing desktop node
 after opening it)
-Problem scrolling in Width-only resize mode.
-Memory allocation problems with high zooms.
-Zoom resets view to upper-left.  Should zoom in on center.

***************************************************
v.6x Beta:

Fixes:
+Rewrote Page changing engine to be more efficient and consistent with full screen mode.  Should result in
 fewer page changes and renders.
+Fixed a bug that would crash the program when dropping from Full Screen to Normal View.  This happened when
 the current page on the current chapter was higher than the maximum page count that was in effect when in
 Normal View.
+Fixed a mouse wheel scrolling issue that prevented scrolling back across chapters.
+Fixed crash when changing books/chapters with ctrl/shift keys in Normal Mode caused by accepting keystrokes
 while decoding a picture.
+Fixed Loading pages problem that caused app to run slowly in certain situations because it was loading pages
 unnecessarily

Features:
+Added CTRL-ENTER to list of commands that switch to full screen.
+Added ability to scroll from first page of chapter to last page of previous chapter.
+Added ability to add keyboard commands for flipping books/chapters.

Removed Features:
-Removed book/chap/page scroll bars as their function caused more problems than they were worth.

Known Issues:
-Page resampled and blitted more often than it needs to be causing some slowdown on startup and resize.
-Some display issues with dynamic resizing.
-If a wide image is displayed and a horizontal scroll bar appears, the next image will have a vertical scroll
 bar even if it doesn't  need it.


***************************************************
v.5x Beta:

Fixes:
+fixed Page changing issues in Full Screen mode
+fixed Page changing issues with Manga settings
+fixed "Cancel" on Base Directories window
+fixed Brightness/Contrast/Sharpness sliders will "follow" the mouse cursor even if you have released the
 mouse button while the image filter is processing.  Changed slide controls to horizontal scrollbars and
 unusual behavior stopped.

Features:
+Added individual Manga settings.
+Added Full Screen feature activated with CTRL+F
+Added Mouse functionality to full screen mode.
+Slide Bars now reflect last numeric value in file names (eg.  Chapter 001EN shows up as 001)
+Added Info file window that displays text files in Chapter directories/zips.

Known Issues:
-Loading pages that don't need to be loaded causes app to run slowly in certain situations.
-Some display issues with dynamic resizing.
-If a wide image is displayed and a horizontal scroll bar appears, the next image will have a vertical scroll
 bar even if it doesn't  need it.


***************************************************
v.4x Beta:

Fixes:
+Fixed Version info.
+Fixed bug that would ignore .jpeg files.
+Fixed Add bug in the Base Directories selection window.
+Fixed Drag and Drop bug in Base Directories selection window.
+Manga display now resizes dynamically.
+Fixed Read-Only images in Zip files bug.
+Fixed more than one zip file is in a Chapter sub folder.  All images in the folder and all images in all zips
 in the folder are displayed.
+Fixed problem with capitalized extensions in zip files.

Features:
+Switched imaging library from FreeImage to Smaller Animals Software's Image Source.
+*Much* faster image processing.
+Switched from a picture box buffering system to a pure memory buffering system that should save on overall
 memory requirements.
+Added three new resize filter options.
+Changed Brightness/Contrast/Sharpness to overlapping sliders (can add all three effects at the same time).
+Added Support for .PCX files and .TIFF files.
+Added a resize option for both width and height.
+Added the ability to use the Space Bar like a Page Down key.

Known Issues:
-Occasionally loses Manga Directory list.
-Brightness/Contrast/Sharpness sliders will "follow" the mouse cursor even if you have released the mouse
 button while the image filter is processing.
+Clicking "Cancel" from the Base Directories window does not perform the proper task of restoring the previous
 directories.
-If a wide image is displayed and a horizontal scroll bar appears, the next image will have a vertical scroll
 bar even if it doesn't

***************************************************
v.3x Beta:

Fixes:
+Window positions now saved.
+Fixed crashing bug with drag and drop from Directory Window in Base Directories selection window.
+Attempted to plug crashing bug on certain .jpg resizes.
+Fixed crashing bug with resizing of Base Directories selection window.
+Fixed Bug with Manga directory name not being created properly.
+Fixed Bug with Add/Remove in the Base Directories selection window.
+Fixed Resizing issues.

Features:
+Added Contrast Adjustment to Image Filter list.

Known Issues:
-Occasionally loses Manga Directory list.
-If a wide image is displayed and a horizontal scroll bar appears, the next image will have a vertical scroll
 bar even if it doesn't need it.
+If a file is flagged as Read Only inside a zip file, the App will crash.
+If you have a resizing option enabled and you drag-resize the window, the image size will not change until
 the move moves back over the application.
+If you click Add before clicking the tree view in the Base Directories selection window, the App will crash.
+If you drag and drop a directory in the tree view in the Base Directories selection window, the *Selected*
 directory will be dropped and not the directory that was actually dragged.
+Clicking "Cancel" from the Base Directories window does not perform the proper task of restoring the previous
 directories.
+If more than one zip file is in a Chapter sub folder, then only the first zip's files are displayed.
+Found an issue with reading files out of a zip.  Will investigate it further.


***************************************************
v.2x Beta:

Known Issues:
+If you have a resizing option enabled and you drag-resize the window, the image size will not change until you
 change pages.  Maximize, however, works properly.
+In the Base Directories selection window, you can resize the form to a point where it will crash the program.
+In the Base Directories selection window, when dragging and drooping a folder, it will not always grab the folder
 you want.  You have to click the folder first, then click and drag to make it work properly.
+Clicking "Add" before selecting a directory on the Base Directories window cases a fatal error.
+Clicking "Cancel" from the Base Directories window does not perform the proper task of restoring the previous
 directories.

How To Draw Manga

#1) The Character and how to make them!

THE CHARACTER is everything in manga.

There is no plot without the characters.
There is no action without them.
There is no manga without them.

So...how do you make a character? OK well lets make a good guy. The main character.
What is he? Is he strong willed? Cool? Strong built? Stupid? Weak willed? Wild? Gentle, perky, or selfish?

Choose one. The MOST common main character type is strong willed (curse Sailor Moon! =D )
So we have a strong willed character. We draw him accordingly. Firm lifting eyebrows, closed mouth in a reversed v shape, short hair for girls, defined position; these are what we add in for a strong willed character.

1. Cool - Different kinds, cruel, artistic, delicate etc. Narrow eyebrows. Slender look. Long sharp eyes. Clear nose line. Glasses can add a sense of sophistication.

2. Wild - perky hair, grinning, bigger eyes, unkempt look, big eyebrows, very masculine.

3. Perky/cute - short/tied back hair, eye wide open (lol no pun intended), more child like face proportions, small nose, ribbon's on girls can add a sense of cuteness.

4. Gentle - always smiling, eyebrows far apart (close together makes strong impression) narrow droopy eyes, long hair, round faces.

5. For a the calm guy you could add those eyes that Bulma's mother has in DBZ [ up-side down U's ].

6. Weak willed - delicate, drawn like the gentle people, usually a troubled expression.

7. Strong Willed AND selfish - strong, with a lot of pride, eyes are lifted up, curled, detailed hair makes them look richer.  ;)

8. Evil dudes - eyes are usually like triangles, most of the eyes are white. Pupils are small black dots. Look of strength. Usually big and bulky with spiky or no hair.

OK now that that's through with (whew) on to the next part.
To finish the drawing, add a few weapons and some neat armor/clothing (depending on the character, if your character needs it use it, if not don't =D )
OK now for the rest of your character.
What does he/she like? Dislike?
What are a few shticks (sp?) that he/she has? (They are like Goku eating a ton of food always, Serena always being clumsy, Ash being a annoying little twit...nm that's not one >) , and Gene always rushing into danger. I know I'm only using the US TV ones, but heck, everyone knows 'em right?)
What angers them? What happens when they're angry?
How do they attack?

Now that that's done, do it a few more times for the rest of the main characters. This is not needed for supporting characters. (The inn keeper, grocery store manager, villain they fight once... etc.)

Once you know your characters inside out, can draw them attacking other people, interacting with other people, expressing their emotions etc, then its time to start drawing the manga..... stay tuned for #2 - Beginning the Manga!

(Authors note: This tutorial comes from mostly my experience and the How to Draw Manga #1, Power Up Manga Techniques for Beginners (good book =-D ) I hope this helps and will make more soon =D )

---

CHARACTERS AND THE STORIES THAT SUITS THEM
by Michelle
In order to make a story, you have to have a main character, his friends, enemies, and just random people. When you make the characters and draw them, you need to see their characteristics and create a story that matches it.
Some stories have to do with normal people with normal lives. Others have to do with other worlds and such. If you want it to do with other worlds, you will have to create the world, the creatures, and the people. You can make the storyline when you gave it enough thought! Also, when making a story with normal people, usually it is in Japan. A lot of people like to put school uniforms on the main characters. It's a little easier because they will always be wearing the same things.
Every story needs to be funny, serious, adventurous, creative, and lovely at some point. I enjoy the anime 'Rurouni Kenshin' because it has all of those things jam packed into one series. Writing a story needs to be specific, clear, and fun at the same time. Have fun with your stories ^.^

How To Scanlation

How to Scanlate Manga

Manga characters

Manga are Japanese graphic novels with a distinct visual style. Manga have become very popular in the United States and can be readily found in bookstores, such as Hastings or Barnes and Noble. Scanlating is the process of scanning, translating and editing unlicensed manga from Japanese to English.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Manga
• X-Acto knife or box cutter
• Scanner
• Computer
• IrfanView
• Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro

1. 1
   Cut or debind manga using an X-Acto knife or box cutter. Cutting or debinding is a way of separating the pages of the manga so they can be scanned. Try to cut as close to the border as possible.
   
2. 2
   Open IrfanView on your computer. IrfanView is a graphics viewer, which can be downloaded for free on the IrfanView website. It is the program you will use to scan manga pages.
   
3. 3
   Click on "File" in IrfanView, then choose "Select Twain Source" to choose your scanner.
   
4. 4
   Click on "File," then select "Acquire/Batch Scanning," which will lead to a dialog box popping up. Choose single image or multiple images if you are scanning more than one page. Click on "OK," then choose which type of image you will be scanning: color picture for color scans, black and white picture or custom settings. If you choose custom settings, select 600 dpi for color scans. Choose 300 dpi and grayscale mode for black and white scans.
   
5. 5
   Scan the manga pages, then click "File" and "Save as," and save them in JPEG format.
   
6. 6
   Open a graphics software program such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro and edit the scanned images. The programs will allow you to crop, resize, clean images and further optimize your scans.
   

Tips & Warnings

• Microwave on high for 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave to loosen the glue of the manga's binding, which should make it easier to cut apart.
• Use the batch scanning feature in IrfanView; it will save you time by automatically saving the files and renaming files.
• Images can be cropped in Photoshop by placing a marquee around the area you want to keep, then click on "Image," then "Crop."

How To Make Circle Crop

Crop circles (a generic term for the phenomenon of flattened plants) form in many areas of the world, with visual effects ranging from irregular shapes to amazing geometric patterns. The source of their formation is surrounded by controversy (see How to Explain Crop Circles), but there are some crop circles out there that have definitely been made by people. If you've ever wanted to explore making crop circles as a skill and an art form, here's how!

Steps

1. 1
   Choose a legal location for your crop circle. Obtain permission from the land owner before you start planning. Ideal choices are sloped fields that rise from public vantage points (a road for instance), or even an amphitheater-like valley.
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2. 2
   

   
   
   Plan your crop circle using a large scale map, to ensure access for both you and your audience.
   
   Plot your straight-line or circular design. Mark on the map the directions you will be flattening, to avoid visible signs of passage (inexperienced circle makers can spoil a design by leaving stripes like a lawnmower would).
   
   Initial access is normally through existing farm tracks and trails, so note the position of them before you start.
3. 3
   

   True non-disc curves are much harder to achieve, and rarely if ever witnessed.
   Create your design on computer, and make amendments until you have the design you can be proud of. Use inspiration from state-of-the-art designs as seen on the internet (see External Links).
   
   Practicing shape-making in the field will only result in people seeing your mistakes.
   
   Start simple: consider making your first crop circle from an arrangement of discs in a geometric formation. More advanced curved lines can be created by overlapping partial circular arcs.
4. 4
   Equip each member with the equipment listed under Things You'll Need.
5. 5
   Once in the field, use measurements to place markers exactly. Your friends can help you place markers, make line-of-sight calculations, and lay the rope to mark areas for flattening.
6. 6
   

   Using construction lines to make more complex shapes.
   Make construction lines by laying rope outlines to shapes. Then flatten circles at the intersection points. To make the shown example formation, create a rope outline of a equilateral triangle, and create flattened circles at the triangle corners. Avoid flattening over the rope, to create an implied triangle.
7. 7
   There are two methods commonly used to flatten:
   
   
   • Plank Flattening - use a roped plank (see Things You'll Need) to flatten by holding the rope or looping it over your shoulders. Press forwards and down by keeping one foot on the plank. Advance using a shuffling gait.
   • Using a roller - some circlemakers prefer using a light roller (available from garden centers) to speed up flattening.
8. 8
   Keep on flattening until you have completed your design and have a really nice, well-made complex formation.
9. 9
   Wait for the media to spot the new formation. This may take several days, or you can speed the process by making an anonymous call. A good design will provide local newspapers with many column-inches of speculation.
10. 10
    Ask local pilots if they can try and help your research by photographing for you when passing and leave them your email address.
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Tips

• For best results you should probably spend more time planning the crop circle than actually making it. By carefully planning the design, working out what equipment is needed, and discarding ideas that will be difficult or impossible to achieve, you can reduce the scope for embarrassing errors.
• Use measurements scaled up from your design and a surveyors tapemeasure to subdivide your circle into parts, put posts on the points. Don't try and guess stuff by eye as these circles usually fail.
• Hold tapes or measuring ropes tight, slack tapes mean wobbly circles. Experienced circlemakers hold tape measure so tight it hurts. No pain, no accuracy!
• Flatten during a dry period, to avoid churning up mud.
• Walk sideways using edge of your foot to flatten corn AKA "sidestomping" when tolding tapes to do circles, this makes fatter lines easier to see.
• Straight lines are created by two persons holding tape and one person "sidestomping" along the tape with it almost touching their belly.
• Try to use the cover of night. Remember that ideally you should be finished by dawn, when you can take a picture of the pristine design before swarms of "croppies" come and trample all over it.
• To leave a 'weird' crop circle of cosmic origins:
  
  
  • Bend some stalks around by exposing them to a blue light source for a few hours. Applying small amounts of natural gum or plaster will lock their new shape. Sadly this approach may not satisfy a detailed or scientific inspection.
  • Create swirled nests in the flattened areas by your clever weaving of stalks.
  • Also, melt some iron filings into droplets on site and sprinkle them around the flattened area to leave 'meteorite particles' and magnetized stalks.
  • Try varying the direction you flatten the corn, wavy lines or up a line then back a line. This creates amazing shiny lay patterns visible from the air.