What is Manga?

I saw this mentioned in another thread and thought it would make a grand discussion of its own.
What exactly is Manga? Just another word for comics or something with a more "sacred" definition?
I've been reading manga for quite some time now and am a big fan. I consider Manga a japanese style (not the owrd style) artform. Americans, Australians, Russians, etc can all participate in creating manga but the style is key. Osamu Tezuka, the father of manga, created the big-eyed characters we know and love today. Its his style that is Manga.

I would love to hear more on this topic.

Then what about maga like Monster, Gon or Blade of the Immortal. I consider all these to be Manga as well, although there are no big eyes, and the stories are not always in Japan.
For me Manga is comic art from Japan and/or in the big-eyed character style.
Manga can be from Japan or France/USA.
Manhwa from Korea is different in art style and story line

I do not believe I can agree with you on that definition of manga. In Japan, manga means comics. Outside Japan, the term has come to mean (generally, at least) comics from Japan. While this is by no means a perfect definition, it is a functional one, and it operates without stylistic contraints.

The spectrum of manga--defined as comics from Japan--contains just as many stylistic variations as the spectrum of comics from America (or any other country). Astro Boy has a very different style than Fruits Basket which has a very different style from Lone Wolf and Cub which is nothing like One Piece, but all of these are manga. Similarly, Cairo, Mouse Guard, Bone, and Astonishing X-Men look nothing alike, but they are all American comics.

Stylistic similarities do exist within segments of both spectra, but I cannot come up with even one stylistic element which can be held as true for the whole.

Big eyes were just a stylistic thing that i picked out, i meant the Osamu stylei n general though, that birthed a lot of what we consider Manga today.
Shadrach, what do you consider manga then? all comics? just curious.

This is an interesting question hemlockclock. I never gave it much specific thought I just always considered manga as the comics out of Japan and the comics heavily influenced by them. Manhwa and the other variations for the language/country of origin are generally distinct in my mind (from Japanese manga specifically) but they are a part of the same tradition and fall under the same umbrella. I also tend to group American comics made in the same styles as manga as manga just with that same mental note of origin. That said I wouldn't call all comics manga, but anything that grows from that fertile soil can go by the name, at least in my head. But that's just me.

My tendency is to define manga in a way similar to Aerulan--comics coming from Japan and/or those comics heavily influenced by them (e.g., Korean manhwa, Chinese manhua). And depending on my mood I will include series like Dramacon or My Cat Loki in with the manga, simply prefacing them with a little mental OEL.

I'm afraid I've lazily lumped most Asian comics under the label "manga" as well as European and American comics that are clearly inspired by the Japanese example.

I differentiate manga from American comics that come out of the superhero tradition; graphic novels which I see as coming out of the European literary tradition and the autobiographical tradition; and comic strips and cartoons.

I do think manga has to be something that is created with the intention of combining words and pictures to tell a story, with both being equally necessary to the telling of the story. There are several art styles which say manga to me, but they generally have a strong emphasis on line and a lower emphasis on shading and color. (Superhero style comics on the other hand, have a very strong emphasis on color, and less on shading.)

This is a good question, and one which should be debated, as manga is beginning to garner respect as a literary genre.

I have to agree with Papiervisje on most of the points in the second message.

The only thing that I think of differently is American Manga. I'm not talking about comics, which are a specific style of cartooning. I've heard several people refer to American Manga as Mangaca. (I'm not entirely sure if that's how it's meant to be spelled) And when that's used I know that people are talking about Manga from America. Just like when using Manhwa we know it's from Korea; we need something to differentiate American/European Manga from everything else because culturally it is different. And I kind of feel bad putting Europe in the category because they're different culturally.