Popular crossover manga includes Bleach, Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist (Viz Media)

Shojo -- or, the style of manga for young girls -- may be dominating the market, but don't discount the influence boys have on the manga market. Just because manga focus more on character development doesn't mean they don't have any action at all. You just have to look at the success of series like Naruto, Bleach, or Fullmetal Alchemist to see that isn't true.

All three of these series have the fighting, weaponry, and snappy banter readers find in American comics. The difference is that both boys and girls are reading Naruto, Bleach, and Fullmetal Alchemist, and it's that crossover appeal that makes the difference. Most girls -- at least in my library -- aren't picking up Spider-Man, Batman, or the Fantastic Four. But they are reading Fruits Basket, Hikaru no Go, Her Majesty's Dog, Land of the Blindfolded, Sugar Sugar Rune, Death Note, Kingdom Hearts, Yotsuba&!, and on, and on. They're also reading Bone, Oddly Normal, Kat and Mouse, Runaways, Sidescrollers, and other American comics that have a clear beginning, strong characters, and complex storytelling -- all things they've come to expect from comics by reading manga.

NOTE: Bleach creator Tite Kubo will be at the Con Saturday at 1:15 pm in Room 7AB, and then Viz Media will host a Shojo Beat Panel at 3:30 pm in Room 10.

Shojo Beat Magazine is aimed at female readers. (Viz Media)

Years ago, I attended a workshop taught by Gene Yang in which he explained that American comics tend to be all about action, European comics are all about the art, and Japanese comics are all about character development. The how's and why's of this generalization are explained in Scott McCloud's book, Understanding Comics, which I'm sure, by now, you've all read. (No? What are you waiting for?)

I've been a fan of Alan Moore's Watchmen since buying the limited series when it first came out. Since then I've re-read it several times, often catching things that I had previously missed. I have high hopes for the movie, especially after reading Dave Gibbons' reports from the set, and seeing that they kept minor characters, like Bernard, the news vendor. I watched the trailer with a big smile on my face, identifying almost every scene and even saying part of Rorschach's line along with him. Of course, I expect there to be changes and cuts from the original work.  Let's face it, no adaptation is 100% faithful and even if it were, people would probably complain about that too. I'm really looking forward to the film, and even the Tales of the Black Freighter DVD. They’ve been talking about a Watchmen film since the 80s, and I’m glad to see that it’s finally being made, and hopefully being made right.

Warner Brothers' Watchmen panel is Friday, 11:55am in Hall H.

There are people who come to Comic-Con and then there are Comic-Con people. The quartet of filmmakers represented in this video are Comic-Con people. Sam Raimi, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Guillermo del Toro come to the Con because they like it and they get it. They are also willing to provide aspiring filmmakers with some solid advice. Here are a few clips with these filmmakers imparting their words of wisdom. Raimi provides, perhaps, the most practical and yet still inspirational words of wisdom. 

Robert Rodriguez has a panel on Red Sonja with Rose McCowan, Thursday, 2pm Room 6CDEF.

Thanks to Comic-Con for providing footage of the panels for our news coverage.