Which Rider Series Would Work Bestn in Amreican Comic Books?

[The Scream Man]

Accel would work as a concept, but tu would have to lose the handlebars on the belt, that he revs to charge up.

i think the biggest issue with bringing something like KR to western audiences is to get them over the belief that these are somehow sillier than the stuff they read now. I'm a very VERY (About a month) recent convert to Tokusatsu stuff, but have been reading western comics most of my life. And i stayed away from Toku because it was 'goofy.'

Perception and culture are the biggest issues. The Japanese sense of humor and culture is very different to the American one, and doesn't translate well to people who don't understand that. You can describe a show like Double to someone who's a western comics fan and i think they would dig it. But show them the show with Akiko making her little heart shapes everywhere and her crazy reaction and they'd switch off very fast and miss all the cool stuff. Show them Gokaiger and they'll see the goofy villains and Power Rangersness of it all, because that's what they've seen before. Exaggerated poses and goofy rubber monsters arent the American idea.

What Stuff could work as a comic? any of it really, but it would need to be modified. Dragon Knight actually did a decent job of taking the Japanese footage and making a more serious go of it; Its a shame it didnt take off. Faiz could work as well, since it has a great Sci Fi beat to it, and cool villains that have a concurrent story (So far, I m pretty early in the series). Plus the rider Armor isnt to over the top. decades Armor ould probably rule it out, and Diend looks stupid to ME, and Im way more forgiving of this stuff. Kabuto would probably work really well, though Tendou would need to be modified to work to western audiences.

I think doing some of these as Graphic Novels or Minis would be a fine idea, and there's no reason it couldn't be tried.

 

[Lynxara]

I think the biggest problem with bringing KR to a Western audience is cultural redundancy. Americans love superheroes, but the American comics and animation industries produce so many that the market very rarely has an any appetite left for heroes produced by other cultures.

Superhero (or superhero-like) material that does well in the US tends to be stuff like Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z that's totally unlike anything being published in America. Even both of those shows had a hard time finding traction initially, too.

Any tendency to dismiss Japanese superheroes as ridiculous typically has nothing to do with the actual quality of the stories or how they're being told. It's going to be more that people are already used to the superheroes America's already created and won't feel a need to get used to Japan's.

 

[ClimaxHeroDen-O]

I'd honestly prefer manga adaptations of the various Kamen Rider series beyond the original

 

[Igadevil]

There's pretty much a manga for every Rider (except W and OOO, so far that I know of), though to varying degrees of length and complexity.

(Just had to add that, since I get the impression lately many aren't aware that's there's basically more Rider comics than there are Rider TV series.)

 

[Lynxara]

That's probably correct, due to how little of the Rider comic material is available in English (officially or otherwise). The only manga I ever hear discussed is Spirits, which I think is getting scanlated now.

It's a pity, the first volume of the '71 manga I read was really interesting. I'm sure the quality of the rest of the Rider manga is variable, but I bet enough of it is at least as good as other random things that get scanlated.

 

[FaiaGreen]

I think Faiz could work well as a graphic novel, the dark plotline would be well-translated, and the motorbike that turns into a robot is just begging to be Americanized.

 

[Medivh]

Accel would work as a concept, but tu would have to lose the handlebars on the belt, that he revs to charge up.

i think the biggest issue with bringing something like KR to western audiences is to get them over the belief that these are somehow sillier than the stuff they read now. I'm a very VERY (About a month) recent convert to Tokusatsu stuff, but have been reading western comics most of my life. And i stayed away from Toku because it was 'goofy.'

Perception and culture are the biggest issues. The Japanese sense of humor and culture is very different to the American one, and doesn't translate well to people who don't understand that. You can describe a show like Double to someone who's a western comics fan and i think they would dig it. But show them the show with Akiko making her little heart shapes everywhere and her crazy reaction and they'd switch off very fast and miss all the cool stuff. Show them Gokaiger and they'll see the goofy villains and Power Rangersness of it all, because that's what they've seen before. Exaggerated poses and goofy rubber monsters arent the American idea.

What Stuff could work as a comic? any of it really, but it would need to be modified. Dragon Knight actually did a decent job of taking the Japanese footage and making a more serious go of it; Its a shame it didnt take off. Faiz could work as well, since it has a great Sci Fi beat to it, and cool villains that have a concurrent story (So far, I m pretty early in the series). Plus the rider Armor isnt to over the top. decades Armor ould probably rule it out, and Diend looks stupid to ME, and Im way more forgiving of this stuff. Kabuto would probably work really well, though Tendou would need to be modified to work to western audiences.

I think doing some of these as Graphic Novels or Minis would be a fine idea, and there's no reason it couldn't be tried.

This is a pretty good point. One would have to get over the perception of what's been seen in the U.S., which I don't think would be difficult, but it's still something that you'd have to be aware of. I suspect some folks would see the designs and they just wouldn't be able to shake the Power Rangers feel of it all.

 

[MattComix]

A concern I have with the idea of doing an American Rider or Sentai comic is that if we start compensating and cutting every little thing the Western audience might consider "goofy" then by the time we've chopped it all away about 90% of the fun has been sucked out of it making the entire exercise pointless.

If Rider were to be brought over while I recognize that not everything is going to cross cultures, I don't think we should go into it being ashamed of and apologizing for the style. Otherwise might as well just make a standard modern american superhero book.

Japanese superheros have a unapologetically heroic style and sense of fun and fantasy that is akin to what American comic books have more or less lost. If the only way to bring Kamen Rider or Sentai to comic page stateside is to drain all the life and color from it, then I'd rather it never happen.

 

[The Scream Man]

I see your point, and I think its my fault in expressing myself poorly.

It comes back to what I was saying about context and perception. for example there is the 2 part episode of Kabuto that is all about the Light and dark side of cooking, and the haunted knives. That strikes me as a very Japanese story, one that fits that sense of humor. but if you did it in a western comicbook, it would just be a strange sidestory that doesnt fit the action/adventure tone of the rest of the book.

Let's simplify it a bit and give an example. Take Kamen Rider Kabuto and boil it down to see if it will work. I pick Kabuto because it's the series Im in the middle of seeing for the first time. So please try not to spoil the end for me if i get details wrong!

7 years before the start of the story, a meteor hits the city of Los Angeles, killing millions and injuring or changing the lives of many more. Unbeknown to the public, the meteor also brought with it an alien race of parasites that humans call worms. These creatures can imitate any person, and when they do they absorb all the thoughts and memories of that person.
Present day, and a government undercover agency called ZECT are responsible for defending against Worm outbreaks, stopping them using ZECT Trooper. Karl* is one of a 3 person team who spots worms and records the events for future review. However ZECT is about to debut their new anti Worm weapon, a system that gives the wearer an advanced armor suit allowing them to match the speed and strength of the worm. The first Rider System will be Kabuto, and Karl is given the chance to first try it. But when he tries to call the kabuto ZECTOR down, it lands in the hands of a mysterious stranger who also has a Rider system: Terry Angel.** Kamen Rider Kabuto is born!

*Kagami/Karl works on a very very loose name match way. Eager to please, fast thinking but even faster reacting, Karl is a young and brave man who lost his family to the worm. Always willing to jump in headfirst to help others, he will develop a strange friendship with Terry. Eventually becomes Kamen Rider Gattack.
** Tendou Souji/Terry Angel weak, but u get the idea. A man raised to believe he will one day lead the world into a time of peace and happiness. Arrogant yet kind, especially to his sister, Terry fights worms because he believe he is the only one capable of defeating the worms. He has a mysterious past connection to the day the meteor hit.

As a premise that works great. Its got sci fi, cool villains and decent heroes. All in all it could work as a series of minis or a decent ongoing in comics. It's only the details that will change, like nams or some stuff in the backgrounds. In some ways Tendou is hardest, since (As I understand it) part of what makes him the way he is is because of his name.

anyway that's what I was thinking.

 

[Bigdog]

I see your point, and I think its my fault in expressing myself poorly.

It comes back to what I was saying about context and perception. for example there is the 2 part episode of Kabuto that is all about the Light and dark side of cooking, and the haunted knives. That strikes me as a very Japanese story, one that fits that sense of humor. but if you did it in a western comicbook, it would just be a strange sidestory that doesnt fit the action/adventure tone of the rest of the book.

Let's simplify it a bit and give an example. Take Kamen Rider Kabuto and boil it down to see if it will work. I pick Kabuto because it's the series Im in the middle of seeing for the first time. So please try not to spoil the end for me if i get details wrong!

7 years before the start of the story, a meteor hits the city of Los Angeles, killing millions and injuring or changing the lives of many more. Unbeknown to the public, the meteor also brought with it an alien race of parasites that humans call worms. These creatures can imitate any person, and when they do they absorb all the thoughts and memories of that person.
Present day, and a government undercover agency called ZECT are responsible for defending against Worm outbreaks, stopping them using ZECT Trooper. Karl* is one of a 3 person team who spots worms and records the events for future review. However ZECT is about to debut their new anti Worm weapon, a system that gives the wearer an advanced armor suit allowing them to match the speed and strength of the worm. The first Rider System will be Kabuto, and Karl is given the chance to first try it. But when he tries to call the kabuto ZECTOR down, it lands in the hands of a mysterious stranger who also has a Rider system: Terry Angel.** Kamen Rider Kabuto is born!

*Kagami/Karl works on a very very loose name match way. Eager to please, fast thinking but even faster reacting, Karl is a young and brave man who lost his family to the worm. Always willing to jump in headfirst to help others, he will develop a strange friendship with Terry. Eventually becomes Kamen Rider Gattack.
** Tendou Souji/Terry Angel weak, but u get the idea. A man raised to believe he will one day lead the world into a time of peace and happiness. Arrogant yet kind, especially to his sister, Terry fights worms because he believe he is the only one capable of defeating the worms. He has a mysterious past connection to the day the meteor hit.

As a premise that works great. Its got sci fi, cool villains and decent heroes. All in all it could work as a series of minis or a decent ongoing in comics. It's only the details that will change, like nams or some stuff in the backgrounds. In some ways Tendou is hardest, since (As I understand it) part of what makes him the way he is is because of his name.

anyway that's what I was thinking.

The cooking story could be done , It'd just need some Paula Deen or Iron Chef to beef it up. Plus those shows are plain funny or awesome.

I say just make an entirely new Kamen Rider taking the best elements of "71, Black ,,Kuuga,and Faiz and bringing them together into one concept , one set of riders. While I admire the original Japanese stories , duplicating them en carte and importing them would be plainly boring to me and in that sense a new Kamen Rider for the USA would be a great start.

Just start with the premise of talented and intelligent adults being mysteriously abducted and then show up as altered monsters ,mentally and physically, that kill for the sake of a SHOCKER equivalent ; The Shocker equivalent would need to be something Americans identify within the recent 50-60 years as evil or sinister like Nazis blended with Commies with the backbone of the KGB/Mafia . Jihadism could be more or less tackled as a means of distraction controlled by fragments of this organization made up of military leaders from Soviet countries, Germanic successor idealists and Tohjoists ,who all despise American involvement in world affairs .

With the mixture of ideologies remains an obsession to create the ultimate warrior Aryan superhuman, one who has no feelings or moral code; essentially a robot. And this is how the Kamen Rider saga should debut in the States, basically an updated story rooted in Cold War and WWII evil men whose legacy threatens to sway the entire world into covert darkness, a world where the Kamen Rider would be born in. This Rider would , like it's inspiration will try to pull the dark abyss from peoples' eyes but the world will mostly shun such a hero for denial and personal gain if not for the people who seek enlightenment from the times of dark or those who've already been . Think of it as Spiderman meets Batman , the original inspirations for the series.

Hongo would be this ordinary ,yet talented youth whose closeness to a scientific breakthrough can change the tides in this secret war between good and evil like everyone else has no idea about. You get the picture at what happens next.

Overall ,this concept would not be grim-dark, but a dark tone would be a motif of this first Rider. Also think of Mad Max , Terminator and Guyver but in a time before the catastrophic takeover and opportunity to make the world better and normalize it . Also , themes of spirituality ,life beyond death ,worlds beyond our comprehension and intellectualism would later be introduced.