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Manga Explains NASA Mission

Posted by Zonk on from the connecting-up-the-disciplines dept.

YetAnotherName writes "Anime fans working with NASA? Yes. Tokyopop has the scoop on planetary scientists who made manga to explain a NASA mission, complete with spandex-clad, big-eyed lead character and robotic dogs. You can also download the manga in color or black/white PDF files. (Disclaimer: my spouse is one of the authors.)" If you sit through the talk about dogs, it's actually pretty interesting.

12 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. And we're all like... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    \^_^;/

  2. mirror of the color comic by thegoogler · · Score: 4, Informative

    here

    should withstand a decent slashdotting..

  3. huh? by Mahou · · Score: 4, Insightful

    wait. so it's an american drawn thing about an american mission, why is it called a manga and not a comic? we have the word comic in our lexicon you know. any explanation or is calling it manga like calling it X-TREME! CINDI or something?

    --
    if i'm not immortal, what's the point of living?
    ...te?
    1. Re:huh? by aussie_a · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's called a Manga because typically manga (as in, comics from japan) have had a very different art style to western comics. The art style has become popular in America, but to differentiate it from "Superman XXX after death in the second earth, retconned 50x", they call it a manga. So far there has been no word for comics drawn in the japanese art style outside of japan that has gained wide-usage to replace the misuse of manga. People drawing in the style of manga want to ensure that they aren't confused with the super hero rubbish that permetes America.

      Whether you accept it or not, the word comic has become synonymous with superhero comic among the masses (and to a lesser degree, bad superhero comics ;)). Do you blame people for attempting to distance themselves from that stigma?

  4. Dreaming by eingram · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is some sort of nerd dream, and I can't seem to wake up. I love it.

  5. is this some sort of parapsychological collective? by che.kai-jei · · Score: 4, Funny

    have we repeated slashdot cliches and mixed and matched so much that now we hallucinate nasa making space manga?

    in the style of the movie cliche wino who sees godzilla and then stares at his bottle in disbelief and then throws it, running hysterically,
    i now purge slashdot from my bookmarks and rss and close the wind#@~@!" - NO CARRIER

  6. PlanetEs by SynapseLapse · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you don't find this manga to your liking, you might take a look at PlanetEs.
    A more serious and utterly fantastic manga about life in outerspace in the pre-warp universe.
    One of the best mangas, and best sci-fi for that matter, that I've read in a very long time.

    It's what Enterprise *should* have been.

    1. Re:PlanetEs by aussie_a · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's what Enterprise *should* have been.

      That would have been exciting. "Going where no man has gone before."

      Ensign: So where are we going Captain?
      Captain: To the Klingon home world.
      Ensign: But that's 20 light years away, it'll take us 40 years just to get there!
      Captain: You're right Ensign. And we only have 7 years before we're canned. Alright. We'll go to Jupiter station.
      Ensign: Oh boy, that'll only take us several months!


      Don't think that would have worked somehow.

      For those that don't want to shill out $10 (plus shipping and handling) US for a comic they might or might not like (unfortunately the preview didn't really tell you much) here are a bunch of sci-fi comics that don't rely on a fad (and are free too) that you might enjoy:
      * Storm Corps
      * A Miracle of Science
      * Kismet: Hunter's Moon
      * Mozhaets
      * Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life (WARNING: Humour)
      * Twilight Agency
      * Freefall (WARNING: Humour! But it is hard sci-fi. Confused how humour could mix with hard sci-fi? Read it and find out).
      * Where Am I Now?

  7. It was cool and all... by mikeophile · · Score: 5, Funny

    but the tentacle scene was a bit gratuitous.

  8. Was that Episode 15 or 16? by Mulletproof · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Manga Explains Nasa Mission"

    So in other words we've built a giant battle cruiser with an ultra powerful partical beam cannon as its primary weapon that can be used as a last resort and can also launch transformable combat mecha which can only be piloted by nubile 16 year old girls clad in tight environmental suits that leave nothing to the imagination against a vast armada of souless automatons at 20:1 odds bent on wiping out the last vestiges of humanity from the universe?

    God, why didn't we fund this sooner!?

    --
    You need a FREE iPod Nano
  9. not a manga. by timerider · · Score: 5, Insightful

    reason: made in america by americans.
    manga is the japanese word for comic, so by definition its a manga when its made by japanese people, as well as manwha if its made by koreans.

    putting that aside, its not even drawn manga-style.

    putting that aside, its not even funny or entertaining.

  10. Nudity by ehiris · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there nudity because there's no good Manga without nudity.
    Hentai would be even cooler. A hentai NASA project could rock the geek world.