Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga
Japanese manga series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga (Japanese: サルでも描けるまんが教室, Hepburn: Sarudemo Egakeru Manga Kyōshitsu), also abbreviated as Saruman (サルまん), is a Japanese parody instructional manga by Koji Aihara and Kentaro Takekuma. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1989 to 1991, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes. The manga was licensed in North America by Viz Media, being serialized in its Pulp magazine from 2001 to 2002; they also released a single volume. A second series, titled Saruman 2.0, was serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki from 2007 to 2008; its chapters were collected in a single volume, released in 2017.
| Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga | |
 First tankōbon volume cover | |
| サルでも描けるまんが教室 (Saru demo egakeru manga kyōshitsu) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, parody[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Big Comic Spirits |
| English magazine | |
| Original run | 1989 – 1991 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Manga | |
| Saruman 2.0 | |
| Written by |
|
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | Monthly Ikki |
| Original run | October 25, 2007 – May 24, 2008 |
| Volumes | 1 |
Publication
Created by Koji Aihara and Kentaro Takekuma, Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1989 to 1991.[2] Shogakukan collected its chapters in three tankōbon volumes, released from November 1990 to June 1992.[3][4] It was republished in two wideban volumes, under the title Saruman (サルまん), on July 19, 1997.[5] Two "21st Century Collector's Edition" volumes were released on August 28, 2006.[6][7]
In North America, the series was published in Viz Media's Pulp magazine from May 2001 to August 2002.[8][9] Viz Media only released a collected volume on November 6, 2002.[10][1]
Another series, titled Saruman 2.0 (サルまん2.0), was serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki from October 25, 2007,[11] to May 24, 2008.[a] A collected volume was released by Shogakukan Creative, almost ten years after the manga's first publication, on June 26, 2017.[14][15]
Reception
Pat King from Animefringe commends the manga for its "excellent parody of the manga industry" and its artwork that "would be right at home in classic issues of Mad Magazine".[16] Johanna Draper Carlson from Comics Worth Reading comments on the "vulgar but funny" adult contents of the manga with its "nudity and various scatological gags".[17] Carlo Santos commends the manga for its "rundown of every major genre, by demographic" and praises the manga above other "How-to Art" books.[18]
Canadian cartoonist and writer Bryan Lee O'Malley described the book as a significant influence on the art style of his Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series.[19]