ROSGT Chapter 107: This Is an Insult to Art
### Volume 1, Chapter 107: This Is an Insult to Art
Early morning.
Three high school students with backpacks were on their way to school, passing by a newsstand just as the owner was opening for business, arranging various magazines.
These students often bought magazines here, and the owner was already familiar with them. Seeing them approach, he smiled and called out, "Got a new magazine in, come take a look!"
"A new magazine? What new magazine?" asked a slightly chubby student as he walked over to the stand. "Isn't it only Tuesday? Comic Weekly doesn't come out until Wednesday."
This slightly chubby student was named Liu Qingyun, and his favorite reading material was Comic Weekly.
He had been buying Comic Weekly from this owner for more than six months, and the owner, well aware of Liu Qingyun's preferences, would always save a copy for him.
"It's not Comic Weekly." This time, the owner said with a grin, "It's a newly published magazine called King of Comics. I recommend you give it a try. It's really good!"
"Really?" Liu Qingyun's companion, a skinny, dark-skinned boy, was skeptical. "Boss, are you just trying to push your magazines on us?"
"Guzi, have I ever lied to you? Just take a look and judge for yourself," the owner said, pretending to be offended, and handed a copy of King of Comics to the boy named Guzi, whose full name was Gu Tianle.
Gu Tianle took the magazine with a dismissive look, glancing at the cover, and then suddenly froze.
The cover featured characters from Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, Yu Yu Hakusho, Storm Riders, Batman, and more. The novel art style gave a distinct impression, vastly different from traditional comics.
Squinting, Gu Tianle scrutinized the cover, then eagerly began to read.
Liu Qingyun also picked up a copy, flipping through it with curiosity.
Both were quickly engrossed.
Their other companion, a handsome, cool-looking boy, grew impatient. "Are you guys done yet? What's so interesting about this magazine?"
"Hey, Azu, you should take a look too. You'll see how good it is," the owner said.
This cool boy, called Azu, whose full name was Wu Yanzu, usually had no interest in comics and seemed quite bored.
Despite his disinterest, his two friends were absorbed, showing no signs of leaving soon.
Feeling bored, Wu Yanzu followed the owner's suggestion and picked up a copy to flip through.
Once he started, he couldn't put it down.
Liu Qingyun and Gu Tianle had often bought comics, finding them endlessly entertaining, but Wu Yanzu had never been interested.
King of Comics was different.
Wu Yanzu had intended just to skim through it but was immediately captivated by the dark style of the Batman story.
The three friends stood by the newsstand, flipping through the pages, forgetting all about leaving.
"How about it? This magazine is really hot right now. It even features a serialized novel version of Street Fighter. Do you want to buy a copy? Five yuan each," the owner asked, seeing their absorption.
"I'll take this one!" Liu Qingyun was the first to shout.
"Me too!" Gu Tianle dug out money from his pocket without taking his eyes off the magazine.
Even Wu Yanzu, usually indifferent to magazines, was enthralled. "I'll buy this one too!"
The owner happily collected their money.
As the three were about to leave, the owner asked Liu Qingyun, "Should I still save a copy of Comic Weekly for you tomorrow?"
"No need, no need. From now on, I'll follow King of Comics," Liu Qingyun waved back.
After reading King of Comics, the appeal of Comic Weekly seemed to fade.
The owner stashed the bills and muttered to himself, "This King of Comics is selling fast. Even though it's a new publication, it's moving the quickest. I better stock up on more!"
Similar scenes played out in other bookstores and newsstands across Yanjing...
(P.S.: Starring the Eavesdropping Trio...)
...
"The new style of King of Comics is visually striking. I predict it will heavily impact the comic market!"
"Comics have long been outdated! Compared to manga, they fall far behind!"
"From today, I’m unsubscribing from Comic Weekly and starting a subscription to King of Comics!"
In the office of the editor-in-chief of Comic Weekly, the chief editor was browsing news on the light screen.
As the editor-in-chief of a comic magazine, he naturally followed news related to Comic Weekly.
In the past, browsing news with the Comic Weekly keyword and seeing the lively discussions about the stories in Comic Weekly always filled the chief editor with great satisfaction.
But today was different.
In fact, for the past two days, people had been discussing a new magazine called King of Comics online. At first, he hadn't paid it much attention. As the leader in the comic market, he had a dismissive attitude towards this new style.
However, to his surprise, King of Comics continued to gain momentum!
Both mediums use pictures to tell stories, and naturally, people started comparing comics and manga. The result was clear: most people favored manga.
This made the chief editor furious, extremely furious.
"What manga? What new style? Comics have a tradition spanning decades. How can manga compare?"
The chief editor couldn't contain his anger, and what made him even angrier was a post he saw about King of Comics, describing Dragon Ball in a way that felt very familiar. He quickly recalled.
"Dragon Ball... isn't this the manuscript I rejected? Such garbage!"
(P.S.: See Chapter 46 for details.)
In a fit of anger, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" The chief editor angrily shut down his light screen.
Editor Xiao Liu walked in.
"What's the matter?" The chief editor tried to calm himself down.
Xiao Liu, who was the first to see the Dragon Ball manuscript, didn’t notice the chief editor's unusual mood. He pointed to a document on his portable light screen and said, "Chief, since yesterday, we've been getting inquiries about accepting manga submissions. Today alone, we've received four or five manga manuscripts. Should we consider publishing manga in Comic Weekly?"
"What!?"
The chief editor's temper flared again. "Manga? The style of King of Comics!? Are you kidding me! We publish comics, real comics, not this trash that pretends to be art!"
"Chief..." Xiao Liu was startled.
"Reject them, reject them all! Tell them we only publish art. This trash won't appear in our magazine!" the chief editor roared.
Xiao Liu wanted to say more, but seeing the chief editor's cold expression, he wisely kept silent, sighed slightly, and left the office.
The chief editor sat down, still breathing heavily, unable to quell his anger.
Not long after, another knock came.
This time, it was the chief editor's assistant secretary.
"What's the matter?" the chief editor asked impatiently.
"Chief, the producer of the Urban Topics show contacted you, asking if you could appear on their show," the secretary cautiously inquired.
"Me, on their show?"
The chief editor was taken aback. Urban Topics was a highly rated talk show in Yanjing, often inviting celebrities to discuss hot topics. The chief editor considered himself a notable figure but had never had the chance to be on the show.
Why were they inviting him now?
The secretary continued, "They want you to talk about the clash between comic and manga genres..."
"To discuss this?" The mention of manga infuriated the chief editor again. "No way! I'm not going. What’s there to discuss? Trash versus art, what's there to clash about?"
"Should I refuse them then?" the secretary asked quickly, ready to leave.
"Wait!"
The chief editor thought of something and suddenly called out, "I'll go on the show!"
The secretary was confused by the sudden change.
The chief editor sneered, "I’ll go on the show to harshly criticize King of Comics and tell the world that comics are art, and manga is just trash!"
The assistant wanted to tell the chief editor that Urban Topics was only broadcast in Yanjing, not the whole world... But seeing the chief editor so angry, he wisely said nothing, quickly agreeing and leaving the office.