RE: Manga & Graphic Novels: These are not my type of reading.

I've read a fair share of manga but over time grew less interested in them for similar reasons as you. The reading from right to left doesn't bother me, but the lack of colour in the art seems a bit boring sometimes.

Recently started to take a larger interest in western comics of sorts. It really varies depending on what you're looking at. Also heavily depends on where you live and whether either weak currencies or import costs drastically increase the prices of volumes. In England a brand new comic volume can cost just 3 GBP. Where I am now in Georgia, they don't really have comics outside of two NEW shops which sell these things, and the markup is utterly insane. A 3 GBP volume in England is 20 GBP here. I don't buy physical here because of this. Digital is generally the better option, especially when major publications have their own cheap subscription services.

I haven't really encountered stories that seem like they're intentionally being slow and trying to span the story out into many pointless volumes though. With what I've read it often feels like the opposite: they're cramming too much into something I'd prefer if they slowed down with.

Another thing I guess is it depends on you who are as a person. A lot of people that read manga and comics tend to be quite big fans of art. So reading isn't just for the fun of story, it's also admiring the craft itself. If you have little interest in the art, then you're likely going to struggle to find stories alone that interest you. That was the case for me for the longest time until I started to find a stronger interest in the visuals. For example I simply refuse to watch the Marvel films and shows, there's nothing there for me. But some of the comics of the same characters are genuinely good and appealing to me.

I remember trying to read graphic novels/comics before that art interest and it was a struggle. No story would really interest me. It took me forever to read a 28 Days Later comic that I got gifted one Christmas purely because of that.