The immensely popular art form of manga, or Japanese comics, has made its mark across global pop culture, influencing film, visual art, video games, and more. This book is the first to tell the history of comics in Japan as a continuous story, focusing on manga as multipanel cartoons that show stories rather than narate them. Eike Exner traces these cartoons' gradual evolution from the 189os until today, culminating in manga's explosion in global popularity in the 2000s and the current shift from print periodicals to digital media and smartphone apps.
Over the course of this 130-year history, Exner answers questions about manga's origins, the establishment of its distinctive visuals, and how it became such a fundamental part of the Japanese publishing industry, incorporating well known examples such as Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon, as well as historical manga little known outside of Japan. This engaging narrative presents extensive new research, making it an essential read for enthusiasts and experts alike.
Size: 263 x 186mm (hardback)
Pages: 247 (86 illustrations)
Publisher: Yale University Press
