Manga - A New History of Japanese Comics - Eike Exner

Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics by Eike Exner / big 256-page paperback, 7 x 10 inches, published in 2025 by Yale Press / ISBN 9780300280944

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A groundbreaking story of Japanese comics from their nineteenth-century origins to the present day

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 single, continuous story, focusing on manga as multipanel cartoons that show stories rather than narrate them. Eike Exner traces these cartoons’ gradual evolution from the 1890s 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 the origins of Japanese comics, the establishment of their distinctive visuals, and how they 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. The book pays special attention to manga’s structural development, examining the roles played not only by star creators but also by editors and major publishers such as Kōdansha that embraced comics as a way of selling magazines to different, often gendered, readerships. This engaging narrative presents extensive new research, making it an essential read for enthusiasts and experts alike.

“A fresh history of Japanese comics. . . . Simultaneously a record of comics art in Japan and an account of its trailblazing publishing industry . . . An exciting, illuminating history that will inspire fans to explore the classics.”—Kirkus Reviews

“I came away from this book having learned so much that I already know I’ll need to re-read [it]. . . . A fresh, well-researched look at the history of manga.”—Erika Friedman, Okazu

“Exner’s look at Japan’s eye-catching style of graphic storytelling [is] comprehensive in scope. . . . Traces the development of the artform from its late 19th century origins to its ubiquitous popularity today.”—Colin Dwyer, NPR