Manga in the spotlight at Cheltenham Literature Festival

By John Freeman on 4 September 2018

Chie Kutsuwada, Fumo Obata and Paul Gravett head up “The Manga Phenomenon” at this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival on Friday 5th October 2018.

as regular downthetubes readers know, Manga is big business in Japan. Comics make up nearly 40% of the sales of all publications and several weekly manga magazines have among the highest circulations of any magazines.

Comics expert, curator and author of Mangasia: The Definitive Guide to Asian Comics Paul Gravett brings together manga artists Chie Kutsuwada and Fumio Obata whose work ranges from manga adaptations of Shakespeare to reportage manga about the aftermath of Fukushima.

• The Manga Phenomenon – 6.15pm – 7.15pm,Friday 5th October 2018, The Nook | £8 plus booking fee -booking and event details here on the Cheltenham Literature Festival web site

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.