Yale University Press have announced they will be publishing Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards-winning author Eike Exner new 256-page history of Japanese comics next August.
The publisher of Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics describes the book as “the 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.”
Eike Exner is a Houston-based historian of graphic narrative. His research has appeared in the International Journal of Comic Art, ImageTexT, and The Comics World, and he has received the John A. Lent Award in Comics Studies.
His previous book, Comics and the Origins of Manga, published in 2021, received the Will Eisner Comics Industry Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work.
• Preorder Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• Eike Exner is online at eikeexner.com
With thanks to Paul Gravett
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “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.
Categories: Comics, Comics Studies, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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