Manga! Manga!
"Manga means "comics" in Japanese. In Japan, manga are read by young and old and are a monster publishing phenomenon with annual sales in the billions of dollars. In the rest of the world, thanks to Japan's economic might, manga concepts are revolutionizing the toy, cartoon, and graphic design industries. Manga can be fantastical and funny, or gritty and violent, with heroes as diverse as samurai, sushi chefs, mah jongg masters, teenagers in love, and bored office workers, to say nothing of anthropomorphic cats and warrior robots. As such, manga offer an entertaining-- and sometimes disturbing-- window on Japanese society. Containing a historical overview, an examination of themes and artists, and over 200 illustrations from Japanese comics magazines, this classic work remains and essential guide for anyone interested in the future of popular visual culture. From the back cover of the first 1983 edition.
"Since first published in 1983, Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics has been the book to read for all those interested in Japanese comics. It is virtually the "bible" from which all studies and appreciation of manga begins. More than that, given the influence of Japanese manga on animation and on American-produced comics as well, Manga! Manga! provides the background against which these other arts can be understood. The book includes 96 pages from Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix, Reiji Matsumoto's Ghost Warrior, Riyoko Ikeda's The Rose of Versailles, and Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen.From the back cover of the 2012 edition
Praise For Manga! Manga!
Phenomenal book...an exceptionally literate writer. Cat Yronwode
...a thoroughgoing exposition of the manga genre in text and pictures.The New Yorker
An excellent historical guide to manga, as well as a fine introduction to various artists and major thematic concerns.Variety
Buy this book. Read it.The Comics Buyer's Guide
It’s an excellent history of manga. It catalogues manga’s most important genres, creators, and characters. Fred Schodt really, really knows his stuff.Professor Susan J. Napier on "The Best Books on Manga and Anime," at Five Books, 2018.Much more about the Book
The Astro Boy Essays
A tribute to Japan's God of Manga by his long-time American friend and translator. Includes rare, full-color, original Astro Boy Astro Boy art!
"
To today's anime fans, Astro Boy is a historical figure more often heard of than seen. Now Frederik L. Schodt
tells the full story about the little robot and his creator, Osamu Tezuka, in a delightful book that every anime fan
should read.
--Fred Patten, anime and comics historian, author of Watching Anime, Reading Manga
"This engaging book will be of wide interest to fans and pop-culture students; recommended for all
collections."
—Library Journal
"Wonderful....The first comprehensive study in English about one of the most important people in the history
of both comics and animation"
—Animated Views
—Rob Vollmar, writing in The Comics Journal.
Dreamland Japan
The classic text by renowned manga expert in a beautiful new casebound edition, with a new foreword and afterword by the author.
"
Schodt gives readers a sense that manga is a vast ocean in Japan with genres undreamed of in American comics.
Dreamland Japan is recommended for all comic fans—not just for the historical information, but because Japan has
truly understood that comics are only limited by our imagination.
—Ed Sizemore, MangaWorthReading.com
"No one knows more about this world and conveys it with greater warmth and unpretentious insight than
Frederik L. Schodt, and the timing of this collector’s edition is ideal: as Schodt notes in his new afterword,
manga, Japan, and those of us interested in both are undergoing radical transformations. Luckily, we have this
kick-ass book to guide us."
—Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the US
The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924, by Henry Kiyama
『漫画四人書生』--木山義喬(著）
A "documentary comic book" published in San Francisco in 1931, depicting the true adventures of four young Japanese men in America between 1904 and 1924. Written and illustrated by Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama （ヘンリー木山義喬）, translated with copious notes and a foreword by Frederik L. Schodt, and published by Stone Bridge Press in 1998 as The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924.
"These poignant tales of four immigrants in turn-of-the-century San Francisco try for irony in depicting the protagonists' attempts to understand the convoluted whims of their American employers. But the humor hovers near slapstick, and the pie is always in the face of the Caucasians. The illustrations are direct and effective; we see how hard it is for Japanese immigrants to reach the top shelf of an American cupboard. The story is bookended by the dates 1904 and 1924, as in 1924 the immigration laws stiffened and some of the protagonists elected to return to Japan. After 18 years of preparation, this book includes extensive notes historically pinpointing several of the cartoons and an introduction providing an overview of the author/illustrator. Though not quite the first "graphic novel" ever, as it is being touted, this book does have historical significance and belongs in libraries specializing in comics, cartoons, and graphic novels, as well as those focusing on California history, immigrant studies, and the Japanese American experience. The Library Journal Much more About the Book
Books on Manga
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Manga! Manga!
The World of Japanese Comics
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The Astro Boy Essays
Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution
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Dreamland Japan
Writings on Modern Manga, Collector's Edition
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The Four Immigrants Manga
A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924, by Henry Kiyama