manga: Japanese comics

M

anga (漫画 Manga) are comics created in Japan, or by Japanese creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. They have a long and complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art.

In Japan, people of all ages read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, suspense, detective, horror, sexuality, and business/commerce, among others. Although this form of entertainment originated in Japan, many manga are translated into other languages, mainly English. Since the 1950s, manga has steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry, representing a ¥406 billion market in Japan in 2007 (approximately $3.6 billion) and ¥420 billion ($5.5 billion) in 2009. Manga have also gained a significant worldwide audience. In Europe and the Middle East the market is worth $250 million. In 2008, in the U.S. and Canada, the manga market was valued at $175 million. The markets in France and the United States are about the same size. Manga stories are typically printed in black-and-white, although some full-color manga exist (e.g. Colorful). In Japan, manga are usually serialized in large manga magazines, often containing many stories, each presented in a single episode to be continued in the next issue. If the series is successful, collected chapters may be republished in tankōbon volumes, frequently but not exclusively, paperback books. A manga artist (mangaka in Japanese) typically works with a few assistants in a small studio and is associated with a creative editor from a commercial publishing company. If a manga series is popular enough, it may be animated after or even during its run.Sometimes manga are drawn centering on previously existing live-action or animated films.

The term manga (English /ˈmæŋɡə/ or /ˈmɑːŋɡə/) is a Japanese word referring both to comics and cartooning. "Manga" as a term used outside Japan refers specifically to comics originally published in Japan.

Manga-influenced comics, among original works, exist in other parts of the world, particularly in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan ("manhua"), and South Korea ("manhwa"). In France, "manfra" and "la nouvelle manga" have developed as forms of bande dessinée comics drawn in styles influenced by manga. The term OEL manga is often used to refer to comics or graphic novels created for a Western market in the English language which draw inspiration from the "form of presentation and expression" found in manga.