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Book Cover for: Manga: A Critical Guide, Suzuki

Manga: A Critical Guide

Suzuki

A wide-ranging introductory guide for readers making their first steps into the world of manga, this bookhelps readers move beyond manga available in translation to more fully explore the incredible diversity of Japanese comics styles, forms and traditions from its earliest texts to the internationally popular comics of the 21st century.

In an accessible and easy-to-navigate format, the book covers:
- A history of Japanese comics, from their emergence within modern print culture, through their astounding growth as an industry and diversification in form in the second half of the 20th century, and on to the present
- Case studies of texts reflecting the range of themes, genres, forms and creators, including Osamu Tezuka, Machiko Hasegawa and Katsuhiro Otomo
- Key themes and contexts - from gender and sexuality, to history and censorship
- Critical approaches to manga, including definitions, biography and reception and global publishing contexts

The book includes a bibliography of essential critical writing on manga, discussion questions for classroom use and a glossary of key critical terms.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
  • Publish Date: Oct 20th, 2022
  • Pages: 280
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.29in - 6.22in - 1.02in - 1.25lb
  • EAN: 9781350072350
  • Categories: Comics & Graphic NovelsAsian - JapanesePopular Culture

About the Author

Gavaler, Chris: - Chris Gavaler is Associate Professor of English at Washington and Lee University, USA. He is also the author of On the Origin of Superheroes: From the Big Bang to Action Comics No. 1 (2015) and Superhero Comics (2017) and Creating Comics (2021), both published by Bloomsbury. Since 2021, he has been series editor of Bloomsbury Comics Studies.
Stewart, Ronald: - Ronald Stewart is Professor at Daito Bunka University, Japan. He has published widely on comics and Manga, including as a columnist for Japan's largest national newspaper, the Yomiuri Shinbun.
Suzuki: - Shige (CJ) Suzuki is Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature at Baruch College, City University of New York, USA.

Praise for this book

"As someone who works on mostly the western tradition in comics I have long wanted to have an up to date work that provides both a historical overview of manga and deals with its social and cultural impact both in Japan and globally. Suzuki and Stewart have delivered that work. It will be both a useful reference work for comics scholars wishing to engage with manga and a useful text book for classroom teaching that wishes to encompass the global forms of comics." --Ian Gordon, National University of Singapore, Singapore

"Japanese manga culture is a vast universe in terms of both its scale and diversity. To the uninitiated, the question of where and how to best enter this universe is often hard to answer. To existing fans of specific artists and works, the question is often how to break through a type of tunnel vision and place one's own interests in some sort of larger context. And as more and more people need to teach, or want to write, about manga, the need for an updated guide becomes essential. Kudos to scholars Shige (CJ) Suzuki and Ronald Stewart for their stellar work with Manga: A Critical Guide." --Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics (1983)