The Art of Manga
Japanese Comics

INTRODUCTION
  Since the beginning of the 20th century,
  Japanese comics or Manga are constantly
  developing and diversifying with regard
  to subject and technique. Nowadays, 40%
  of all publications distributed in Japan
  can be classified as Manga. Furthermore,
  Japanese comics are even invading the web,
  and it can be predicted that their unique
  charm, deriving from a fresh combination
  of modern art and Japanese tradition, is
  now going to fascinate western readers.   

MANGA AND HISTORY
  First Japanese comics, seen as a suite of
  pictures and always closely related to a
  text describing some plot, are dating back
  to the 12th century. Even today, authors
  like SUGIURA Hinako and JAMADA Akihiro try
  to revive daily life in the Edo and Meiji
  era (1600-1868 and 1868-1912).













MANGA TODAY
  In the Japanese world of comics, there are
  all sorts of subjects treated. Such, matters
  of daily life are vividly described in the
  Manga series of TSUGE Yoshiharu and OKAZAKI
  Kyoko. Further series, directed to adolescent
  boys and girls, are composed by artists like
  YAMADA Naito. As all kinds of basic problems
  can be found in modern comics, here another
  author who is specialized in fear: MIZUKI
  Shigeru. 
  
  		Wolfgang Wiesner, March 2001 





La BD japonaise ou Manga, vue comme une suite
d'images et accompagnée d'un texte racontant,
a ses commencements dans le 12ième siècle. Au
début du 20ième siècle, le développement de la
BD a subi une accélération et diversification
sans pareil. Aujourd'hui il existe beaucoup de
catégories de la Manga quant au sujet traité
et à la technique artistique appliquée.

the everyday horror ...

... and the horrible future

	The Manga business even includes
	a multitude of motion pictures.
	Though some Manga series appear
	to meet the bad taste of rather
	primitive consumers, there are
	highly sophisticated movies to
	be found as well.

dreams of the everyday housewife

Sometimes, the girls seem to be more
emancipated than they are in reality !

the strong and the helpless

		Heroes are always cool,
		but sometimes slightly psychoneurotic.

























			Here are some links to relevant Japanese sites:

			- A comprehensive list of links to the world of Manga.
			  	Unfortunately, many links seem to be
			  	outdated or not in service at times.
			  	
			- "Zen's Scrapbook" is a nice site on the art of Manga.

			- Many pictures can be found here and there.

			By the way, personalized Manga are included in many
			Japanese homepages. Here is one nice example.