Manga are Japanese comic books. The artists that draw manga are called manga-ka. Manga was developed from a mixture of classical Japanese art - ukiyo-e, and foreign drawing styles, which took its current form soon after World War II. Dr. Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion, helped develop the manga drawing style the way it is today; he was influenced by Fleischer Studios’ and Walt Disney’s styles of drawing.

The majority of Japanese social classes as well as age groups read manga. It is common to see businessmen reading manga on the bullet train going to and from work.

There is a distinct difference between comics from Japan and comics from other countries like those found in the United States. Manga are black and white and can be as thick as a phone book while most comics are in color and much shorter.

Manga is read in the Japanese traditional style, right-to-left (unlike English’s left-to-right). Not only are they read right-to-left, but the panels and text are read from right-to-left as well. Many manga-ka are opposed to the widespread attempts to make published manga look and read like traditional American comics. Not just the artists, but the fans also played a part in keeping manga in their original reading style.

Where can you find manga? Good question. Try these stores: Barnes & Noble and Sam Goody.

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