Dōjinshi
Main article: Dōjinshi
Dōjinshi are produced by small amateur publishers outside of the mainstream commercial market in a similar fashion to small-press independently published comic books in the United States. Comiket, the largest comic book convention in the world with over 510,000 gathering in 3 days, is devoted to dōjinshi. While they are many times original stories, many are parodies of or include fictional characters from popular manga and anime series. Some dōjinshi continue with a series' story or write an entirely new one using its characters, much like fan fiction. In 2007, dōjinshi sold for 27.73 billion yen (245 million USD).[61]
[edit]International markets

Main article: Manga outside Japan
The influence of manga on international cartooning has grown considerably in the last two decades.[63][64] Influence refers to effects on comics markets outside of Japan and to aesthetic effects on comics artists internationally.


The reading direction in a traditional manga.
Traditionally, manga are written from top to bottom and right to left, as this is the traditional reading pattern of the Japanese written language. Some publishers of translated manga keep this format, but other publishers flip the pages horizontally, changing the reading direction to left to right, so as not to confuse foreign audiences or traditional comics consumers. This practice is known as "flipping". For the most part, the criticisms suggest that flipping goes against the original intentions of the creator (for example, if a person wears a shirt that reads "MAY" on it, and gets flipped, then the word is altered to "YAM"). Flipping may also cause oddities with familiar asymmetrical objects or layouts, such as a car being depicted with gas pedal on the left and the brake on the right.
[edit]United States
Manga were introduced only gradually into U.S. markets, first in association with anime and then independently.[12] Some U.S. fans were aware of manga in the 1970s and early 1980s.[65] However, anime was initially more accessible than manga to U.S. fans,[66] many of whom were college-age young people who found it easier to obtain, subtitle and exhibit video tapes of anime than translate, reproduce, and distribute tankōbon-style manga books.[12][67][68] One of the first manga translated into English and marketed in the U.S. was Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen, an autobiographical story of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima issued by Leonard Rifas and Educomics (1980-1982).[69][70] More manga were translated between the mid-1980s and 1990s, including Golgo 13 in 1986, Lone Wolf and Cub from First Comics in 1987, and Kamui, Area 88, and Mai the Psychic Girl, also in 1987 and all from Viz Media-Eclipse Comics.[71][72] Others soon followed, including Akira from Marvel Comics-Epic Comics and Appleseed from Eclipse Comics in 1988, and later Iczer-1 (Antarctic Press, 1994)[73] and Ippongi Bang's F-111 Bandit (Antarctic Press, 1995).[74]
In the 1980s to the mid-1990s, Japanese animation, like Akira, Dragon Ball, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Pokémon, dominated the fan experience and the market compared to manga.[68][75][76] Matters changed when translator-entrepreneur Toren Smith founded Studio Proteus in 1986. Smith and Studio Proteus acted as an agent and translator of many Japanese manga, including Masamune Shirow's Appleseed and Kōsuke Fujishima's Oh My Goddess!, for Dark Horse and Eros Comix, eliminating the need for these publishers to seek their own contacts in Japan.[77][78] Simultaneously, the Japanese publisher Shogakukan opened a U.S. market initiative with their U.S. subsidiary Viz, enabling Viz to draw directly on Shogakukan's catalogue and translation skills.[72]


A young boy reading Black Cat in a U.S. bookstore
The U.S. manga market took an upturn with mid-1990s anime and manga versions of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, translated by Frederik L. Schodt and Toren Smith and becoming very popular among fans.[79] Another success of the mid-1990s was Sailor Moon.[80][81] By 1995–1998, the Sailor Moon manga had been exported to over 23 countries, including China, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, most of Europe and North America.[82] In 1998, Mixx Entertainment-TokyoPop issued U.S. manga book versions of Sailor Moon and CLAMP's Magic Knight Rayearth.[83] In 1996, Mixx Entertainment founded TokyoPop to publish manga in trade paperbacks and, like Viz, began aggressive marketing of manga to both young male and young female demographics.[76][84]
In the following years, manga became increasingly popular, and new publishers entered the field while the established publishers greatly expanded their catalogues.[85] As of December 2007, at least 15 U.S. manga publishers have released 1300 to 1400 titles.[86] Simultaneously, mainstream U.S. media began to discuss manga, with articles in the New York Times,[87] Time magazine,[88] the Wall Street Journal,[89] and Wired magazine.[63]
[edit]Europe
The influence of manga on European cartooning is somewhat different than U.S. experience. Manga was opened to the European market during the 1970s when Italy and France broadcasted anime.[90] French art has borrowed from Japan since the 19th century (Japonisme),[91] and has its own highly developed tradition of bande dessinée cartooning.[23][92] In France, imported manga has easily been assimilated into high art traditions. For example, Volumes 6 and 7 of Yu Aida's Gunslinger Girl center on a cyborg girl, a former ballet dancer named Petruchka. The Asuka edition of volume 7 contains an essay about the ballet Petruchka by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and first performed in Paris in 1911.[93] However, Francophone readership of manga is not limited to an artistic elite. Instead, beginning in the mid-1990s,[94] manga has proven very popular to a wide readership, accounting for about one-third of comics sales in France since 2004.[94][95][96] According to the Japan External Trade Organization, sales of manga reached $212.6 million within France and Germany alone in 2006.[90] European publishers marketing manga translated into French include Glénat, Asuka,[97] Casterman,[98] Kana,[99] and Pika,[100] among others.[94][101] (see French Manga publishers)
European publishers also translate manga into German,[102][103] Italian,[104][105] Spanish,[106] and Dutch,[107] and other languages.[108] Manga publishers based in the United Kingdom include Orionbooks/Gollancz[109] and Titan Books.[110] U.S. manga publishers have a strong marketing presence in the UK, e.g., the Tanoshimi line from Random House.[111]
[edit]Localized manga

A number of U.S. artists have drawn comics and cartoons influenced by manga. An early example was Vernon Grant, who drew manga-influenced comics while living in Japan in the late 1960s-early 1970s.[112] Others include Frank Miller's mid-1980s Ronin,[113] Adam Warren and Toren Smith's 1988 The Dirty Pair,[114] Ben Dunn's 1993 Ninja High School,[115][116] Stan Sakai's 1984 Usagi Yojimbo,[117] and Manga Shi 2000 from Crusade Comics (1997).[118][119]
By the 21st Century, several U.S. manga publishers began to produce work by U.S. artists under the broad marketing label of manga.[120] In 2002, I.C. Entertainment, formerly Studio Ironcat and now out of business, launched a series of manga by U.S. artists called Amerimanga.[121] Seven Seas Entertainment followed suit with World Manga.[122] Simultaneously, TokyoPop introduced original English-language manga (OEL manga) later renamed Global Manga.[123][124] TokyoPop is currently the largest U.S. publisher of original English language manga.[125][126][127]
Francophone artists have also developed their own versions of manga, like Frédéric Boilet's la nouvelle manga.[128] Boilet has worked in France and in Japan, sometimes collaborating with Japanese artists.[129][130] A Francophone Canadian example is the Montréal, Québec based artists' group MUSEBasement, which draws manga-style artwork.[131]
[edit]Awards

The Japanese manga industry has a large number of awards, most sponsored by publishers with the winning prize usually including publication of the winning stories in magazines released by the sponsoring publisher. Examples of these awards include the Akatsuka Award for humorous manga, the Dengeki Comic Grand Prix for one-shot manga, the Kodansha Manga Award (multiple genre awards), the Seiun Award for best science fiction comic of the year, the Shogakukan Manga Award (multiple genres), the Tezuka Award for best new serial manga, and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (multiple genres). The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also awards the International Manga Award annually since May 2007.[132]
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Breathtaking effects ... It's like you gave her one hell of a facelift. +fav