At a time when most readers in the western world didnвЂ™t even know there was such a thing as Japanese comics, Schodt wrote the ultimate introduction to it, tracing its roots to traditional Japanese arts, mapping leading genres, and explaining how it all related to Japanese life and culture, giving his readers a taste of just how rich and varied the world of manga is. If McCloudвЂ™s Understanding Comics is considered to be the bible of comics studies, SchodtвЂ™s book, originally published in 1983, was considered for many years as the bible for manga studies. Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Frederik L. And regardless of how useful it might be for researchers, youвЂ™re likely to expand your future reading list after reading this book. You donвЂ™t have to agree with GravettвЂ™s choices to get a sense of how works like Lone Wolf and Cub are very much a part of not just the Japanese comics industry, but of comic art as a whole. But even so, this volume by UK comics expert Paul Gravett, nicely divided into historical periods, does an excellent job in placing manga works within the context of the worldвЂ™s comics scene. Some would argue that attempts to compose a list of canonical works in any form of art, especially under the provocative title of вЂњthings you must do before you dieвЂќ, is an act of dubious scholarship. Read his latest masterpiece The Sculptor to get an idea of what IвЂ™m talking about.ДЎ001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die by Paul Gravett McCloud was one of the first American comic artists to be influenced by manga, and his work remains a fine example of how an American artist can draw inspiration from Japanese comics rather than just mindlessly imitating them. McCloud begins by asking just what comics are, and then proceeds to examine the building-blocks of comicsвЂ™ storytelling вЂ“ design, layout, text-image relationship and more, all while providing examples from all over the world, including Japan. In 1993, artist Scott McCloud wrote and drew this book, laying the foundations for comics scholarship, and over 20 years later it remains the definitive text in the field. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud While aimed more at casual readers, I believe academics will find a lot to explore in this list as well. Other than that, there is no attempt to place an item on this list in a вЂњhigherвЂќ position than the other вЂ“ theyвЂ™re all good. On the understanding that manga does not exist in a vacuum, and that itвЂ™s also a part of the larger world of international comics, youвЂ™ll also find books here devoted to general comics scholarship and Japanese art. Following up on Andrew OsmondвЂ™s list of scholarly books on anime, the list in this post is meant to provide readers with a starting point for books about manga.

Manga art books