Humorous and satirical illustrations trace back to 12th century Japan. Although now understood to mean "comics originating from Japan," manga(pronounced MAHN-gah or MANG-ah) is literally translated as "whimsical pictorial," Katsushika Hokusai, a wood engraver and painter who lived from 1760-1849, coined the phrase in the Hokusai Manga, one of his many publications. IN A 15 -volume series of sketches published in 1814, he covered various topics ranging from the informative to the comical aspects of the Edo period.
Despite the rapid growth and prosperity displayed in today's manga world, in truth, manga didn't see significant growth until World War II. Under the influence of the great manga artist Tezuka Osamu(1928-1989), manga began to gain not only national but also international recognition with works such as Astro Boy, Black Jack, Buddha, and many more. In the midst of a post war economic struggle, Tezuka's manga adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island sold 400,000 copies to become the nations top-seller.
During the 1960s, the generation that enjoyed reading manga as children grew up and brought their manga books and interests with them. People no longer viewed manga as something to be enjoyed only by children-it was now acceptable for adults too. American comics at the time primarily had a huge audience of young boys idolizing superheroes whose sole mission was to defeat crime, but the japanese community developed its own audience of botrh male and female groups, ranging from children to adults.
From 1980-2000, manga saw not only an evolvement of genreand style, but also the introduction of sophisticated techniques specifically geared toward enhancing its look and effects. Technique like screen tones gave new sleek looks to the finished pages. Story lines became more complex and widespread to include more audience interests, such as science fiction, sports, politics, religion, sex, and romance. Thanks to professional computer graphic software, such as Adope Photoshop and illustrator, manga artist(reffered to as manga-ka) throughout Japan can put in more detail and all sorts of cool effects in less time. Along with the growing market appeal, scores of new big in Japan and worldwide . At the same time, the number of talented female artist has skyrocketed; many of these artists are housewives who saw the opportunity of launching their manga career in drawing manga catering to female readers. This manga is now reffered to as shoujo (young girl) manga.
Today, many successful artists, such as Fujiko Fujio (Doraemon), Matsumoto Leiji (Starblazers), Toriyama Akira (Dragon ball), Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma1/2), Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk), and Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), have followed in the footsteps of Tezuka to contribute to the lucrative and popular entertainment industry.
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