The Manga Bible : The definitive guide to contemporary and historical manga

Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group
Publish date: 2 October 2025
Pages: 320
Language: English

Subjects: Art, Asian, Japanese, Popular Culture, Comics & Graphic Novels, Manga, Design, Graphic Arts, Illustration

Everything you ever wanted to know about manga.

The Manga Bible is the definitive guide to manga, taking you from its earliest beginnings in 12th-century Japan right through to the 21st-century global phenomenon it has become.

Whether you're already a manga superfan or new to this magical world, this is the ultimate guide to the art form. Expert manga historian Helen McCarthy covers all the iconic genres, stories and artists, as well as introducing you to a host of lesser-known creators and characters, telling the fascinating story of this international sensation.

- Explores the key genres, types and styles of manga from romance to sci-fi to horror and beyond
- Evaluates the cultural contexts and transformation of manga in relation to war, politics, gender and technology
- Features over 70 profiles including Akira Toriyama, Baron Yoshimoto, Hideko Mizuno,
and the 'God of Manga' Osama Tezuka

Praise for The Anime Encyclopedia: A Century of Japanese Animation
'Impressive, exhaustive, labyrinthine and obsessive - The Anime Encyclopedia is an astonishing piece of work.' Neil Gaiman

'... promises to do for anime what Halliwell did for film.' Mark Schilling, Screen International

Praise for A Brief History of Manga
'It is with such wonderful details that McCarthy's bullet-point history of the form really triumphs' Jasper Sharp, Manga UK blog

Praise for The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
'... an absolute treasure trove for anyone who wants to learn more about the God of Manga and his varied creative output.' NEO magazine