MANGA 379
Before World War II, manga
barely resembled the popular mass
medium it would eventually become,
and was published in newspapers,
humor magazines, and books. Th e
outbreak of war limited the re-
sources available to publishers, and
after the war widespread economic
turmoil and the political upheaval of
the occupation changed much about
the business and the art of manga.
Manga remained popular through
these troubled times, largely through
appealing to the reliable children’s
market. Manga magazines for chil-
dren would continue, and eventually
proliferate, while new methods of
delivering entertainment to children
and young adults would appear.
Arguably the most infl uential
publication format for manga at the
time was the akabon , or “red book,”
referring to the use of red ink as a
half-tone color for interior black-
and-white line art. Akabon titles
were cheaply published on inex-
pensive paper, at roughly the size of
contemporary manga volumes, or tankobon. Akabon titles introduced work from new,
highly original and infl uential creators such as Osamu Tezuka and Tetsuya Chiba. Other
important artists, such as Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Sanpei Shirato, presented their work in
kamishibai , or paper theaters. A kamishibai artist would travel with his display, a series
of images drawn on paper or cardboard, and narrate a story while selling cheap candies
or trinkets to the accumulated children. Meanwhile, as a cheap alternative to the cost of
buying books, rental libraries or kashibonya sprang up, off ering manga volumes to readers
at rates such as 10 yen for two days.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the manga publishing business shifted into its current para-
digm: new work would be serialized in magazines, released quarterly, monthly, or even
weekly. Th ese magazines, including those issued weekly, would extend to the hundreds
of pages and would be sold at aff ordable prices. Serialized manga stories would be com-
piled into tankobon volumes, containing roughly 150–200 pages. Such tankobon would
become the permanent print edition of a given manga storyline. Th e original magazines
containing the same content would become superfl uous: the American predilection for
Manga action. Photofest
