SO, you’re bored of your new computer games, watched all the box sets you got for Christmas and it’s too cold to go outside. You need some new stimulation. Have no fear. Comics expert Paul Gravett, whose new book Mangasia is in shops now for those of you with book tokens burning a hole in your pocket, is here to open your eyes to the wonders of Manga.
Paul Gravett: If you’re looking at exploring more manga and Asian comics, here are 10 diverse and diverting gems to expand your horizons...
1. Ayako by Tezuka Osamu (Japan)
A disturbing family tragedy by the prolific Tezuka, one of the two ‘mountains of manga’
2. The Man Without Talent by Tsuge Yoshiharu (Japan)
(in French, Spanish and Italian, sorry not English… yet!)
The other “mountain” is Tsuge and this is his profound, Zen-influenced masterpiece.
3. River of Stories by Orijit Sen (India)
An exposé of the environmental and human costs of an Indian dam.
4. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew (Singapore)
Singapore’s history untangled through a cartoonist’s life and works.
5. Elmer by Gerry Alanguilan (Philippines)
The rights of intelligent chickens in an allegory about prejudice.
6. A Bride’s Story by Mori Kaoru (Japan)
Varied lives and loves along the 19th-century Silk Road.
7. A Chinese Life by Philippe Otié & Li Kunwu (China)
One citizen experiences a lifetime of revolution and change.
8. Uncomfortably Happily by Hong Yeon-sik (South Korea)
An urban couple try living the country life.
9. Kampung Boy by Lat (Malaysia)
Recollections of a Malay village childhood.
10. Pages to Pages by Lai Tat Tat Wing (Hong Kong)
Surreal visuals satirise the battle between digital and paper comics.
Mangasia: The Definitive Guide to Asian Comics by Paul Gravett is published by Thames & Hudson, £29.95
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article