MANGA'S FIRST CENTURY: HOW CREATORS AND FANS MADE JAPANESE COMICS, 1905–1989 - MY INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA HORBINSKI

Fans of manga might like to know about an upcoming 448-page book written by Andrea Horbinski. Aptly titled, 'Manga's First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989', Andrea's book chronicles the history of manga and explores how it has evolved over the years. What now follows is a quick Q and A with the aforementioned author. Please enjoy.





1) Name three words that best describe who you are.   I'd say, writer, historian, and fan.

2) What inspired you to write your new book, 'Manga's First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989'?   The original decision stemmed from my need for a dissertation topic, combined with my love of manga and popular culture. I've been a fan of manga for quite some time, but I've never found a single-volume book written in English that sought to tell a comprehensive story about manga's origins and development. Therefore, with my background in online fandom, I knew that I could offer insights that other manga scholars had not yet explored.

3) In your own words, how would you describe your book?   The book explores the history and the many different forms of media that manga took in the 20th century. This includes less-discussed aspects of manga history, such as proletarian manga and the 'ban bad books' movement, and emphasizes the role that fans and creators have played in manga's development. The book also discusses the dōjinshi fandom sphere that emerged in the 1970s, which is an important aspect of manga's current dynamism that has often been overlooked.

4) What song would you say best represents 'Manga's First Century' and why?   I'd like to select 'We Built This City' by Starship. Not only because it's referenced in the book's dedication, but the song also strongly reminds me of the experience of being in fandom.

5) If you could get a celebrity - either living or dead - to promote your wares, who would you choose, and why would you want to choose this particular person?   While writing the book, I frequently wished that I had the chance to meet two key manga creators, Tagawa Suihō and Ueda Toshiko. Both of them were celebrities in their heydays, but since then, they're rarely mentioned in manga histories, which often start in the 1950s with Tezuka Osamu. So, if either of them felt I'd done justice to their careers in my book, I would be sincerely honored to have their endorsement.

6) What's the one thing about 'Manga's First Century' that might surprise people?   I think people will be surprised by the existence of the 'ban bad books' movement in Japan during the 1950s and 1960s. At the same time in America, we had the Comics Code Authority, whereas in Japan, they had a sustained grassroots campaign that sought to censor and discipline objectionable content in manga for similar reasons. Some 'ban bad books' activists even conducted book burnings in which manga and magazines were torched to ashes.

'Manga's First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905–1989' is a 448-page book written by Andrea Horbinski, soon to be published by the University of California Press. For further information, please feel free to check out Andrea's Linktree. Or if you prefer, you can click here to pre-order a copy via Amazon.