Eike Exner
@eikeexner.com
アイケ・エクスナ
Striphistoricus writing on Japanese comics and the history of the comics medium.
eikeexner.com/books
- Comics and the Origins of Manga
(Rutgers UP, 2021)
- Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics
(Yale UP, 2025)
Striphistoricus writing on Japanese comics and the history of the comics medium.
eikeexner.com/books
- Comics and the Origins of Manga
(Rutgers UP, 2021)
- Manga: A New History of Japanese Comics
(Yale UP, 2025)
I am surprised to read that "cartoonist Imaizumi Ippyō resurrected the term 'manga' to mean exclusively political satire." Many of the cartoons published by Imaizumi as "manga" do not seem to fit that definition. See this 2022 article for examples:
www.tcj.com/laying-the-g...
www.tcj.com/laying-the-g...
January 9, 2026 at 9:59 PM
I am surprised to read that "cartoonist Imaizumi Ippyō resurrected the term 'manga' to mean exclusively political satire." Many of the cartoons published by Imaizumi as "manga" do not seem to fit that definition. See this 2022 article for examples:
www.tcj.com/laying-the-g...
www.tcj.com/laying-the-g...
Remember when Tim Walz was tripping over himself to portray JD Vance as a decent person he simply had some reasonable disagreements with during their 2024 debate? This is how right-wingers repay you for playing nice.
January 8, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Remember when Tim Walz was tripping over himself to portray JD Vance as a decent person he simply had some reasonable disagreements with during their 2024 debate? This is how right-wingers repay you for playing nice.
I'm excited, happy, and honored that Manga: A New History is included in this category 🙇
January 7, 2026 at 7:31 PM
I'm excited, happy, and honored that Manga: A New History is included in this category 🙇
Apparently the Asahi Shinbun used "AI" in the photo colorization process but it's not clear what the "AI" step is contributing. Based on the example it seems like it would have been more efficient to let experts handle the process from the beginning.
December 27, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Apparently the Asahi Shinbun used "AI" in the photo colorization process but it's not clear what the "AI" step is contributing. Based on the example it seems like it would have been more efficient to let experts handle the process from the beginning.
we're doing word-of-mouth and we're doing it very strongly, when someone told me "word-of-mouth" I said wow what a beautiful word
December 26, 2025 at 8:47 PM
we're doing word-of-mouth and we're doing it very strongly, when someone told me "word-of-mouth" I said wow what a beautiful word
(photos from okazu.yuricon.com/2025/11/23/p...)
December 26, 2025 at 8:20 PM
(photos from okazu.yuricon.com/2025/11/23/p...)
I see these takes with astonishing frequency, as if the state of things were simply due to good or bad decisions, when most of it is (1) the different results of the 1950s anti-comics backlash and (2) the serialization of comics in anthology magazines issued by large mainstream publishers in Japan.
December 23, 2025 at 11:30 AM
I see these takes with astonishing frequency, as if the state of things were simply due to good or bad decisions, when most of it is (1) the different results of the 1950s anti-comics backlash and (2) the serialization of comics in anthology magazines issued by large mainstream publishers in Japan.
Got a long scam email offering book promotion services, very obviously written by an LLM, that tells me my book needs to show up next to authors like "Frederick Scheldt."
December 22, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Got a long scam email offering book promotion services, very obviously written by an LLM, that tells me my book needs to show up next to authors like "Frederick Scheldt."
Hab's für Sie mal schnell korrigiert
December 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Hab's für Sie mal schnell korrigiert
begging people to read a second book sometime, preferably one written in the last 30 years
December 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
begging people to read a second book sometime, preferably one written in the last 30 years
This book I put a lot of effort into is currently heavily discounted by some retailers and will still arrive in time for Christmas
eikeexner.com/books/manga-...
eikeexner.com/books/manga-...
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
This book I put a lot of effort into is currently heavily discounted by some retailers and will still arrive in time for Christmas
eikeexner.com/books/manga-...
eikeexner.com/books/manga-...
Reading this and currently finding out in detail what the lyrics "Belgians in the Congo!" are all about. Not good!
December 19, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Reading this and currently finding out in detail what the lyrics "Belgians in the Congo!" are all about. Not good!
The stereotypical version of "modern" manga history is that Tezuka Osamu in 1947 revolutionized manga and made it "modern" by "introducing cinematic techniques." But if you look at Three Treasures, you already see techniques like depth of field, subjective angles, and changes in perspective.
December 18, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The stereotypical version of "modern" manga history is that Tezuka Osamu in 1947 revolutionized manga and made it "modern" by "introducing cinematic techniques." But if you look at Three Treasures, you already see techniques like depth of field, subjective angles, and changes in perspective.
One of the most interesting manga I've come across in the Prange Collection at UMD is "Three Treasures of the Arabian Nights" by Yoshitani Masaru, published in 1946.
December 18, 2025 at 2:54 PM
One of the most interesting manga I've come across in the Prange Collection at UMD is "Three Treasures of the Arabian Nights" by Yoshitani Masaru, published in 1946.
Always glad when someone points this out. The term "hallucinate" is itself pro-Eh-Aye propaganda.
December 17, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Always glad when someone points this out. The term "hallucinate" is itself pro-Eh-Aye propaganda.
Wheeeeee! What a nice Christmas present (only possible because Understanding Comics was removed from the category lol)
Thank you all for your support 🙇
Thank you all for your support 🙇
December 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Wheeeeee! What a nice Christmas present (only possible because Understanding Comics was removed from the category lol)
Thank you all for your support 🙇
Thank you all for your support 🙇
Imagine sappy posting about Star Trek and What It Means To Be Human, all while using the shittiest Eh-Aye slop image of the most fucked up Lovecraftian horror of a spaceship flying in the wrong direction you could find
December 11, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Imagine sappy posting about Star Trek and What It Means To Be Human, all while using the shittiest Eh-Aye slop image of the most fucked up Lovecraftian horror of a spaceship flying in the wrong direction you could find
This one was hard. Didn't even know two of these words.
puzzlega.me/donut/
(Originally heard of this daily puzzle via @brianbergstrom.bsky.social)
puzzlega.me/donut/
(Originally heard of this daily puzzle via @brianbergstrom.bsky.social)
December 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
This one was hard. Didn't even know two of these words.
puzzlega.me/donut/
(Originally heard of this daily puzzle via @brianbergstrom.bsky.social)
puzzlega.me/donut/
(Originally heard of this daily puzzle via @brianbergstrom.bsky.social)
Turns out that the localization of comics in Shanghai was a gradual process over that time, rather than a single event in 1928. One of the most interesting things I found was what's probably the first serialized comic drawn in China: "The Adventures of Gasoline Gus and Koo, the Courteous Coolie."
December 10, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Turns out that the localization of comics in Shanghai was a gradual process over that time, rather than a single event in 1928. One of the most interesting things I found was what's probably the first serialized comic drawn in China: "The Adventures of Gasoline Gus and Koo, the Courteous Coolie."
It looks like my flight may be Powered by AI
December 7, 2025 at 10:28 PM
It looks like my flight may be Powered by AI