Author: Andrea Horbinski, Manga's First Century

Saturday, 4/25/2026
2:00 - 3:30
Steve Silver Music Center - 4th Fl
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

How did manga become manga? Manga's First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905-1989, explores the rise of manga as a distinct medium in Japanese society in the 20th century. Beginning with the new use of "manga" to refer to high-collar political cartoons in the 1890s, Andrea Horbinski traces manga's development across formats through newspapers, magazines, and books as creators sought to expand the medium in the face of challenges ranging from state repression under the imperial government to perpetual editorial stubbornness. Taking a comprehensive look at the wide range of formats and subject matter that "manga" has encompassed, she shows how its development into a globally popular medium was the product of interactions between creators, editors, and above all manga fans.

Andrea Horbinski began studying Japanese in college after she started watching anime in high school, and went on to research hypernationalist manga in Kyoto on a Fulbright Fellowship before pursuing her PhD in history and new media at the University of California, Berkeley. There she harnessed her love of manga and pop culture while writing her dissertation, uncovering the role that fans of manga have played in manga's development since its earliest decades. She lives in the Bay Area.

This program is a collaboration with the Art, Music & Recreation Center.

Connect:

Andrea Horbinski - Website | Andrea Horbinski - Bluesky | Andrea Horbinski - Instagram | University of California Press - Manga's First Century Page

International Center - Website | Art, Music & Recreation Center - Website

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