Contemporary Cultural Iconography of the Manga Superhero’s Distribution in Japanese Bookstores: A Study in Publication Practices and the American Hero’s Transposed Contexts

Japanese comics, popularly known as manga, are currently experiencing a resurgence of the superhero similar to that of the American comics industry. While most research on manga discusses how it impacts other cultures, I aim to locate the influence of the American comic industry on manga through the superhero figure that has become popular through publishing houses such as Marvel and DC. My research will examine the role of the American superhero on the publication and marketing of manga in Japan by focusing on the importance of the bookstore as a space for the publishing industry and the consuming fan to interact the most directly. My research will address questions of political ideology and the shifting cultural specificities that the popularity of the superhero brings as it populates manga more frequently in Japan from the publishing house to bookstores where fans can access the changing form it symbolizes.

Faculty Supervisor:

Marc Steinberg

Student:

Partner:

Yokohama National University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

Concordia University

Program: