Comic book kryptonite

Move over, Superman. Young comics fans are ditching the man with the red cape for the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a teenage boy in denim shorts and a straw hat who defeats his opponents with his stretchy rubber body. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates fill the pages of One Piece, a popular series in the world of manga—the Japanese artistic medium that’s taken the American ­comics market by storm.

Data provider BookScan tracks about 85% of all new book sales in the United States. According to an analysis of BookScan data by The Beat, a comics blog, almost half of the 44.7 million graphic novels sold in 2023 were manga. That’s about 21.8 million copies. American ­stalwarts Marvel Comics and DC Comics made up less than 10% of book sales combined, with DC sales at their lowest since 2004.

Japanese graphic novels have long been popular in Asia and in global markets but have only recently caught on with mainstream American consumers. U.S. manga sales have quadrupled since 2020.

“These are intensely character-driven, emotionally engaging stories with powerful story arcs that are often very moving and very touching,” Catholic teacher and author Philip Campbell told me. “If you want a good story that’s not based around superheroes and capes, you know, something that’s just completely different, you go to manga and anime.”

Manga isn’t a genre—it’s an artistic medium. Manga graphic novels are typically long, packed full of detailed illustrations in comic strips that run right to left. While each manga artist, or mangaka, has a different personal style, manga art typically features exaggerated facial expressions, big eyes, and dynamic actions with creative panel layouts. Many manga are adapted into anime (Japanese animation) movies and TV shows.

Manga can feature any genre—fantasy, horror, romance, slice-of-life—but they’re typically sorted into categories based on target age range and demographic. Shonen manga, which tend to be most popular, are made primarily for teenage boys. They feature young male protagonists (often with magical powers) facing off against evil villains. Shonen emphasize camaraderie, duty, strength, and fighting. Many include strong depictions of violence but usually steer clear of sexual content. Popular shonen include Attack on Titan and Naruto.

Shojo manga, targeted at teenage girls, center on female characters experiencing romance and drama, pursuing specific goals, or journeying toward adulthood. A few shojo, like Sailor Moon, depict girls fighting evil or having adventures like shonen protagonists, but most are set in a world similar to our own. Shojo stories focus on the friendships and relationships of the main character, who is typically in early high school. But they sometimes feature a love interest much older than the protagonist.

One of many displays of manga books at a Books-A-Million store in Tallahassee, Fla. Photo by Julie Alley

Kodomomuke manga are intended for kids 10 and under. They usually include adventures led by both male and female characters, with a focus on competition or correcting, rather than violently defeating, evil. Pokémon is perhaps the best known example of kodomomuke.

Seinen and josei manga, among others, contain heavy themes, violence, and explicit sexual content. They are intended for adults. Manga published in America sometimes have a rating system on the back cover with emblems ranging from A (all ages) to M (adults only).

Campbell said anyone interested in delving into manga should approach it like going to see a movie: read reviews and ask friends.

“I found some of the best manga and the best anime just by finding people that I know share my moral values and saying, ‘What do you like?’” he noted.

Manga’s new ascendancy in the United States is partially due to the success of anime shows on streaming platforms like Hulu and Crunchyroll. A 2024 survey from Polygon and Vox Media found that out of 4,000 American respondents, 42% of Gen Zers watched anime every week. Many consumers want to read the manga their favorite shows are based on.

But Campbell believes there’s another, deeper reason for manga’s popularity: “The West has kind of spiraled into a self-doubting, moral-relativism, nihilistic outlook about the world. The Japanese have not succumbed to this, and their storytelling is far superior. So [manga] is filling a void that has been vacated by Western media.”

Japanese publishers are starting to make manga more accessible in English. Several publishers recently began releasing manga chapters in English via mobile apps the same day the manga are published in Japan.

Christians also are harnessing manga’s storytelling power. New Life Ministries, a Christian missionary organization based in Japan, began adapting the Bible into a series of manga novels in 2006. Now released under the NEXTmanga brand, the six-volume series covers Genesis to Revelation.

Tyler Rhodes, New Life’s global projects coordinator, said the series was originally intended for outreach in Japan. New Life hired Japanese Christian manga artists and worked with theologians to take on the challenge of presenting Scripture in abridged comic form.

“We just wanted it to be as genuinely Christian and Japanese as possible … because manga is so popular there,” Rhodes said. “And from there, it just exploded.”

NEXTmanga has now printed over 20.5 million Bible manga books and booklets in over 40 different languages. Rhodes said the comics are especially helpful in contexts where Bibles are banned or unpopular but manga is allowed. And he believes the manga storytelling style, with its emotional expression, helps readers connect with Biblical stories, “especially for younger people who may not want to dive into a heavy book like the Bible.”