Manga is the Japanese word for comics (sometimes called komikku コミック) and print cartoons. Lent, John A. 2001. "Introduction." In John A. Lent, editor. Illustrating Asia: Comics, Humor Magazines, and Picture Books. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 3-4. ISBN 0-8248-2471-7. Gravett, Paul. 2004. Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics. NY: Harper Design. ISBN 1-85669-391-0. p. 8. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War II Kinsella, Sharon 2000. Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japanese Society. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0824823184. but have a long, complex history in earlier Japanese art. Kern, Adam. 2006. Manga from the Floating World: Comicbook Culture and the Kibyōshi of Edo Japan Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674022669. Ito, Kinko. 2005. blank">"A history of manga in the context of Japanese culture and society". The Journal of Popular Culture, 38 (3): 456-475. Accessed 2007-09-14. Schodt, Frederik L. 1986. _Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. Tokyo: Kodansha. ISBN 978-0870117527.

In Japan, manga are widely read by people of all ages, so that a broad range of subjects and topics occur in manga, including action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, horror, sexuality, and business and commerce, among others. Since the 1950s, manga have steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry, Schodt, Frederik L. 1996. Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1880656235. representing a 481 billion yen market in Japan in 2006 blank">"Japanese Manga Market Drops Below 500 Billion Yen". (2007-03-10) Accessed 2007-09-14. (approximately _$4.4 billion dollars). Manga have also become increasingly popular worldwide. Wong, Wendy Siuyi. 2006. "Globalizing manga: From Japan to Hong Kong and beyond." Mechademia: An Academic Forum for Anime, Manga, and the Fan Arts, 1:23-45. Patten, Fred. 2004. Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1880656921. In 2006, the United States manga market was $175-200 million. Cha, Kai-Ming. April 3, 2004. blank">"Viz Media and Manga in the U.S." Publishers Weekly. Accessed 2007-9-14. Manga are typically printed in black-and-white, although some full-color manga exist (e.g. Colorful manga, not the anime series). In Japan, manga are usually serialized in telephone book-size manga magazines, often containing many stories each presented in a single episode to be continued in the next issue. If the series is successful, collected chapters may be republished in paperback books called tankōbon. A manga artist (mangaka in Japanese) typically works with a few assistants in a small studio and is associated with a creative editor from a commercial publishing company. If a manga series is popular enough, it may be animated after or even during its run, although sometimes manga are drawn centering on previously existing _live-action or animated films (e.g. Star Wars).

Manga as a term outside of Japan refers specifically to comics originally published in Japan. Definition of manga from Merriam-Webster Online at blank">http://m-w.com/dictionary/manga. Accessed 2007-12-07. However, manga and manga-influenced comics, among original works, exist in other parts of the world, particularly in _South Korea ("manhwa") and in the People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong ("manhua"). Wong, Wendy Siuyi. 2002. Hong Kong Comics: A History of Manhua. NY: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1568982694 In France, "la nouvelle manga" is a form of bande dessinée drawn in styles influenced by Japanese manga. Vollmar, Rob. 2007. "Frederic Boilet and the Nouvelle Manga revolution." World Literature Today, Accessed 2007-09-14. In the U.S., manga-like comics are called Amerimanga, world manga, or original English-language manga (OEL manga).

maNga+ is the re-released version of the first, self-titled album of Turkish rock band maNga, released in 2006 by Sony Music/GRGDN. Two new songs were added to it, along with a special DVD.