Illustrated worlds
Manga, manhwa, manhua, independent comics and graphic storytelling from different traditions.
Published manga / manhwa artwork, reproduced for editorial identification.Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Hayao Miyazaki’s manga builds a wider ecological and political world than its film adaptation.
Published artwork, reproduced for editorial identification.The Horizon
JH’s Korean manhwa tells a spare, bleak story about childhood and survival.
Published artwork, reproduced for editorial identification.Tekkonkinkreet
Taiyō Matsumoto’s distinctive urban drawings and story also invite comparison with their animated adaptation.
Trese, Volume 1: Murder on Balete Drive · Budjette Tan / Kajo Baldisimo · Ablaze editionTrese
Urban crime and Philippine supernatural traditions through graphic storytelling.
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel and animated film connect personal life with political history.
Heavy Metal, January 1980 · cover reproduced for editorial identificationHeavy Metal
Launched in 1977, the influential American illustrated anthology introduced readers to visionary science fiction, fantasy, horror and European comics, drawing inspiration from France’s Métal Hurlant. Explore the magazine ↗
Métal Hurlant, issue no. 1 · cover reproduced for editorial identificationMétal Hurlant
Founded in 1975 by Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet and Mœbius, this French comics magazine helped transform adult science-fiction illustration and inspired Heavy Metal. Explore the collection ↗
The Arrival
Shaun Tan’s wordless graphic narrative follows migration and the unfamiliarity of new worlds.
The Incal
Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius’s visionary science-fiction bande dessinée.
The Rabbi’s Cat
Joann Sfar’s comic and animated adaptation explore religion, language and identity through a fanciful narrator.
Image supplied by editor; original creator and rights holder retain copyright.Junji Ito
A master of unsettling visual horror, Junji Ito turns everyday situations and ordinary bodies into disturbances that linger long after the last page. His works include Uzumaki, Tomie and Gyo.
Animation and screen crossover
Not just anime: animation as an independent artistic medium.
Cowboy Bebop
The relationship between episodic animation, jazz, westerns, noir and the music of Yoko Kanno.
Fantastic Planet
A French-Czechoslovak animated science-fiction film with otherworldly imagery and social allegory.
Image supplied by editor; original creator and rights holder retain copyright.The Man Who Planted Trees
Frédéric Back’s animated short adapts Jean Giono’s story with distinctive painterly movement.
Image supplied by editor; original creator and rights holder retain copyright.The Wolf House
A crossover entry with Cinema at the Margins: stop-motion horror remade frame by frame in transforming spaces.