Introduction

Various manifestations of comics, ranging from political cartoons, graphic novels and manga are an integral part of most people’s lives. Not only do they provide a sense of ‘comic’ relief in an all too serious world, but often they also reshape our world in unexpected and surprising ways. It is this hidden power of graphic art that Roman Rosenbaum’s chapter pursues via an investigation of the representation of politics in manga. Nowadays, graphic images cross borders much more effortlessly than people and thereby convey a plethora of cross-cultural and socio-political agendas. The ensuing coruscating sense of globalism is explored with an emphasis on the contemporary.