MSX: Mangasplaining Extra – Read our Manga!

Mangasplaining Extra is the Publishing-oriented sister-company of the Mangasplaining Podcast. We serialize unique, interesting, and little-seen manga, particularly from genres that are underrepresented in the mainstream. This project remains subscription-based and reader-supported, of course, but we are also able to work with creators to release free-to-read stories, and preview chapters as well. For a complete list of serializations, visit MangasplainingExtra.com.

MSX: Mangasplaining Extra also works to find print-partners to produce outstanding physical editions of the titles we license. What follows is a list of our projects in print, and the print partners we are working with to produce these titles. If you’re a publisher that wants to work with us, please e-mail us at mangasplaining@gmail.com.

Mangasplaining Book Titles


Okinawa, by Susumu Higa

Okinawa by Susumu Higa from Fantagraphics

Okinawa
By Susumu Higa. Translated by Jocelyne Allen
Lettered by Patrick Crotty and Kayla E. Edited by Andrew Woodrow-Butcher. Project managed by Christopher Woodrow-Butcher and Eric Reynolds.
Published by Fantagraphics Books with MSX
Buy it: Fantagraphics | Amazon.com
Preview at MangasplainingExtra.com

  • 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction – Longlist
  • American Library Association Best Comics for Adults 2023
  • Booklist Editors’ Choice: Best Graphic Novels 2023
  • Washington Post Book World Editors’ Staff Pick 2023
  • The Guardian Best Graphic Novels of 2023
  • A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

A peaceful, independent kingdom until its annexation by the Japanese Empire in the 19th century, Okinawa was the site of the most destructive land battle of the Pacific War. Today, the archipelago is Japan’s poorest prefecture and unwilling host to 75% of all US military bases in Japan.

Okinawa brings together two collections of intertwined stories by the island’s pre-eminent mangaka, Susumu Higa, which reflect on this difficult history and pull together traditional Okinawan spirituality, the modern-day realities of the continuing US military occupation, and the senselessness of the War. The first collection, Sword of Sand, is a ground level, unflinching look at the horrors of the Battle of Okinawa. Higa then turns an observant eye to the present-day in Mabui (Okinawan for “spirit”), where he explores how the American occupation has irreversibly changed the island prefecture, through the lens of the archipelago’s indigenous spirituality and the central character of the yuta priestess.

Okinawa is a harrowing document of war, but it is also a work which addresses the dreams and the needs of a people as they go forward into an uncertain future, making it essential reading for anyone interested in World War II and its effects on our lives today, as well as anyone with an interest in the people and culture of this fascinating, complicated place. Though the work is thoroughly about one specific locale, the complex relations between Okinawan and Japanese identities and loyalties, between place and history, and between humanity and violence speak beyond borders and across shores.


Search and Destroy, by Atsushi Kaneko

Search and Destroy, by Atsushi Kaneko. Based on Dororo by Osamu Tezuka.
Translated by Ben Applegate. Lettered by Phil Christie. Edited by Christopher Woodrow-Butcher and Eric Reynolds.
3 Volumes. Published by Fantagraphics Books with MSX
Buy it: Fantagraphics | Amazon.com
Preview at MangasplainingExtra.com

From the cinematic mind of Atsushi Kaneko (Bambi and Her Pink Gun) comes a contemporary reimagining of the timeless, Eisner Award–winning Dororo, by “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka (Buddha, Astro Boy).

  • New York Public Library Best Comics for Adults 2024

This is a tale of rage. Rage against hypocrisy, injustice, exploitation, and the wrongs done to a child who grew into a righteous killer….Complete in three volumes, Search and Destroy transplants the vengeful action of Dororo from feudal Japan into a dystopian future where mercenary robots known as “creatures” serve the human elite and victimize the city’s scrabbling, desperate masses. The violent death of one of these creatures connects an orphaned thief named Doro with a mysterious girl in a stinking animal hide that conceals deadly cybernetic implants. Who is this mysterious girl? How is she killing, one by one, the city’s most twisted and powerful creatures?

Originally serialized from 2019–2021 in the Japanese manga monthly TezuComi, Search and Destroy is a brilliantly-crafted thriller about an outsider looking for meaning and vengeance in the unjust world that took everything away from her. Kaneko populates a stunning, high-contrast setting that echoes postwar Cuba as much as Tokyo with an unforgettable cast of scrappy heroes and skin-crawling monsters on a nonstop ride full of action and suspense. This authorized retelling updates the rebellious ’60s spirit of the original Dororo to the equally tumultuous 2020s, mixing Tezuka’s signature dark yet playful storytelling sense with Kaneko’s own wide range of influences which include Western cartoonists like Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns as well as filmmakers like David Lynch. The result is not only one of the best sci-fi manga of recent years but also one of the most visually rich and distinctive works of graphic storytelling in any genre or language.


Giga Town: A Guide to Manga Iconography, by Fumiyo Kouno

Giga Town: A Guide to Manga Iconography, by Fumiyo Kouno.
Introduction by Matt Alt.
Translated by Ko Ransom. Lettered by Andworld. Edited by Andrew Woodrow-Butcher.
Published by UDON Entertainment, with MSX
Buy it: UDON Entertainment | Amazon.com
Preview at MangasplainingExtra.com | Read Matt Alt’s Introduction

  • Starred Review in Booklist

Manga symbols – “manpu” in Japanese – are iconic or symbolic expressions used uniquely in manga, such as sweat drops, popping veins, and smoke puffs. Giga Town: A Guide to Manga Iconography is (probably) Japan’s first guide to this manga iconography, collecting and explaining these symbols, with a short manga featuring the frolicking animals of the famous Japanese scroll Choju-jinbutsu-giga to explain each one!

Giga Town: A guide to Manga Iconography includes an informative afterward by the author that teaches the flow of manga reading, a great addition for beginning manga readers! It includes a forward by acclaimed author Matt Alt, which explains the origins of the Choju Giga scroll animals as well!


Veil, by Kotteri

Veil, by Kotteri
Translated by Jocelyne Allen. Lettered by Kevin Druelle (Oshino Studio). Edited by Andrew Woodrow-Butcher.
Published by UDON Entertainment, with MSX
Coming in Spring, 2025

Like a classic film, he and she encountered each other by chance.
He was an on-duty police officer in the city. She was a runaway heiress who could not see.
When he learned that she is looking for work, he decided to welcome her as the police station’s telephone operator… This was the beginning of the everyday lives of he and she, and the delicate distance between them.

Veil is a stunning full-color romance, slice of life, fantasy, and artistic manga by the incredible illustrator Kotteri. Unlike anything else in English, enjoy Veil’s witty dialogue, bold artwork, and stunning presentation. Coming in Spring 2025 from UDON.


Wandering Cat’s Cage, by Akane Torikai

Wandering Cat’s Cage, by Akane Torikai
Translated by Jocelyne Allen. Lettered by Sara Smith. Edited by Deb Aoki.
Published by Fantagraphics Books with MSX
Preview at MangasplainingExtra.com
Coming Fall 2025

In the slums, there’s rumor of something very rare—a man. Men are no longer born in the world, not even in the gleaming futuropolis across the river, and even if there were men, only a previous few women can still give birth. How long can this wandering cat evade the powerful forces that are trying to cage him? A brilliant dystopian graphic novel from Akane Torikai (Sensei’s Pious Lie), coming from Fantagraphics in 2025.

This two volume manga story will be published in a single hardcover edition.


No Roses Without Thorns: My Life as a Manga Assistant, by Nami Sasou

No Roses Without Thorns: My Life as a Manga Assistant. Japanese cover shown.

No Roses Without Thorns: My Life as a Manga Assistant, by Nami Sasou
Translated by Rachel Thorn. Lettered by Kyla Aiko. Edited by Deb Aoki.
Published by UDON Entertainment with MSX
Coming in 2025

Author Nami Sasou got her start making shoujo manga in the 1970s… while she was still in Highschool! Working as an assistant to the legendary manga creator Miuchi Suzue (Glass Mask), Sasou gets first-hand experience at just how difficult it is to make manga, and the effort and dedication it would take her and other young manga artists to find success! A treasure trove of stories, and an endearing story of persistence and creativity perfect for aspiring manga creators, shoujo manga fans, and lovers of manga history!

Coming in 2025 from UDON Entertainment


Look for more manga in the months and years to come! And don’t forget our digital-exclusive serializations and one shots, available now at MangasplainingExtra.com.