This chapter surveys the numerous publishing formats of postwar story-manga and analyzes the way in which these formats have affected its visual and narrative structure beyond editorial choices or reader expectations. Starting from obsolete manga-centric publishing media like akahon and rental comics by minor publishers, the chapter moves on to introduce how monthly children’s magazines by major publishers changed into weekly and monthly manga magazines, which are still present in the market. I address Republishing practices and formats like pocketbooks and complete editions, each possessing different characteristics for different purposes. How digital comics have changed the way of providing and consuming manga content, giving way to new formats like webtoons is introduced. Finally, franchising, which has been raising manga sales even when the market has to battle diverse forms of rivaling entertainment and declining birth rates, is highlighted.

This chapter deals with the specific role and place of the graphic novel in the contemporary literary field. It first addresses the widely debated analogies and differences between comics and graphic novels, while making a clear plea for the autonomy of the latter. It then studies the history of the graphic novel, with a strong emphasis on questions of publication format and cultural reception. Finally, it also discusses the question of canon formation and the relationships between mainstream and minority cultures in the field.