Manga, Manga, everywhere! Invading bookshops, libraries and art galleries. On TV shows and films, in live action and animation. Manga appeals to everyone and sells in their millions. So how have comics become so massive in Japan and why are their fame spreading like wildfire around the world?

Paul Gravett, the author of the NEO award-winning book Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics, invites you to discover secrets behind their most dazzling creators and characters. How can you read manga to enjoy them at their fullest? What gives these stories such power? What's a good manga in English to start with? Whether you are new to the subject or a serious otaku, this is a fascinating multi-media presentation for everyone to enjoy. Visit 'Discovering Manga' on Facebook.

All ticket-holders will receive a 20% discount on Gravett & Stanbury books purchased from the book table.

When:
Thursday, 23rd October 2008, 7pm to 9.30pm
There will be an interval with light refreshments.

Where:
St Albans Centre, Leigh Place, Baldwin Gardens, London, EC1N 7AB
Tube: Chancery Lane. Venue web-site here. Map available here.

Tickets:
£10.00 available in advance, only from this website.

Helen McCarthy:
"I had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the presentation. It was so impressive! The audience was very enthusiastic, I talked to some lovely people, and all in all it seemed like an event worth repeating. It looks as if there's a whole new arena of lecture promotion for Gravett & Stanbury to move into. London used to be a venue for really exciting public lectures - even whole lecture series - in the days before TV became so widespread, and the lecture scene seems to be reviving, so your timing is perfect."

Kevin Fitzsimmons:
"Thank you so much for your superb presentation this evening - vastly informative and entertaining."

Euan Gillespie:
"Really enjoyed the talk, and it touched on a lot of interesting structural differences with Western comics that I definitely need to delve into a bit further. Also plenty of food for thought in terms of fresh reading material ideas, which you can never really argue with!"