While Japanese manga and anime began to make inroads in Western culture about three decades ago, these art forms remained a subcultural phenomenon until the mid-1990s, when the increased distribution of translated manga and anime brought them into the mainstream. In 2007, U.S. sales of manga reached $210 millionùevidence of a voracious and enthusiastic fan base.

Timothy Perper, PhD, was a review and commentary editor for Mechademia: An Annual Forum for Anime, Manga, and the Fan Arts for six years. His published work includes Libraries Unlimited's Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics: Insights and Issues for Libraries, a collection the coedited with Martha Cornog. A biologist by training, Perper is an independent scholar and writer who has written extensively about human courtship and romance for more than 30 years. Martha Cornog, MA, MLS, was a review and commentary editor for Mechademia: An Annual Forum for Anime, Manga, and the Fan Arts for six years. She has written the graphic novel column for Library Journal since 2006 and has been a reviewer for Library Journal for three decades. Cornog won the American Library Association's Eli M. Oboler Award for Intellectual Freedom, and her published work includes Libraries Unlimited's Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics: Insights and Issues for Libraries.