From Tokyo's manga cafés to Buenos Aires's kioscos, from Parisian ateliers to Lagos's digital studios, comics have become a truly planetary art form. Global Comics: The Basics is the first comprehensive guide to this vibrant world republic of sequential art, tracing how local traditions―Japanese manga, Franco-Belgian bande dessinée, Latin American historietas, African comics, and more―developed their distinctive visual grammars while increasingly cross-pollinating across borders. Essential reading for anyone interested in learning more about the history and cultural significance of comics on a global level and why they matter more than ever in our interconnected age.