‘Art of Manga’ at the de Young Museum is the first large-scale exhibition of its kind in San Francisco. Pictured above is art work from the Takahashi Rumiko (高橋留美子) manga, ‘MAO’ (MAO マオ). (© Rumiko Takahashi / Shogakukan)

Manga as a medium is meant to be intimate. Something portable to carry in your hands, whether bound in a thick, glossy magazine, or glowing from the screen of your phone.

Anime adaptations of manga may add sound, motion, and color, creating worlds that seem to leap off the page. But the true power of manga is its ability to compress entire universes into stark black-and-white panels, inviting the reader to exercise their imagination.

As the first large-scale exhibition of its kind in North America, Art of Manga at San Francisco’s de Young Museum feels like stepping

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