Yonkoma

Yonkoma manga (4コマ漫画, "four cell manga"), or 4-koma for short, is a Japanese comic strip format which consist of gags within four cells. The cells are usually equal in shape and flow in vertical sequence (though some may appear in horizontal sequence as well, depending on the layout requirements of the publication in which they appear). These comic strips may appear just about anywhere: in manga magazines, in graphic novels, in the comics section of newspapers, in game magazines, in cooking magazines, and so forth. The plot often ends within the four cells, although some development may pass on to the next installment. A 4-koma may take up as much space as the entire vertical length of a page, or it may take up the whole page by having the third and fourth cells appear in a new column to the left, depending on the size of the paper.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well-known manga/anime that started off as 4-koma include: Sazae-san, Azumanga Daioh, My Neighbors the Yamadas.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Online, the 4-koma style is used in several American webcomics, such as Ghastly's Ghastly Comic and Sexy Losers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Manga: :This article is about the Japanese medium. For other uses see Manga (disambiguation)...

Japan: For other uses, see Japan (disambiguation)....

Comic strip: :This article is about the sequential art form. For the British comedy group, see The Comic Strip....