The concept of existed for thousands of using pictures with words to tell a story has years, since the ancient civilizations in Egypt and China. The first published comic book using speech balloons to show dialog is often reported to be The Yellow Kid, which debuted in 1896. The content of early comic books was nearly always humorous E. Segar's famous Popeye is one example. In the early 20th century, however, comic book plots became more diverse, with many hero and adventure stories. Many western comic books made their way to countries in Asia, where they inspired generations of cartoonists. In the U.S. and many European countries, the best known type of East Asian comic book is probably Japanese manga. In the 1950s and'60s, the Japanese artist Osamu Tezuka produced a variety of manga for children, such as Kimba the White Lon and Astro Boy. His books often included mature and tragic themes. By the 1980s and'90s, manga was no longer just for young children. It had conquered the teenage and young adult markets as well. In fact, by the late 20th century, manga represented 40 percent of all Japanese publishing