One of the coolest things about comic books is that they are beloved across globe and embraced by so many different nations.
Not only does that mean that there is a common visual language and understanding between people of disparate backgrounds, but that we also get to see different iterations of some of the most popular characters ever created. Of course, Batman is one of those characters, arguably at the top echelon of popular comic book characters.
Whether Italian, Indonesian, Brazilian or Swedish, Batman has been translated and, in some, cases, reimagined, under the pop culture auspices of various cultures.
Today, we get to see Batman as Japanese manga in Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Book 1!
Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by: Jiro Kuwata
Published by: DC Comics
Konnichiwa Bat-fans!
If you’ve been reading and loving Batman ’66, the monthly comic book (with the fantastic Mike Allred covers) that takes place during those Adam West television series years, then you’re going to really enjoy the trade paperback collection of Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Book 1.
During that Batman television series craze of the late 1960’s, a shonen manga magazine in Japan released fifty-three chapters starring Batman in all-new, really Japanese-inspired, adventure!
Written and illustrated by Jiro Kuwata, who is best known for his science fiction manga and anime series 8-Man, these stories were virtually unknown outside of Japan. A few years ago, writer, artists and designer Chipp Kidd shed some light on what was happening with Batman in Japan during that time period with his Bat Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan book (published by Pantheon Books and a really interesting read).
But here, with Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Book 1, we get to see the original, serialized run, over 352 pages and at a very reasonably soft-cover price – for that that may wan to give the book as a gift this holiday season.
Witness 1960’s Batman battle very manga characters like Lord Death-Man!
Make the run to your local comic book shop and say “konnichiwa Batman-san” to Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Book 1 today!
