Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan
Encyclopedia
Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan is a 2008 book published by Pantheon Books
, subsidiary of Random House
, in the United States. The book was designed by Chip Kidd
with the assistance of photographer Geoff Spear. It collects a Japanese shōnen manga
adaptation of the American comic book series Batman
by Jiro Kuwata
simply entitled and also includes photographs of vintage Batman toys from Japan. The Batman manga included in Bat-Manga! was created during a Batman craze in Japan, being serialized from April 1966 to May 1967; the series ended when the craze ended. The manga was released in paperback and at the same time a limited hardcover was released on October 28, 2008, with an additional manhua
bootleg and an extra Batman story by the creator.
The book got generally positive reviews, with Deb Aoki of About.com rating it with 4 stars. It was made an issue that Chip Kidd got all the credit for Bat-Manga! instead of Jiro Kuwata, but Chip Kidd stated that the book is about the phenomena of Batman in Japan rather than just the manga itself.
licensed the rights to make their own Batman stories, with Batman's original publisher, DC Comics
full consent. In 1967, the stories stopped and were never compiled into volume format.
David Mazzuchelli, creator of Batman: Year One
, became aware of "Batman" manga's existence when he went to Japan for a cartoonists convention. The Japanese told him about a manga adaptation of Batman, information he later passed along to his good friend, premiere designer and novelist Chip Kidd
. Chip Kidd had been a serious fan of Batman ever since the young age of two. When the TV series came out in the US, Chip stayed loyal to the series even while his friends started watching Happy Days
.
Chip Kidd met Batman collector Saul Ferris through ebay when Kidd was bidding on what he thought was a rare, mint Japanese Batmobile toy. Ferris emailed Kidd that Batman's original tin head had been extracted from the Batmobile and replaced with a cheap imitation, rendering the toy virtually worthless. Shortly afterward, Chip Kidd and Saul Ferris became friends. Ferris has an extensive collection of non-U.S. Batman comics, including Japanese comics. Once Kidd saw the extensive amount of Batman Japanese manga and toys in Ferris' collection, Kidd put together a book proposal to DC Comics. Paul Levitz, then head of DC Comics, who is likely the most knowledgeable person in the world regarding DC publications, was not aware the Japanese published a series of unique Batman stories in 1966 and 1967. The Bat-Manga! project was given the green light with Mr. Levitz' blessing. The Batman manga was released in English in the book Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan. Chip Kidd designed the book while Geoff Spear photographed Saul Ferris' collection of toys and Batman manga stories. Anne Ishii and Chip Kidd translated the Japanese into English. DC Comics' archives contained none of the manga stories and unfortunately, Ferris' collection had holes in the run so not all the stories could be published in their entirety.
: 神之洲菲 蝠蝙黑 俠飛 Fēixiá Hēibiānfú Fēizhōu zhī Shén, lit. "Batman: The God of Africa"), a Chinese manhua
bootleg. Only 7,000 hardcover issues were released, with additional bookplate
s signed by him and Jiro Kuwata
. At Rocketship, a comic store in Brooklyn, New York, Chip Kidd gave out exclusive bookplates to people who got their manga signed at the event. New drawings of Bat-Manga! were found in archive issues of Shōnen King, and Chip Kidd mentioned the long-hinted sequel Bat-Manga 2.
's Deb Aoki lists Bat-Manga! as the best "new edition of classic manga" of 2008. The manga got a 4 out of 5 star review from Deb Aoki of About.com. "At a time when superhero comics are dark and grim, reading Bat-Manga is a blast from a simpler past, when comics were largely created for and read by kids" said Deb, "These stories from the '60s lack complex character development, detailed artwork and snappy dialogue that contemporary fans expect from comics, but they do feature dynamic action scenes, crisp art and unusual interpretations of the Batman mythos that are infectiously fun to read". Deb went one, "On the upside, it's delightful to see Kuwata's artwork presented with such class and style, and to read an interview with the now 70-something year old manga master". Reviever Ted Anthony of Associated Press
said, "That blending is what infuses such fascination into "Bat-Manga!" — designer Kidd's gorgeous examination of the odd collision between American comic-book superheroes and Japanese manga that took place in Japan in 1966 and 1967, the heyday of the Batman-as-high-camp period in the United States" Ted descired the series as if someone threw some DC Comics issues, a few Godzilla
sequels and some "Speed Racer
" episodes into a blender. "Granted, $60 is a high price for a glorified comic book, particularly in the current economy," said Ted however he stated that it's more than a simple comic book, it's more of a cultural document. Frank Santoro of Publishers Weekly
also gave Bat-Manga! a positive review. Frank Santoro admired the yellow paper and purple ink, restoring the pages of how a Japanese kid would read it long ago. "Drawn in this golden sunshine (okay, purple) of mid-'60s classic Japanese manga, these stories capture the feeling of being a kid on Saturday morning." Bat-Manga! had an estimated rank of 180 on ComiPress's "Top 300 Series of 2008", with Naruto
at #1.
Meltdown Comics, a comic book store which promoted the book itself, gave Bat-Manga! a positive review.
It has also been raised as an issue that Chip Kidd got all the credit for Bat-Manga! instead of Jiro Kuwata. Chip Kidd responded to these claims, "First, Bat-Manga is not just about the work of Mr. Kuwata, although that of course makes up the bulk of the book. Rather, it is about chronicling the phenomenon, however short-lived, of Batman in Japan in 1966" Nisha Gopalan of Los Angeles Times
, considered this debatable, "it should also be noted that "Bat-Manga!" feels like a radical packaging of Kuwata's work and that the creator is interviewed and given multiple credits within its pages"
's Batman Inc. series features several references to the Batman manga. Most notable among them are the inclusion of Lord Death Man, a character who appeared in the manga after initially appearing in a US Batman comic book in 1966 as simply "Death Man"; and a character named Jiro Osamu, who is likely named after artists Jiro Kawata and Osamu Tezuka
.
A story inspired by the Batman manga appeared recently in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
episode "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!", with Chip Kidd working alongside the show's creators to produce the segment. During the episode, Batman and Robin fight against Lord Death Man, a foe present in the comic.
Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books is an American imprint with editorial independence that is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.The current editor-in-chief at Pantheon Books is Dan Frank.-Overview:...
, subsidiary of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, in the United States. The book was designed by Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd is an American author, editor, and graphic designer, best known for his book covers.- Early life :Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up in the Reading suburb of Shillington, strongly influenced by American popular culture...
with the assistance of photographer Geoff Spear. It collects a Japanese shōnen manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation of the American comic book series Batman
Batman (comic book)
Batman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in May 1939. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication in the spring of 1940...
by Jiro Kuwata
Jiro Kuwata
is a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:A gifted artist, Kuwata started out as a manga artist at the young age of 13, when he created in 1948. His turning point came in 1957, when he created . Since then, Kuwata devoted himself to creating science fiction/superhero adventures...
simply entitled and also includes photographs of vintage Batman toys from Japan. The Batman manga included in Bat-Manga! was created during a Batman craze in Japan, being serialized from April 1966 to May 1967; the series ended when the craze ended. The manga was released in paperback and at the same time a limited hardcover was released on October 28, 2008, with an additional manhua
Manhua
Manhua are Chinese comics originally produced in China. Possibly due to their greater degree of artistic freedom of expression and closer international ties with Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been the places of publication of most manhua thus far, often including Chinese translations of...
bootleg and an extra Batman story by the creator.
The book got generally positive reviews, with Deb Aoki of About.com rating it with 4 stars. It was made an issue that Chip Kidd got all the credit for Bat-Manga! instead of Jiro Kuwata, but Chip Kidd stated that the book is about the phenomena of Batman in Japan rather than just the manga itself.
Background
In 1966, Batman manga was created during the Batman craze in Japan, when the hit US TV series came to Japanese television audiences. The shōnen magazine Shōnen King and its publisher Shōnen GahōshaShonen Gahosha
is a Japanese publisher named for Shōnen Gaho one of its first magazines. Founded in 1945, it previously published driving manuals and English conversation guides. Now it is known for magazines such as biweekly seinen manga Young King, the monthly manga serials Young King OURs and Monthly Young King...
licensed the rights to make their own Batman stories, with Batman's original publisher, DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
full consent. In 1967, the stories stopped and were never compiled into volume format.
David Mazzuchelli, creator of Batman: Year One
Batman: Year One
"Year One", later referred to as "Batman: Year One", is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, colored by Richmond Lewis, and lettered by Todd Klein...
, became aware of "Batman" manga's existence when he went to Japan for a cartoonists convention. The Japanese told him about a manga adaptation of Batman, information he later passed along to his good friend, premiere designer and novelist Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd is an American author, editor, and graphic designer, best known for his book covers.- Early life :Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up in the Reading suburb of Shillington, strongly influenced by American popular culture...
. Chip Kidd had been a serious fan of Batman ever since the young age of two. When the TV series came out in the US, Chip stayed loyal to the series even while his friends started watching Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
.
Chip Kidd met Batman collector Saul Ferris through ebay when Kidd was bidding on what he thought was a rare, mint Japanese Batmobile toy. Ferris emailed Kidd that Batman's original tin head had been extracted from the Batmobile and replaced with a cheap imitation, rendering the toy virtually worthless. Shortly afterward, Chip Kidd and Saul Ferris became friends. Ferris has an extensive collection of non-U.S. Batman comics, including Japanese comics. Once Kidd saw the extensive amount of Batman Japanese manga and toys in Ferris' collection, Kidd put together a book proposal to DC Comics. Paul Levitz, then head of DC Comics, who is likely the most knowledgeable person in the world regarding DC publications, was not aware the Japanese published a series of unique Batman stories in 1966 and 1967. The Bat-Manga! project was given the green light with Mr. Levitz' blessing. The Batman manga was released in English in the book Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan. Chip Kidd designed the book while Geoff Spear photographed Saul Ferris' collection of toys and Batman manga stories. Anne Ishii and Chip Kidd translated the Japanese into English. DC Comics' archives contained none of the manga stories and unfortunately, Ferris' collection had holes in the run so not all the stories could be published in their entirety.
Media
Bat-Manga! was released in English, trade paperback on October 28, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-375-71484-9) with an exclusive interview with the creator of the original manga, Jiro Kuwata and pictures of vintage Batman toys. A limited edition hardcover (ISBN 978-0-375-42545-5) was released at the same time with a distinctly different cover, expanded, and with an additional extra short-story by Jiro Kuwata, and the Bat-Manhua (ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 神之洲菲 蝠蝙黑 俠飛 Fēixiá Hēibiānfú Fēizhōu zhī Shén, lit. "Batman: The God of Africa"), a Chinese manhua
Manhua
Manhua are Chinese comics originally produced in China. Possibly due to their greater degree of artistic freedom of expression and closer international ties with Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been the places of publication of most manhua thus far, often including Chinese translations of...
bootleg. Only 7,000 hardcover issues were released, with additional bookplate
Bookplate
A bookplate, also known as ex-librīs [Latin, "from the books of..."], is usually a small print or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner...
s signed by him and Jiro Kuwata
Jiro Kuwata
is a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:A gifted artist, Kuwata started out as a manga artist at the young age of 13, when he created in 1948. His turning point came in 1957, when he created . Since then, Kuwata devoted himself to creating science fiction/superhero adventures...
. At Rocketship, a comic store in Brooklyn, New York, Chip Kidd gave out exclusive bookplates to people who got their manga signed at the event. New drawings of Bat-Manga! were found in archive issues of Shōnen King, and Chip Kidd mentioned the long-hinted sequel Bat-Manga 2.
Reception
Bat-Manga! got generally positive reviews from critics. About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's Deb Aoki lists Bat-Manga! as the best "new edition of classic manga" of 2008. The manga got a 4 out of 5 star review from Deb Aoki of About.com. "At a time when superhero comics are dark and grim, reading Bat-Manga is a blast from a simpler past, when comics were largely created for and read by kids" said Deb, "These stories from the '60s lack complex character development, detailed artwork and snappy dialogue that contemporary fans expect from comics, but they do feature dynamic action scenes, crisp art and unusual interpretations of the Batman mythos that are infectiously fun to read". Deb went one, "On the upside, it's delightful to see Kuwata's artwork presented with such class and style, and to read an interview with the now 70-something year old manga master". Reviever Ted Anthony of Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
said, "That blending is what infuses such fascination into "Bat-Manga!" — designer Kidd's gorgeous examination of the odd collision between American comic-book superheroes and Japanese manga that took place in Japan in 1966 and 1967, the heyday of the Batman-as-high-camp period in the United States" Ted descired the series as if someone threw some DC Comics issues, a few Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
sequels and some "Speed Racer
Speed Racer
Speed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
" episodes into a blender. "Granted, $60 is a high price for a glorified comic book, particularly in the current economy," said Ted however he stated that it's more than a simple comic book, it's more of a cultural document. Frank Santoro of Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
also gave Bat-Manga! a positive review. Frank Santoro admired the yellow paper and purple ink, restoring the pages of how a Japanese kid would read it long ago. "Drawn in this golden sunshine (okay, purple) of mid-'60s classic Japanese manga, these stories capture the feeling of being a kid on Saturday morning." Bat-Manga! had an estimated rank of 180 on ComiPress's "Top 300 Series of 2008", with Naruto
Naruto
is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
at #1.
Meltdown Comics, a comic book store which promoted the book itself, gave Bat-Manga! a positive review.
It has also been raised as an issue that Chip Kidd got all the credit for Bat-Manga! instead of Jiro Kuwata. Chip Kidd responded to these claims, "First, Bat-Manga is not just about the work of Mr. Kuwata, although that of course makes up the bulk of the book. Rather, it is about chronicling the phenomenon, however short-lived, of Batman in Japan in 1966" Nisha Gopalan of Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, considered this debatable, "it should also be noted that "Bat-Manga!" feels like a radical packaging of Kuwata's work and that the creator is interviewed and given multiple credits within its pages"
In other media
The first issue of Grant MorrisonGrant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
's Batman Inc. series features several references to the Batman manga. Most notable among them are the inclusion of Lord Death Man, a character who appeared in the manga after initially appearing in a US Batman comic book in 1966 as simply "Death Man"; and a character named Jiro Osamu, who is likely named after artists Jiro Kawata and Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
.
A story inspired by the Batman manga appeared recently in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
episode "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!", with Chip Kidd working alongside the show's creators to produce the segment. During the episode, Batman and Robin fight against Lord Death Man, a foe present in the comic.