Manga Review: Bat Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan

Looking for a cool Christmas gift for your favorite otaku or diehard superhero fanboy? Believe it or not, there's a book that will amaze and amuse both breeds of comics connoisseurs, and it's one that's sure to be on many fans' wishlists: Bat Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan by Chip Kidd, Saul Ferris and Geoff Spear.

When the Batman TV series whipped up Batmania in the States in 1966, it was only natural that this campy superhero show would be imported to Japan. Besides creating a boatload of Batman toys, Japan also produced Batman manga, created by 8-Man creator Jiro Kuwata. But when the TV show left the airwaves, the manga was discontinued and largely forgotten by Japanese and American fans, until now.

I've been chatting up this book since the beginning of the year, and I was super-stoked to finally get my hands on a copy of this book when I checked out Kidd's talk at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco last month. Weighing in at a hefty 4 pounds and 384 pages of full-color fun, the hardcover edition of Bat Manga! comes complete with 8 extra pages of bootleg Chinese Batman manhua. So given that I was intrigued by this book even before it hit the bookstores, but now that I've had a chance to read it, what's the final verdict? Check out my review of Bat-Manga! and see if this book is a blast from the past or if it's a bomb.

Another tasty tidbit from Kidd's talk at 111 Minna was a bit of news from Japan. Just as Bat-Manga! was going to print, Kidd received an email telling him that several pages of original Batman artwork by Kuwata were found in the Shonen King archives. Kidd shared a peek at some of these newly discovered works of art at his presentation, and also mentioned that the long-hinted at sequel, Bat-Manga 2 is in the works. So rejoice manga fans -- if you like Bat-Manga, then you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Image credit: © 2008 Random House, Batman and all related names, characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2008