Reasons For Existence - Batman In Japan

Several months ago I picked up Batman Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume. Although the four issues were printed as a standard American comic book, the insides were black and white and read right to left like they do in Japan. There are other stories like this about Batman, but it still seemed unique. Part of it was the fun of seeing a familiar character through new eyes. I really enjoyed it.



Although I did find it surprising to see a Japanese cartoonist write and draw a Batman story, since I didn't think they were familiar with the character. Then I found this book at The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, CA. It seems like I wasn't the only one who discovered Batman in 1966.



Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan reprints the strips that were written and drawn by Jiro Kuwata for the weekly boys magazine Shonen King, as well as photos of various Japanese Batman toys from that time.



These stories ran for a year in Japan, and were never translated into english. There are some production notes and a short but fantastic interview with Jiro Kuwata, but most of the book deals with the comics.



Which are fantastic, and is the reason I bought the book. Kuwata used the American comics as reference material to see what the characters wore, and how they looked, then created the stories for a Japanese audience.



Besides seeing Clayface (from the American comics), Batman faces Lord Death Man, Go Go The Magician (my favorite), Dr. Faceless, Professor Gorilla, and The Man Who Quit Being Human. The hardback version also has an incomplete story about Batman & Robin facing three robots, and eight pages of Bat-Manhua in China.

I am always hearing that you can find everything on the internet, but I have never heard of these comics. Nor had the people who put this book together, which in itself is a pretty interesting story. It is also surprising how little information there is about Jiro Kuwata online.



I wonder if kids in Japan ever wondered where Gotham City was, like I did.