Bat-Manga! The Secret History Of Batman In Japan

The year was 1966. Batman was enjoying popularity on American televisions, and the show had just hit Japan. Shonen Gahosha, a publisher of weekly comic anthologies, got the license to do their own Batman stories in the form of manga.

The stories did not last too long in Japan, eventually fading into obscurity . . . until now. Bat-Manga! The Secret History Of Batman In Japan (Pantheon Press; $29.95) presents a new version of the Dark Knight to American audiences. Complied by Chip Kidd (Batman Animated, Mythology: The DC Art Of Alex Ross), Bat-Manga! collects several stories from Japan that had never been complied before. These stories were written and drawn by Jiro Kuwata, best known by manga enthusiasts as the creator of the popular 8-Man. Kuwata had intended to practice drawing in the Western way, but since there wasn’t time enough for that, he produced Batman tales closer to the style that Japanese fans were accustomed.

The original material was complied by Kidd and collector Saul Ferris, translated as faithfully to the source material as possible by Anne Ishii and Kidd, and photographed by Geoff Spear. In the manner of traditional manga, the stories are read from the back of the book to the front, and from right to left, with the panels numbered to help readers along. While most of Batman’s adventures in the book are incomplete and the quality of the pages varies, it gives American readers a unique look at Batman and his sidekick, Robin. Speed lines are incorporated to convey fast movement, a technique that didn’t catch on with American artists for years.

Bits of trivia are sprinkled in the margins, offering facts on such topics as the military, castles and baseball. The stories pit the Dynamic Duo against unique foes such as Lord Death Man, who seemingly dies and rises from his grave; Karmak, a gorilla given human intelligence, who goes out to wreck havoc on humans, forcing a showdown between him and a Batman with gorilla strength himself; and a governor who willingly exposes himself to radiation to evolve into an evil, alien-looking mutant. In that story – “The Man Who Quit Being Human!” – Batman is forced to battle the mutant after going back on his promise to destroy the governor by vaporizing him should anything go wrong. Later, a group of scientists debate whether to kill the governor’s daughter, since she possesses the same gene as her father, making for a tense scene in a story full of action.

The remainder of the book is filled with pictures of all sorts of Japanese Batman bric-a-brac, most of which provided by Ferris. Just as in the United States, the Japanese got a variety of merchandise to purchase. Such products included toy cars and planes, jigsaw puzzles, watches, and dolls. Oddly enough, there are also many toy guns, a no-no in Batman’s canon, given that his parents were murdered by a mugger. Whether this was a trend exclusively in Japan or if American children had their own is unclear. Also shown are several dramatic paintings of Batman and Robin in action. With dramatic narration and striking visuals, they no doubt drew Japanese readers into the Batman manga. In his introduction, Kidd noted that since Bat-Manga! was completed, enough material had been gathered to make another volume. Bat-Manga! succeeds in warranting a follow-up, as well as bringing a new take on one of America’s most recognizable heroes.

(Reviewer’s Note: the limited-edition hardcover edition of the book was not made available for review. In addition to material published in the paperback version, the book features a signature from Kidd, a different cover, full-color printed endpapers, and an extra story from Kuwata. This edition is priced at $60)