July 1990 Pt.8 Manga (new releases)

2001 Nights. Written and illustrated by Yukinobu Hoshino. This flipped manga ran in 10 monthly issues from July 1990 to May 1991, and was published in North America by Viz Comics (now Viz Media). English adaptation by Fred Burke & Matt Thorn. Originally serialised in 'Super Action' Monthly in June of 1984, owned by Futabasha Inc. and later collected into 3 volumes and printed in '85 to '86.

As you can see '2001 Nights' made the front cover of the well known catalogue 'Advanced Comics', this would have been seen by every independent comic-book shop owner in America, Canada, and those in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, as well as their keen devotees that ordered comic-books, this must have helped to bring people's attention to the small niche publisher Viz Comics (now Viz Media), and an unknown writer and illustrator Yukinobu Hoshino I would think!

2001 Nights is a collection of short stories that focus on mankind's future exploration of space, using this framework to analyse how theories, and models mite be played out when the human-race venture out in to the deep black space of stars. Looking back I must have found VIZ's Tag-lines quite compelling “A space adventure for our generation...” & “where science collides with man's dreams of space conquest...” “ Yukinobu Hoshino's Masterpiece of Science Fiction comics!”, but with only having Issues 2. and 10. form this short run of 10 translated manga by Yukinobu Hoshino in my collection.

As I've hinted before US comic-book imports to UK comic-book shops were a bit hit and miss, as manga was such a small percent of what they would order, and not fully knowing British readers trends and consciousnesses. 

A new manga title could fly-off the shelves, or not get on to the shelves at all. It was such a small part of American imports!

I was thus compelled to dig a little deeper into this unusual example of Science Fiction defined by its intensity on scientific accuracy known as 'Hard SF', and of its author Yukinobu Hoshino, so off down the rabbit hole I went, the World Wide Web and its Internet let you tumble on down to a wealth of information (barely imagined back in the 1990's), that's not always directly connected, but gives you a spring-board to indulge your curiosity.

Three days later! With my own paper-based records, and a multitude of Web sources I was able to add to my Notes (see bellow) on English examples of Yukinobu Hoshino's work having been so impressed by '2001 Nights' I felt so obligated to find and share as much as I could.

The 19 short stories are a must see for their art style and for their insight, and philosophy of mankind's journey into the sea of stars. Search out Hoshino's earlier SF work 'Saber Tiger', and you may well find the odd issue of '2001 Nights' at a comic-book fair\market and out there in the internet, and I can point you to Dark Horse Comics' printing of 'The Two Faces of Tomorrow' as an accessible example for your Manga shelf or next to your SF novels, and I'll leave you with this quote from the respected Jonathan Clements on Hoshino. - “Japan’s mastermind of historical SF”.

[NOTE: other English adaptations of Yukinobu Hoshino's manga in published that you can look out for include; Saber Tiger (Science Fiction) published in North America by Viz Comics, in May of 1991 under their 'Viz Spectrum Edition' series of trade paperbacks as a one-off (this was an earlier work from 1980); The Two Faces of Tomorrow (Science Fiction) published in North America by Dark Horse Comics in 1997, and as a trade paperback in 2006 (originally published in Japan in 1993) an adaptation of the Science Fiction novel by James P Hogan; Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure (Modern day - Detective) published in United Kingdom by British Museum Press in October of 2011. A one-off trade paperback of a much larger Japanese serialisation.]

[NOTE: to this date (2018) 2 animated adaptations of Hoshino's '2001 Nights' manga have been produced; Space Fantasia 2001 Nights in 1987 directed by Yoshio Takeuchi ; T.O. - Elliptical Orbit & Symbiotic Planet in 2009 directed by Fumihiko Sori. UK release date September 2011.]

Issue 10 May 1991 (final issue).

[NOTE: Viz Comics (now Viz Media) reprinted 2001 Nights in a Deluxe Hardcover in January of 1996 priced at $21.95, and by June\July of 1996 3 Softcover volumes were printed entitled; 2001 NIGHTS, and 2001 NIGHTS: Journey Beyond Tomorrow and 2001 NIGHTS: Children of Earth. Each volume was priced at $16.95.]

Issue 10 May 1991 back cover (final issue).

[NOTE: English Viz Comics story titles - Issue #1;Night 1: "Earthglow", Night 2: "Sea of Fertility", Night 3: "Maelstrom III", Night 4: "Posterity"; Issue #2 Night 5: "Rendezvous", Night 6: "Discovery", (page 21 – 40), Night 7: "Lucifer Rising-part 1"; Issue #3 Night 7: "Lucifer Rising-part 2"; Issue #4 Night 8: "The Lights of Heaven", Night 9: "Journey Beyond Tomorrow part 1: I Am Rocket, part 2: A Gift From Earth" ; Issue #5 Night 10: "Medusa's Throne", Night 11: "A Stranger's Footsteps" ; Issue #6 Night 12: "Symbiotic Planet", Night 13: "Final Evolution" ; Issue #7 Night 14: "Elliptical Orbit", Night 15: "An Hour's Song in a Birdless Sky"; Issue #8 Night 16: "Colony", Night 17: "So Brief, So Lasting a Love"; Issue #9 Night 18: "Odyssey in Green-part 1"; Issue #10 Night 18: "Odyssey in Green-part 2", The Final Night: "Children of Earth".] 

SABER TIGER  May 1991 (an earlier work from 1980).

That's what was new in july of 1990.

Letter from a blogger

Dear readers, 

You may be forgiven in thinking that I had disregarded my work on this personal journey in to the World of the UK's Anime & Manga Fandom, but with support from Jonathan Clements, and Helen McCarthy, the word got out about Andrew Osmond's article featured on the Anime News Network (ANN), of those nostalgic days of knowing what Anime (then called “Japanimation”) was back in the 80's, to finding like-minded Anime fans in the early 90's.

That was back in December 2014, and January 2015 when I had hoped many more people had found this on-going trip down memory-lane worth a read (it only takes five or six hours to read the entire blog – so far as one reader has comments have suggested).

Taking advantage of this new public relation role did take time away from blogging, that has spurred me on to organise my collection of Anime and Manga memorabilia, in an attempt to put as much of it in chronological order and try my best to immerse you the reader in the days before the World Wide Web was so wildly accessible with so much information, and social media bringing Fans together!

Some Anime Magazine & Fanzines I've yet to write about!!

I have even time off from my job and taken the opportunity to meet with some of those “movers 'n' shakers” that still remember those times and that contributed so much – I drove up North to speak with the folks at the UK's oldest retail shop that supported the Anime & Manga Fandom “The Sheffield Space Centre”, and that to this day they still attend conventions, and they have a wide selection of ephemera. [ I did some old fashioned note taking for a future timeline of this blog. - “Anime Day'91”]

Just a few metal & enamal Pins from the old days! THANKS Sheffield Space Centre.

It has also been a time to organise those early fan made videos, that so many have been lost.

From hours of VHS video tapes to get just a few minutes, will also take time away from the historical part of my blog. With the idea of returning those NTSC VHS tapes back to America for their custodians of Anime Fandom!

I've even taken so time to source some old Anime from the 90's on DVD, as wel as a few old translated manga from the old days too!

I have also spent time supporting Anime Societies in the East Midlands (here in the UK), getting to know the younger Anime fans, and I've supported (in my own way) those in the UK promoting Anime through retail releases of DVDs & Blue-rays, and those who have put pen to paper in producing informative books.

It is now my hope that from reviews and links to this blog that someone can now create factual entries in wikipedia to help preserve this history of Manga and Anime in UK's shops, and Fan run Conventions.

Over the coming years I hope you will peace together the many influences that pushed forward the growth of the UK's Anime and Manga Fandom, and a retail industry that took seed in the early 90's!

Sometime this all seems like an overwhelming task for a one-man-band such as myself!

It's all keeping me on-track......

[can you really blog about your own blog? Another link.]