December 1990 Pt. 8 Manga round-up

 We still had a few on-going Manga comic-books and Anime based comic-books that could be still found “On the racks” in December of 1990, such as:-

#41 of 'Lone Wolf and Cub'  (End of 1-45)

from First comics,

#24 of Outlanders. (1-33)

from Dark Horse Comics.

#27 AKIRA (1-38)

from Epic.

#5 of  Crying Freeman: Part Two (1-9)

#11 of  COBRA  (1-12)

#1 of Horobi: Book Two (1-7)

 from Viz Comics.

#6 of 2001 Nights  (1 – 10)

#3 of Lost Continent (1-6)

 from Viz Comics.

GRAPHIC-NOVELS STILL ON SALE IN THIS MONTH FROM THE YEAR PAST:

The Laughing Target (GN)

Shion – Blade of the Minstral  (GN) #1

What's Michael? (GN)

What's Michael? (GN)  BOOK #2

PINEAPPLE ARMY (GN) #1

The Legend of Kamui – the Island of Sugaru (GN)

LUM (Vol #1)  (GN)

Appleseed Book #1 (GN) Promethean Challenge

Appleseed Book #2 (GN) Prometheus Unbound

Dirty Pair – Biohazards (GN)

Hotel Harbour View (GN)

Crying Freeman – Portrait of a Killer Vol #1 (GN)

Crying Freeman – Portrait of a Killer Vol #2 (GN)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Vol #2 (GN )

from Eclipse Comics, &  from Viz Comics.

More details to follow...

September 1990 Pt.6 Manga

SHION: Blade of the Minstrel

Story and Art by Yu Kinutani

VIZ Spectrum Editions

80 pages

Trade paperback

0-929279-38-9

Softcover, ISBN 9780929279381

Publisher: Viz Communications, September 1990

[The Original Japanese Version was Published by Studio Iwao, and its editor-in-Chief was Shuzo Iwao].

[Translated by Gerard Jones & Satoru Fujii ].

SHION: Blade of the Minstrel was the launch title for the first of the VIZ Spectrum Editions, a Trade paperback is what could now be known as a graphic Novel in September of 1990. [Quite risky if you ask me, with not having any single monthly issues to test the water of its popularity...!]

The comic is full of illustrations in almost a European style heavily detailed (no jet black or letratone, but more cross-hatching) set in a medieval looking world. The protagonist is simply known as “Minstrel”, is fated to wonder the land and fight the forces of darkness, his only companion is his stead Lulu (an Alpaca like animal) that does talk with him, and can sense Evil.  This is what Myths and Legends are made of.

[This unique manga from 1990, I was lucky enough to be able to pick up my own copy in 2017].

As Advertised in the August issue 7 of COBRA (VIZ Comics).

September 1990 Pt. 3 Mangajin Magazine

Mangajin Magazine

Consisting of 72 pages (not including front & back covers), with a Cover price of $4.50. Mangajin was Distributed by KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORES (in the U.S.) & was available in Japan through SEKAI SHUPPAN KENKYU CENTRE (Tokyo)
Issue Volume 1 #3 Printed September 1990.

Editor & Publisher Vaughan Paul Simmons (Based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.)

This is the start of the monthly Print run of 10 magazines per year.  The magazine was aimed at helping those interested in the Japanese language, studying both its politeness and slang, alongside what business tourists who may want to add to their understanding.


I have only included a few samples of what you would find within the pages of Mangajin from my own view as someone that appreciates all aspects Japanese manga, in the hope it will spark a search for knowledge in you the reader...

The Cover

Contents page
[just look at the variety of subjects].

Editorial.

Ads.

 Ask Mangjin
"Send your Questions to:"

The World of Japanese comics
MANGA! MANGA! By Frederik L. Schodt .
[You all sould find a copy and read this!]

 What's Michael
(manga by Kobayashi Makoto).

 Pocket Story
(manga by Mori Masayuki).

 Jimi-Hen
(manga by Nakazaki Tatsuya).

 Bravo Theater
(manga\Political Cartoon by Goda Yoshiie).

 Dai-Tōkyō Binbō Seikatsu Manyuaru
(manga by Maekwa Tsukasa).
[Manual for Cheap Living in Greater Tokyo].

A List of VIZ COMICS (English Flipped Translated manga).
[as of September 1990, and those Back issues still available].

 An Ad. for "Lost Continent"
(a six part manga by Akihiro Yamada)
[possibly the last of the Japanese comics published by Eclipse International in collaboration with Studio Proteus].

[What's coming up in the next issue].

The company's headquarters are located at Pemberton Place
(named in honor of John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola),

in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

[So a local supporter of MangaJin].

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.

April 1990 Pt.6 Manga Somery.

To some-up.

We still had a few on-going Manga comic-books and Anime based comic-books that could be still found “On the racks” in April of 1990, such as:-

[Note: Trying to calculate each issue by there monthly release, until I complete each set of manga.]

{12 comic-book covers randomly placed, just to catch your attention.}

#6 of 'Cyber 7: Book Two',

#4 of Dominion. 

from Eclipse Comics.

#3 of Lensman

#5 of 'Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock',

#15 of 'Robotech II – The Sentinals Book One'

from Eternity Comics.

#2 of COBRA

#5 of 'Baoh',

#2 of HOROBI: Part One

from Viz Comics.

#35 of SpeedRacer
from Now Comics.

#16 of Outlanders.

from Dark Horse Comics.

[Note: You still had some of the issues of 'Lone Wolf and Cub' from First comics, and 'AKIRA' from Epic Comics, on the shelves as the printing and overseas delivery were not always every month.  I will try and research the dates and update the information as soon as I can!]

#?   AKIRA 

From Epic Comics.

#34?   Lone Wolf and Cub

from First comics.

February 1990 Pt.5 Manga

As American imports to the UK of Fanzines and magazines on Anime & Manga were erratic at the best of times and adding to this that none at this time had sustained a regular monthly publication, comic-books became our main source of regular information, and links to communication though the 'Letters page' & 'Pen-pals' column.

[Note: Like all printed History it has been selected and approved, even so the 'Letters page' and other articles in the single issues of a comic-book, give us a snap-shot of the enthusiasm of the reader and those involved in its publication. Trade-paper-backs (Graphic-novels) tended to miss this out when you are just after the story in full.]

We still had a few on-going Manga comic-books and Anime based comic-books “On the racks” in February of 1990, such as:-

#32 of 'Lone Wolf and Cub',

from First comics.

#18 of 'AKIRA'

from Epic Comics.

#14 of Outlanders.

from Dark Horse Comics.

#5 of 'Cyber 7 Book Two',

#5 of Dirty Pair II,

#4 of Appleseed: book3,

#3 of 'Dominion'

from Eclipse Comics.

#5 of 'Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock',

#15 of 'Robotech II – The Sentinals Book One'

from Eternity Comics.

#3 of 'Baoh',

from Viz Comics.

GRAPHIC-NOVELS ON SALE IN THIS MONTH:

Appleseed: Promethean Challenge (the complete Book One1-5 ).

Dirty Pair: Biohazards (Issues1-5)

from Eclipse Comics

The Legend of Kamui: the island of Sugaru (part one)

now from Viz Comics

NEW COMICS-BOOKS

#1 of 'Cobra' from Viz Comics

#1 of Lensman from Eternity comics

[Note: Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock'. #1 - 13 issues, from October1989 to December 1990  All 20,000 copies of issue #2 had sold out of that print run!]

[Note: All publication dates are taken from published Comic-books and cross referencing their adverts of the time from my own collection, as well as doing the maths for the issues that I'm missing, as not all comic-book publishers printed the month of issue for each comic-book.]

February 1990 Pt.3 Manga

COBRA.

Written and illustrated by Buichi Terasawa. Viz Comics with translation by Marv Wolfman published 12 issues in a monthly format, form February 1990 to January 1991. Originally published and serialised in Shueisha Inc.'s Weekly Youth Comic Magazine “Shōnen Jump” from 1978 to 1984 .

The story is set in a far flung future with a 70's art style that would fit in to any of the Worlds of '2000AD'. Cobra a very likeable tough-guy with his iconic big cigar, often seen ridding his hover motorbike, is as charismatic as James Coburn's portrayal of 'Derek Flint' (1966).

His adventurous run-ins with the Galactic Patrol and the Pirate Guild who are hunting him lead him to take drastic action and retire from that lifestyle. Cobra assumes a new identity having his memories blocked\wiped and altering his face though plastic surgery and taking the name Johnson.  When his subconscious is triggered giving him access to the memories of his former life, he is soon helped by his former partner 'Lady Armaroid', she is fitted with a very sexy blue android body and has her own spaceship.

As events unfold our adventurer is after a treasure map tattooed on the backs of identical triplets the daughters of Captain Nelson, these encounters are not always conducive to the sister's love-lives or their health!

A grand space romp in a Galaxy filled with aliens and danger, I only wish there was more!

[Note: The published 12 issues by Viz ,only covered the chapters of the origin story and that of the Royal Sisters.]

[Note: In the 80's Hajime Sorayama's artworks of erotic chrome Andriod women ('Sexy Robot ' collection published in 1983), and in 1984 a tinted version of the film Metropolis (1927) with a pop soundtrack depickting Maria's evil twin, the gynoid (a female android) and her transformation, may have helped with the popualrity of COBRA and its 'Lady Armariod'.]

[Note: as of April 2014 I only have issues #5, and #6 of COBRA.]

[Note: All publication dates are taken from published Comic-books and cross referencing their adverts of the time from my own collection, as well as doing the maths for the issues that I'm missing, as not all comic-book publishers printed the month of issue for each comic-book.]

Fledgeling Comic Books Pt. 26

In the US Americanised Anime had, had some success on the television networks, and had spawned a few comic books paying tribute in the likes of - Speed Racer, The Original Astro Boy 12, Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock, and Star Blazers (and to this day, generations fondly remember the TV shows, including the edited and Americanised Robotech series).

The primordial imported comic-books of translated manga from the US in the late 80's were instantly recognised by their name when they became an Anime. 

[UPDATE: The first Manga to be taken from an existing Cinematic Intellectual Property was based on the Toho Company's film; Gojira 1984 (English Release “Godzilla 1985”), and not a published Manga first.]

Gojira the manga was first published in Japan by; Shogakukan, Inc. and with story and art by Kazuhisa Iwata. This IP was licensed to Dark Horse Comics in 1987, and was advertised to be published and printed for April 1988, as a Six Issue 'Black and White' comic-book Mini-series.

After looking into the history of Godzilla comic-books published by Dark Horse, only this manga was ever translated into English, the other stories, of Godzilla were written by Dark Horse's American staff, but oddly enough this first Manga for Dark Horse did have a Trade Paperback\Graphic Novel that had three printings (1^st. Printing January 1990, 2^nd May 1995, 3^rd May 1995.), there was also a Re-Printing (and renaming) of the mini-series in 1998, in colour - no less!; “DARK HORSE CLASSICS TERROR OF GODZILLA” . The Fourth printing was in the British Anthology comic-book magazine 'Manga Mania' published by Dark Horse International in 1993.

'GODZILLA'

Godzilla #5 (December 1988) & Terror of Godzilla #5 (December 1998).

Godzilla #5 (December 1988) & Terror of Godzilla #5 (December 1998).

CLODZILLA (  )

CLODZILLA (  )

CLODZILLA (  )

These heavily influenced the UK Fandom (go with what you know), and when so few of us could translate Japanese, and have access to Sub-titling equipment the comic-books provided the familiar stories and plots, so that you could enjoy the Anime even more.

LONE WOLF and CUB.

MAZINGER.

AKIRA.

Some of these comic-books would stand the test of time (still selling enough for reprints every few years or so) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, AKIRA, Lone Wolf and Cub as their Copy-rights changed hands, or the licence holder was bought-out by a bigger producer or Publisher!

What early UK Anime Fan would not have in their collection of OVAs, TV episodes and films of :- Baoh, Dirty Pair, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, AKIRA, Crying Freeman, Appleseed, Kamui (Dagger of), Outlanders, Grey (Digital target), Fire Tripper, Dominion (Tank Police), Lum, Justy (Cosmo Police), Fist of the North Star, and Area 88.

[Note: By the arrival of the mid 90's the Japanese manga style, and its genres where being imitated by Western cartoonist and comic-book artists.]

This comic-book influence would continue in to the 90's as more fans gravitated towards Manga for its more mature reader. The sensationalistic violence (sometimes graphically depicted on the side of gratuitous), and horrific portrayals of cause and effect, as well as semi nudity may have enticed many, but good storytelling with protagonists that you had infested in emotionally sold well.

Just looking at the artwork of a still of an animated cel, you began to recognise the Artist and the Animation Studio and then you are well and truly hooked!

[Note: comic-books where a jumping off point for sources of information on Japanese pop culture, as mini articles by the Editors, Translators, and the Writers themselves would sporadically appear. Even the humble 'Letters page' would give us some insight in appreciating this new wave of comic-books, and after all many a Fan Club & Pen Pals was the catalyst that unite us.]