MISC. MANGA, *Bat-Manga

As the first ever manga based on an American comic book, the 1966 Batman series rode the success of the live-action Adam West show, but based each entry on stories from the original Batman and Detective Comics first printed in America. Jiro Kawata, famous for doing the art for 8-Man, was picked for illustrating this special Japanese run, which allowed him to do manga versions of other American properties like The Time Tunnel and The Invaders. Prior to DC Comics' release of the Bat-Manga, there was a one-shot special published by Pantheon Books highlighting a few of the at the time available manga remnants, as well as several great photographs of the huge wave of Batman merchandise that flooded the Japanese market at the time.

Bat-Manga retells several of the classic Batman stories from the 50s-60s, although rarely using any of the general Bat-villains, possibly due to international licensing rights concerning the characters. There were two separate appearances of Clayface(the second one of which shows his first appearance!), plus C-list villains like Planet Master, Catman, Outsider, and Lord Death Man. This included rebranded bad guys like Flash's foe Weather Wizard rebranded "Go-Go the Magician". The rest of the villains were usually one-shot adversaries that only appeared for one issue like aliens, mad scientists, mutants, and super-intelligent gorillas(not Grodd!). Batman himself is relatively the same, along with Robin wearing an outfit with a slightly longer tunic. Also featuring a rarely occurring Alfred, a brief guest spot by a brunette Vicki Vale, and Commissioner Gordon who apparently knows the Dynamic Duo' secret identities. The Caped Crusades sport the 60s Batmobile, plus a Bat-Copter that is like a large-domed vehicle.

The Bat-Manga was restored in its entirety by DC Comics, partially thanks to Chip Kidd's efforts on the original Bat-Manga collection special. You get each chapter as it was printed in Japan, although the sound effects are still in Japanese attached to an asterisk in the lower corner of the panels, as well as most of the narration blocks being crushed and put to the side making it slightly difficult to read. The paperback version are done in oversized manga format in regular right-to-left format. The manga itself influenced a brief appearance on the Batman: Brave And The Bold TV series, as well as making Lord Death Man a regular foe of the designated Batman Incorporated agents of Japan. If you long for the fun action that anime like Speed Racer and Cyborg 009 became infamous with American otaku, then Bat-Manga needs a spot on your shelf!