Osamu Tezuka: Becoming popular in America?

[Angelcake the Fox]

For my fellow manga-philes, Osamu Tezuka's work is the pinnacle of manga story-telling. A brilliant and prolific tale-teller, he had the uncanny ability to spin out a manga yarn almost on a whim.

Yet, sadly, his work is grossly underappreciated in America. In this country, the manga front is ruled by such individuals as Akira Toriyama, Rumiko Takahashi, Yu Watase, and CLAMP. Don't get me wrong, those are all great mangaka. But they still pale in comparison to the master himself.

It seemed that, sadly, Tezuka's manga would drown in obscurity for all of time, forced to only be read by a niche market even smaller than the already small manga readership in America.......

.........until now.

Those of you who have browsed the Manga/Graphic Novel section of your local bookstore may have noticed a series of rather slickly-produced hardbound volumes simply titled Buddha.

In 2003, Vertical Inc. decided to take a chance and published this manga masterpiece here in America.

And if you think about it, it was a real shot-in-the-dark. Buddha is not neccesarily Tezuka's best known creation. Its good, true, but not as well known as......say...Astro Boy or Kimba the White Lion.

But believe it or not, the gamble worked.

The alternative comics world began to take notice, and today its now one of the best sellers in the field. In fact, the work was SO popular, that yet another biographical/period manga by Tezuka, Tezuka's Ancestor Dr. Ryoan, is currently being given the Vertical treatment and awaiting release in this country.

So, this brings about a question......

Is Tezuka actually becoming popular in the U.S.

Because from my point of view, it certaintly seems like it.

Not only that, but if this becomes any more popular, it means that there might be a market for other retro manga. Imagine various manga classics being released in the U.S.........such as Ryoko Ikkeda, Shotaro Ishinomori, or..........dare we dream of it.......Go Nagai?

What do you guys think?

[Mike Nicolai]

It could happen, but it's a pretty uphill climb. Bhudda is a good start, but it's got a pretty hefty price tag...