Kana releases 1st volume in English on June 2
Abrams ComicArts’ Kana imprint shared on Friday preview pages for its release of Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s Billy Bat manga.
Image courtesy of Kana
© Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
Image courtesy of Kana © Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
Image courtesy of Kana © Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
Image courtesy of Kana © Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
Image courtesy of Kana © Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
Image courtesy of Kana © Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
Image courtesy of Kana © Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
Image courtesy of Kana © Naoki Urasawa / N Wood Studio, Takashi Nagasaki, 2009
The company will release the first volume in English on June 2, and it plans to release four volumes per year.
Urasawa (Pluto, 20th Century Boys) launched the manga in Kodansha’s Morning magazine in October 2008. Urasawa drew the series, and Nagazaki collaborated on the story. The manga ended in August 2016. Kodansha published the 20th and final compiled book volume in September 2016.
The manga’s story is set in 1949, when Japanese-American comic book artist Kevin Yamagata is drawing the popular “Billy Bat” comic. He thinks he might have unconsciously copied the image of Billy Bat from something he saw while serving in occupied Japan, and returns there to get permission from the creator of the image. Upon arriving there, however, he becomes embroiled in a web of murder, cover-ups, and prophecy that all leads back to Billy Bat.
Source: Email correspondence
