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8 Man, Batman Manga Artist Jiro Kuwata Passes Away
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Akita Shoten announced on Tuesday that manga artist Jiro Kuwata passed away on July 2. He was 85.
Kuwata was born in Osaka in 1935, and he debuted as a manga creator in 1948 when he was 13 years old.
Kuwata is perhaps most well known in the West for his Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga manga. The manga adaptation of DC Comics' popular American superhero ran in Shonengahosha's Weekly Shonen King and Shonen Gaho magazines from 1966 to 1967. DC Comics released the 53-chapter manga in its original right-to-left format digitally and in print in 2014.
Kuwata worked with story creator Kazumasa Hirai on the five-volume 8 Man manga, which ran from 1963 to 1965. The manga inspired a television anime series in 1963-64 and the 8 Man After OAV in 1993.
Kuwata's other manga include maboroshi Tantei, Chōken Leap, Gekkō Kamen, Ultra Seven, and Elite, among many others. maboroshi Tantei inspired a radio drama, a live-action show, and a live-action film.
Kuwata is credited as the original creator of the ongoing 8 Man vs Cyborg 009 manga, which launched on July 18. Author Kyoichi Nanatsuki and artist Masato Hayase are in charge of the manga.
Sources: Akita Shoten, Comic Natalie
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