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Minetarō Mochizuki Launches New Manga, Puts Frederick Manga on Hiatus

This year's second issue of Shogakukan's Big Comic Original magazine revealed on Tuesday that Minetarō Mochizuki is launching a new essay manga titled No Comic, No Life in the magazine's next issue on January 20. The magazine describes the manga as the author's first essay manga, and centers on a "fictional" genius manga author named Mochitarō Minezuki (a play on Mochizuki's name) who lives in Yokohama with his family: a relative, and a boy.

The magazine also revealed Mochizuki is putting his and Naoto Yamakawa's Frederick manga on hiatus due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation making research difficult to conduct. Mochizuki will continue his research once the COVID-19 situation in France has gotten better, and will announce a date for the manga's continuation afterward.

Mochizuki and Yamakawa launched the Frederick manga in January 2020. Leo Lionni's Frederick children's book about a poet-mouse serves as the inspiration for the manga, but the manga's plot centers on a boy who leaves Japan and journeys to Europe. Lionni published the original work in 1968, and it is now regarded as a children's book classic. Shuntarō Tanikawa translated the Japanese version of the book in 1969.

Tokyopop published Mochizuki's Dragon Head manga in North America in 2006-2008. Three prominent Japanese directors — George Iida, Katsuhito Ishii, and Jōji Matsuoka — have adapted Mochizuki's Dragon Head, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (Samehada-Otoko to Momojiri-Onna), and Bataashi Kingyo manga as live-action films. Mochizuki launched the Chiisakobee manga in 2012 and ended it in 2015.

Mochizuki's manga adaptation of Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs (Inugashima) film serialized in Kodansha's Morning magazine from May to July 2018. Dark Horse Comics licensed the manga, and it shipped in English in February 2020.

Source: Big Comic Original issue 2 and magazine's website