Manga legend's early works found

Several of Japanese manga legend Osamu Tezuka's early works have been found at a US university.

Several of Japanese manga legend Osamu Tezuka's early works have been found at a US university, including a previously lost 16-page comic, a researcher said Wednesday.

HT Image

Tezuka was considered the pioneer of Japanese manga, which has since won a global following. He is best known for his Astro Boy series, which debuted in 1951 featuring a robot boy who flies through the future.

The early works were discovered at the University of Maryland's Prange Collection, which stores Japanese print media from 1945-49, when US occupation authorities reviewed all publications for censorship.

Manga legend Osamu Tezuka is best known for his Astro Boy series, which debuted in 1951 featuring a robot boy who flies through the future

Tezuka's works found in the collection included three to twelve-frame comic strips he sketched while a medical student in Osaka in western Japan.

Researchers also found a 16-page comic called Hans and Gold Hair, which shows elements of his later work.
Tezuka, who died in 1989, drew bulging eyes on his characters, which became distinctive of Japanese manga.

"This discovery has significant meaning for the history both of Tezuka himself and the manga world," said Minoru Kotoku, producer at Tezuka Production set up by the late artist.

The works were found by a group of experts headed by Takeshi Tanikawa, an assistant professor at Waseda University in Tokyo, who spent five years categorising the magazine collection at Maryland.

"The Prange collection is a treasure for Japanese literature to discover the country at that time," said Tanikawa, a film historian.