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Jun 22, 2021 8 tweets 3 min read Read on X
In the mid-1960s one TV show took the world by storm: Batman! But did you know how popular he was in Japan?

Let's look back at a fascinating slice of comic book history - BatManga! Image
The 1966 Batman TV show created a wave of Batmania in Japan. Batman toys, records and games flew off the shelves. The popular weekly magazine Shōnen King were determined to capitalise on it. Image
So they approached DC Comics for the rights to write and draw their own Batman stories for the Japanese market. DC agreed, and these were published in Shōnen King between 1966 and 1967. ImageImage
Jiro Kuwata was given the job of illustrating the Japanese Batman stories, having created a number of other manga heroes such as 8 Man and Maboroshi Tantae. He gave his Batman a similar manga style. Image
Many years later American graphic artist Chip Kidd found out about these Japanese Batman strips from avid collector Saul Ferris. With DC's agreement he bagan to collate and republish the stories, giving them the name BatManga! Image
BatManga stories don't feature the usual Batman villains like The Joker or The Penguin instead Jiro My data created a new range of enemies: from the sinister Doctor Faceless... Image
... to the epic immortal foe Lord Death Man. ImageImage
The BatManga anthology was published in 2009 and contains a wealth of photos, stories and strips about Batman in Japan. Do check it out if you can

More superheroes another time.. Image

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More from @PulpLibrarian

Apr 18
let's take a look at the extraordinary work of Victorian illustrator and cat lover Louis Wain! Image
Louis Wain was born in London in 1860. Although he is best known for his drawings of cats he started out as a Victorian press illustrator. His work is highly collectable. Image
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Apr 15
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This is the story of Alphaville...
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Apr 10
Al Hartley may have been famous for his work on Archie Comics, but in the 1970s he was drawn to a very different scene: God.

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Spire Christian Comics was an offshoot of Spire Books, a mass-market religious paperback line launched in 1963 by the Fleming H. Revell company. The point of Spire Books was to get religious novels into secular stores, so a move into comic books in 1972 seemed a logical choice. Image
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Apr 4
Given the state of the stock market I thought I'd share my pulp guide to money. What is it? Where does it come from? And does it make us happy?

Let's take a look...
Money is just a token, like a football sticker. In itself it has no intrinsic worth. However it is desirable because, well, football!

Initially the value of all stickers is the same, because there's an abundant supply... Image
However as you fill up your sticker album the value of your existing stickers drops and the value of your missing ones rises.

This is due to scarcity: the law of supply and demand starts to determine worth and value, rather than which team you support. Image
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Apr 3
It was a phenomenon, spawning a franchise that has lasted over fifty years. It's also a story with many surprising influences.

Today in pulp I look back at a sociological science-fiction classic, released today in 1968: Planet Of The Apes! Image
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Mar 25
Today I'm looking back at the work of British graphic designer Abram Games! Image
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