About Tezuka’s Manga Publications

Tezuka’s Manga

Over the years, Osamu Tezuka’s manga have appeared in dozens of different publications.  Although he did many stand-alone books (especially early in his career), his manga most often first appeared in anthology titles (alongside stories written by other artists).  In these low-quality newsprint editions – usually several hundred pages thick – Tezuka’s manga was dolled out at a rate of a few pages each week or month.  Formats varied widely, and included both ongoing and chapter-based serials, as well as loosely-connected (usually by theme or tone) and one-off short-stories.  Occaisionally, mostly around seasonal or other special occasions, they included mid-length stories in special editions and/or supplemental inserts.

As such, these publications represent an important part of Tezuka’s work.  For those only familiar with Tezuka’s manga as they appear in later, higher-quality, collected editions, it is difficult to grasp the complexity and demands of working within this system.  Not only was Tezuka extremely prolific in this manga production, he was constantly switching gears.  In any given month, it was not unusual to find Tezuka manga in any number of publications – from shōnen manga appearing in Weekly Shonen Champion, shōjo manga appearing in Good Friend and seinen manga appearing in Big Comic. With only a few pages of each story published each week, Tezuka was forced to work on several distinct stories at the same time, and constantly under the pressure of a deadline. One wonders how he could keep it all straight!

In this section you will find information about some, but not all, of the weekly and/or monthly manga publications that have serialized his work on a consistent basis.

Adventure/Manga King

Also known as 冒険王 (Boken-o) and 漫画王 (Manga-o), these manga sister-publication were published in Japan by Akita Shoten, and feature many of Tezuka's action suplements, such as Lemon Kid and The Devil of the Earth.

Big Comic

Also known as ビッグコミック (Biggu Komikku) it is the original home to some of Tezuka's darkest, most biting social commentaries, such as Swallowing the Earth, Ayako, and Barbara.

Funny/Shonen Book

Also known as もしろブック (Omoshiro Bukku), for the most part it mainly featured Tezuka's early short stories, such those that make up Lion Books.

Good Friend (aka Nakayoshi)

Also known as なかよし (Nakayoshi), it was been home to most of Tezuka's important shōjo manga series, such as The Twin Knights, Angel's Hill, and the remake version of Princess Knight.

Play Comic

Also known as プレイコミック (Purei Komikku), it is the original home to many of Tezuka's experimental short stories and only one of Tezuka's serials, Book of Human Insects.

Shonen/Shojo Club

Also known as 少年クラブ (Shonen Kurabu) and 少女クラブ (Shojo Kurabu), these two publications are home series such as Adventure of Rock (1952-54), the original version of Princess Knight, as well as an early version of Phoenix.

Weekly Shonen Champion

Also known as 週刊少年チャンピオン (Shuukan Shonen Champion) it has been home to many of Tezuka's important adventure series, notably Black Jack and Rainbow Parakeet, but also some of his darker series, such as Alabaster.

Weekly Shonen Sunday

Also known as 週刊少年サンデー (Shukan Shonen Sande), over the years it has been home to many of Tezuka's important adventure series, such as Dr. Thrill, Wonder 3, Vampires, and Dororo.