Big Comic

Also known as ビッグコミック (Biggu Komikku)

Big Comic (October 1971)

Big Comic is a semi-monthly seinen manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan. Launched as a monthly magazine in February 29, 1968, it is the original home to some of Tezuka’s darkest, most biting social commentaries.

In April 1969, Big Comic switched to twice-monthly, and the issue featuring the opening chapter of Tezuka’s Swallowing the Earth (1969-70) was the beginning of an almost ten-year unbroken run of Tezuka’s more mature manga titles, finally ending with MW (1976-78) in January, 1978.  Tezuka then returned to Big Comic in 1981 and began serializing his period medical drama, A Tree in the Sun (1981-86). This was followed by his last manga series, Gringo (1987-89), which was tragically left unfinished by his death in February 1989.

Big Comic features a very important part of Tezuka’s body of work, and his development as an artist can be clearly seen through the progression from his first real attempt at mature themes with Swallowing the Earth (1969-70), to his mastery of the form with MW (1976-78).

It is also interesting to note that the magazine has also published works by a number of well-known manga artists, including Shotaro Ishinomori, Sanpei Shirato, Fujiko Fujio (A), Fujiko F. Fujio, Tetsuya Chiba, and Takao Saito, and the front cover of the magazine almost always features a caricature of a famous individual done by Shūichi Higurashi.