Shonen Illustrated

Ambassador Magma (Shonen Illustrated)

Shonen Illustrated (少年画報), published by Shonen Gahosha, was home to several of Osamu Teukza’s serialized works. Although relatively popular in the 1950s – featuring such works as The Cactus Kid (1951-54), Cyrano the Hero (1953), and Super Taiheiki (1958-59) – by the early 1960s circulation had become a bit sluggish due to competition from other adventure manga magazines aimed at young boys. However, with the publication of Ambassador Magma (1965-67) circulation began to pick up.

Ambassador Magma (1965-67) began its run in the May 1965 issue and concluded in the August 1967. However, because Osamu Tezuka had spread himself so thin – working on other series including Wonder 3 (1965-66), Big X (1963-66), and Princess Knight [Nakayoshi] (1963-64) – the second half of the “Cyclops Arc” was drawn by two other manga artists, Satoshi Inoue and Kazuyoshi Fukumoto.… Read the rest

Cyrano the Hero (Shonen Illustrated)

Tezuka’s swashbuckling adventure, Cyrano the Hero (1953) was originally printed in the pages of Shonen Illustrated (少年画報), published by Shonen Gahosha.

Following immediately after the original ending of The Cactus Kid (1951-54) feature in March, Cyrano the Hero (1953) began its monthly serialization in April 1953. However, most likely due to a negative reaction from fans who had tuned in for cowboy action and got musketeer-style swashbuckling instead, its short run came to an abrupt close just eight months later in November 1953 as The Cactus Kid (1951-54) returned to publication.

Although Cyrano the Hero (1953) was published over a period of eight months, please note that only seven chapters were published.… Read the rest

Cyrano the Hero (Manga)

Osamu Tezuka's take on the French literary work, Cyrano the Hero (1953) was originally published over 7 monthly instalments, from April to November 1953, in Shonen Illustrated [少年画報] - sandwiched in between the first and second runs of Tezuka's cowboy adventure, The Cactus Kid (1951-54).

Ambassador Magma (Manga)

Originally serialized in Shonen Illustrated [少年画報] from May 1965 to August 1967, Ambassador Magma (1965-67) is Osamu Tezuka’s most recognizable entry in the long line of “giant robot” or mecha stories in Japanese manga adventures,

Cactus Kid, The (Manga)

Also sometimes referred to as Milkhall Territory, Osamu Tezuka’s cowboy adventure, Mr. Cactus (1951-54) was originally published over 23 monthly instalments in Shonen Illustrated from April 1951 to March 1953. It was followed by Cyrano the Hero (1953) from April to November 1953, before resuming for another 12 monthly instalments from December 1953 to December 1954.