Godfather of Manga gives PlayStation its cue

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dororo Vol. 1

April 29, 2008 Jessica Hatakeda; Jessica@vertical-inc.com

300 pages, 6 x 8 inches Publicist

Graphic Novel/Manga/Trade Paperback Stephen Vrattos; vrattos@vertical-inc.com

978-1-934287-16-3 Marketing Manager

$13.95/$15.95

48 Demons of Tezuka

Vertical publishes a much-cherished work by manga-legend Osamu Tezuka

The “Godfather of Manga” is back this spring with the action-adventure series Dororo. The work is a seamless blending of Japanese folklore with Osamu Tezuka’s rich imagining of monsters and demons. His memorable protagonists adorn each page in the iconic Tezuka style, roaming a world of fiendish monsters and villainous humans. Osamu Tezuka’s timeless themes of human nature and morality, shared among all of his works, add the finishing touch to this classic action-packed adventure.

Originally serialized in Japan from 1967 to 1968, Dororo is now being released in English for the first time in three volumes. Dororo was made into an anime series airing in 1969 as well as a PlayStation videogame, Blood Will Tell, in 2004. A live action film was shot in New Zealand and released in Japan in early 2007, making a box-office record $30 million.

A samurai during Japan’s Warring States period (1467-1573), Daigo Kagemitsu wants complete control over Japan. He promises his unborn son’s 48 body parts to demons in exchange for that control. When the baby is born deformed, Daigo throws the newborn into the river to die, but it is miraculously found by a doctor, Jukai, who makes prosthetics for the child and adopts him as his own. When the boy Hyakkimaru is grown, he leaves home and begins a journey to recover his body parts. Along the way he runs into a brash young thief, Dororo, whom he teams up with; together they battle demon and monster on their adventure to reclaim Hyakkimaru’s wholeness.

Osamu Tezuka, encouraged by his mother to choose the profession he truly enjoyed, became a manga artist after studying and receiving a medical degree. The aftermath of war left Osamu Tezuka with a deep appreciation for life, and his later works are marked by that respect for all living beings. Tezuka’s manga and anime had an incredible impact on Japan’s postwar youth, inspiring artists in an array of genres, an influence still very much present in manga today.

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