Here in the States, we regularly pay homage to artists like Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, and a host of others who developed a powerful visual language for telling stories in the comics medium. Their innovations and their intuitive grasp of which images, placed in conjunction with other images, would convey exciting, dynamic action on a static page are the foundation on which all modern comics are built.

Interestingly, a few years after our "gods of comics" had laid the groundwork for how comics stories are told in America, half a world away Osamu Tezuka was doing the same for Japan. Combining his life-long interest in nature and science, storytelling, and what he called a "joy of being alive," Tezuka created characters and stories that became huge hits both in Japan and around the world, producing in his lifetime something like 150,000 comics pages. His influence on present-day manga and anime is impossible to calculate. But Tezuka's real genius lay in his vision. He understood the power of images and their ability to reach people. "Comics are an international language," he said. "They can cross boundaries and generations. Comics are a bridge between all cultures."

His work on Tetsuwan Atom ("Mighty Atom," called Astro Boy in the U.S.) proves his point. In addition to his thousands of pages of Astro Boy manga, Tezuka also produced the first Japanese animated series. If, like me, you're old enough to remember the Sixties, chances are you can sing (or hum, at least) the opening bars of the Astro Boy theme song. Though the animated show was televised in America only in syndication, it's impact on its audience was substantial. The show's titular hero could fly, fire laser beams from his fingers, and he was a boy. The fact that he was a robot didn't make him any less of a hero or a role model.

The real power of the show was its stories. Unlike most of the animated kid-fare produced in America at the time, Astro Boy dealt with mature themes and concepts that didn't insult the viewer's intelligence.

A second animated series in the 1980s introduced a new generation to Tezuka's most famous creation, and Now Comics produced a comics series that ran for two years. Currently, Columbia Pictures is readying a new full-length Astro Boy motion picture for release in the near future. That Astro Boy has bridged the cultural gap between Japan and the U.S., there can be no argument.

But, strangely (and perhaps sadly), Tezuka's original comics masterpieces have never been seen in this country ... until now. Beginning in March, Dark Horse -- in association with Tezuka Productions and Studio Proteus -- will bring you Osamu Tezuka's original Astro Boy. Translated by renowned manga historian Fred Schodt (who was personally mentored by Tezuka, and is the author of Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics -- the book that literally paved the way for manga in America), and published in the same format as it currently is in Japan, this series offers English-speaking readers their first taste of the undiluted power, charm, and joy for life with which this brilliant creator imbued his work.

Randy Stradley
Tetsuwan Editor