NonNonBa

Shigeru Mizuki (1922 2015) was one of Japan s most respected artists. A creative prodigy, he lost an arm in World War II. After the war, Mizuki became one of the founders of Japan s latest craze manga. He invented the yokai genre with GeGeGe no Kitaro, his most famous character, who has been adapted for the screen several times, as anime, live action, and video games. In fact, a new anime series has been made every decade since 1968, capturing the imaginations of generations of Japanese children. A researcher of yokai and a real-life ghost hunter, Mizuki traveled to over sixty countries to engage in fieldwork based on spirit folklore. In his hometown of Sakaiminato, one can find Shigeru Mizuki Road, a street decorated with bronze statues of his Kitaro characters.

“Mizuki conveys his pen-and-ink messages with a surreal combination of cartoon-like people superimposed against harsh realistic renderings of their environment.” —Marco Werman, PRI's The World“Shigeru Mizuki is the preeminent figure of Gekiga manga and one of the most famous working cartoonists in Japan today–a true living legend.” —Graphic Novel Reporter“[Mizuki] is one of Japan's greatest illustrators, a master of both realism and manga.” —Globe and Mail“This book is excellent . . . I can only hope we're soon flooded by Mizuki translations. I'd like to drown in them.” —Newsarama