Astro Boy A unique cultural phenomenon

Mangas have been a social and cultural phenomenon in Japan since the Second World War.

Expert Eric Leroy is creating quite a stir, offering for the first time at auction an original plate from Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy series.


In the 1950’s, while Europe was enthralled with the Franco-Belgian comic strips Tintin and Spirou, in Japan two weekly magazines completely revolutionised the manga publishing world.

These magazines, which highlighted enhanced collaboration between the scriptwriter (gensaku-cha) and the artist (mangaka), were Shûkan shônen Magazine and Shûkan shônen Sunday, for which Osamu Tezuka regularly worked.

Himself both an artist and a scriptwriter, he redefined the rules of the genre. In 1947, while still a medical student at the University of Osaka, he published New Treasure Island (Shin Takarajima), the album that made him famous.

In the early 1950’s he created two series that were very important in his career: Jungle Emperor Leo (Janguru Taitei) in 1950, and Ambassador Atom (Atomu Taishi) in 1951, which in 1952 became Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu). Science fiction – a corollary of the economic growth of the 60’s – became the universe he felt most at home in, eventually leading him to become an important influence on many authors.

In the eyes of both the Japanese public and future generations of artists, Osamu Tezuka is considered the “god of manga”.

Informations

Auction Comic Strips, 5 may 2018, 10am

Exhibition

2 May, 11am-7pm

3 May, 11am-7pm

4 May, 11am-4pm