Tank Tankuro is one of the first robots ever to appear in Japanese comics and may be the first manga “superhero.”

First published in 1934, Tank Tankuro was one of the most famous manga characters at the time.  The comic by Gajo Sakamoto is famous for its innovative and captivating adventure stories full of surrealism, nonsense, innocence, absurdity, and eccentricity.

Lost in the turmoil of WWII, this hidden gem has been unearthed by Presspop Gallery.  It is soon to be published as a full color, deluxe hard cover with slipcase, beautifully designed by Chris Ware!

 

 

“I considered it a pleasant diversion and a distinct honor working on the cover design of Tank Tankuro,” said Ware. “Sakamoto’s pages seemed wonderfully energetic, almost willfully naive and playful, yet also strangely dire, given their overriding military theme. The immediate Western association I saw was with cartoonist Milt Gross, of the so-called ‘screwball’ school whose work captured the slam-bang of vaudeville, Yiddish humor and never took itself seriously, while at the same time getting at some of the common frustrations and societal anger that ‘higher arts’ don’t necessarily directly address. Gross’s frenetic, loopy pen style is analogous somewhat to Sakamoto’s, and I get the same sort of feeling of hectic happiness when looking at their work.”

 

Under pressure from the militaristic Japanese government of the ’30s, Sakamoto was forced to create what appears to be a pro-war comic.  However, at a time when creative freedom was deeply at risk, Sakamoto used the pages as a silent anti-war protest, expressing his feelings in the playful, free-spirit of Tankuro himself.

 

Tank Tankuro influenced a great many manga artists, such as Shigeru Sugiura, Osamu Tezuka, Fujiko Fujio and more, and is the cornerstone from which many masterpieces of manga art would spring. Tankuro became the archetype for various Japanese manga heroes that were to follow.  In the story, Tankuro fights the villain Kuro Kabuto (lit. “Black Hat”), who attacks Japan. Kuro Kabuto is famous among Japanese sci-fi fans who believe he resembles Darth Vader of Star Wars.

 

GAJO SAKAMOTO

TANK TANKURO: PREWAR WORKS 1934-1935

 

Full Color, Hardcover in Slipcase

Size: 8.85″ x 6.38″

ISBN 978-4-903090-24-5

Price : $29.95

 

256pgs (including 16 pages of interpretive text)

 

ESSAYS

* How I Created Tank Tankuro

* Memories of My Father, Gajo Sakamoto

* Gajo Sakamoto Biography

* The Forgotten History of Japanese Comics Before Osamu Tezuka and Tank Tankuro’s Maverick World

 

ABOUT GAJO SAKAMOTO

Gajo Sakamoto was born Masaki Sakamoto on December 1, 1895, in Itsukaichi-shi, Nishitama-gun (present-day Akiruno-shi), Tokyo. After studying painting for 5 years at a private art institute, the Kawabata Painting School, he followed the advice of famed cartoonist Ippei Okamoto and pursued a career as a professional manga artist. While working at several newspapers, he ran comic strips and contributed cartoons for newspapers, magazines, and comic anthologies. With Shigewo Miyawo and others, Sakamoto helped form the Doshin Manga-kai manga artists’ group. In January 1934, he started the serialization of Tank Tankuro in Yonen Club (from the Dainippon Yubenkai Kodansha publishing company), which made him a popular artist. The manga was published as a book in October 1935, and the Yonen Club serial lasted until December 1936. Other works from this period included Hora-gai Hora-taro and Janken Pon-chan. In 1939, Sakamoto served as a part-time employee for the government’s public relations department in Manchuria (Northeastern part of China) but returned home a year after Japan’s defeat. After his return, he continued his active career as a manga artist, working on titles such as Gara-gara Sensei, Bari-bari Hakase, and Genkotsu Osho as well as new stories for Tank Tankuro. Around this time, Sakamoto also became interested in the art of suiboku-ga or nan-ga (ink-and-wash painting) and studied Zen Buddhism. In 1956, the same year as the marriage of his first daughter, Sakamoto ended his career as a manga artist to devote himself entirely to Buddhism and suiboku-ga. In 1969, he received an award for his distinguished service to children’s culture from the Japan Children’s Writers’ Association. He died on August 8, 1973, at 77 years of age.

 

 

 

Called “the godfather of Japanese erotica,” Toshio Saeki has cultivated a unique and shocking style – blending traditional Japanese technique with his own twisted imagination.

Saeki’s artwork is a synthesis of depraved vision and incredible artistic ability.

“A famous writer once described my works as ‘obviously peculiar’ and I cannot completely deny that,” he said.

“I want to surprise people, make them happy, and if possible, even completely enchant the minds of those who see my work. To realize that, I will choose whatever method it takes, and will not limit myself.”

Saeki embraces the controversial nature of his work. He seeks to challenge social norms by placing the unconscious in plain view.

“In the modern world, where one rarely stops to think about the truth behind the moment, you might enjoy it if you take a peep at my mysterious and strange illusions,” he said.

“To those who frown at them, I want to place the drawings right in front of your face and ask if you really disapprove. I’m always thinking, how wonderful it would be to give shape to psychological pictures which everyone hides and holds deep within them.”

111 Minna Gallery and Last Gasp Present
Toshio Saeki
Opens Thursday, Sept. 4th at 5pm
Show runs November 4th – 27th
21+

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SAEKI’S TECHNIQUE

In a modern version of traditional Japanese woodcut printing, Saeki creates finished work in conjunction with a printing professional. The artist typically prepares only black and white originals. He does not apply color directly to these pieces, but instead uses overlays to enumerate the precise values of the colors he wants.

Saeki works with the terminology of the four-color printing process: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). For example, he indicates a woman’s skin tone should be reproduced with 10% magenta, while her nipples should be 60% magenta. Most of the men in Saeki’s artwork have a skin tone that is 30% magenta, 20% cyan, and 50% yellow.

He calls this method chinto printing – the picture is complete only after it has been printed. It is a modern version of the ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese woodcut prints or paintings produced between the 17th and 20th centuries. Ukiyo-e were works of collaboration between the eshi (artist) and the surishi (printer). Saeki is paying homage to this style, and considers himself an eshi.

ONIKAGE

A new book by the artist, which was just released by Last Gasp features a selection of Saeki’s previously unpublished works. The art is shown in a gorgeously large format. Throughout the book, paper vellum overlays re-create Saeki’s unique method for adding color to his black and white artwork. Both original black and white renderings and finished color artwork is shown. However, the reader is not allowed to see every image in all stages. Like the artist, the viewer must use his or her imagination to complete these peculiar pictures.

Preview Onikage by Toshio Saeki
56 pages, Hardcover, 11 ¾” x 14 ½”, Color and b&w images, paper vellum inserts
ISBN 978-0-86719-719-7, $39.95
Publication date: August 2010
Published by Last Gasp

The books will be here in a few weeks!

(full size)
For a limited time only!

And of course, the proof of the Whopper is in the eating.

Here’s part of the press release:

SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF JAPANESE ANIMATION
ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR THE 2009 SPJA INDUSTRY AWARDS

Public Online Voting to Begin at Noon PST on May 4, 2009

Anaheim, California (May 4, 2009) ‹ The Society for the Promotion of
Japanese Animation (SPJA), announces finalists of the 2009 SPJA Industry
Awards today and opens up ALL categories for public voting via both the SPJA
(www.spja.org) and Anime Expo® (www.anime-expo.org) websites. More
information can be found on the website
www.spja.org/spja-industry-awards/spja-industry-awards-polls/

Public voting for the 2009 SPJA Industry Awards will be held via online and
winners will be announced during the Anime Expo® 2009 Industry Reception
held on July 2, 2009 (during Anime Expo®) in Los Angeles, CA.