Tank Tankuro (タンクタンクロー, Tanku tankurō) is a 1934 manga written and drawn by Gajō Sakamoto. The comic features the eponymous character, a robot-like character with a round iron body who could transform into various shapes and produce anything he wanted from the hole in his belly. He fights his archenemy, Kuro Kabuto (Black Helmet).[1]
Tank Tankuro is considered one of the first robot and science fiction manga, inspiring characters like Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and Fujiko Fujio's Doraemon;[1] however it was preceded by the 1929 comic story Jinzō ningen (Artificial human) by Suihō Tagawa.[2]
Publication history
editSakamoto published Tank Tankuro's stories as a yonkoma for the Chugai Shougyou Shimbun (current Nihon Keizai Shimbun). He felt he needed a bigger space for his stories and turned to Kodansha, presenting a draft to the editor of Yonen Club magazine. The draft was accepted, and Sakamoto published Tank Tankuro's stories in the magazine for four years.[3]
In 2010, a collection of Tank Tankuro's stories was published in English by Presspop.[4] It was reissued in 2017 by Fantagraphics.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Gajo Sakamoto's 1934 Tank Tankuro Manga Put in English". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ^ Ōtsuka Eiji; Translated by Thomas Lamarre (2013). "An Unholy Alliance of Eisenstein and Disney: The Fascist Origins of Otaku Culture". Mechademia. 8: 251–277. doi:10.5749/mech.8.2013.0251. JSTOR 10.5749/mech.8.2013.0251.
- ^ McCarthy, Helen (2014-06-16). A Brief History of Manga: The Essential Pocket Guide to the Japanese Pop Culture Phenomenon. Octopus. ISBN 9781781571309.
- ^ Preview: Tank Tankuro
- ^ Johnston, Rich (2017-06-20). "Japan's First Transforming Robot, Tank Tankuro By Gajo Sakamoto, Reissued By Fantagraphics". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2017-07-11.