Manga author Jiro Kuwata has died

Akita Shoten publisher reported that manga author Jiro Kuwata passed away on July 2, at the age of 85. The statement did not specify the author's cause of death. Kuwata was born in Osaka in 1935, and debuted as a manga creator in 1948, at the age of just 13 years old.


Kuwata is perhaps best known in the West for having authored the Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga manga. This adaptation of the popular DC Comics superhero ran in Shonengahosha's Weekly Shonen King magazine between 1966 and 1967. The DC Comics publisher released the 53-part manga in its original right-to-left reading in 2014.

On the other hand, Jiro Kuwata also worked with the author Kazumasa Hirai on the eight-volume manga 8 Man, which they originally published between 1963 and 1965. This manga inspired an anime adaptation that aired between 1963 and 1964. Finally, other manga made by the author included Maboroshi Tantei, Chouken Leap, Gekkou Kamen, Ultra Seven, and Elite, just to name a few. It should be noted that Maboroshi Tantei inspired a radio show, a live-action series and a live-action movie

Sources: Akita Shoten, Comic Natalie