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Coillecting Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki For 2024

For 2024, when he would have been 102, Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki is being published in hardcover by Drawn & Quarterly.

Published Mon, 07 Aug 2023 05:57:09 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Last updated Mon, 07 Aug 2023 12:44:03 -0500

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Shigeru Mura, also known as Shigeru Mizuki, was a Japanese manga artist and historian who lived from 1922 to 2015 and is best known for his yōkai manga, such as GeGeGe no Kitarō and Akuma-kun, as well as for his war stories based on his own war manga such as Showa: A History of Japan and his biography of Hitler. Recognised with many awards in Japan, he was given the Best Comic Award in 2007 from Angouleme and an Eisner for his Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, as the Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia shared with translator Zack Davisson.

For 2024, when he would have been 102, Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki is being published in hardcover by Drawn & Quarterly and released on the 21st of May.

"Manga's most beloved creator ventures into Japan's mythical past and emerges with a menagerie unlike any other Shigeru Mizuki is no stranger to the supernatural and its portents. Kitaro and Tono Monogatari reimagined the obscure folktales of his youth, bringing them to life with whimsy. Mizuki the cartoonist certainly left an indelible mark on comics as world literature. Mizuki the fine artist, on the other hand, rounds out the full scope of his fascination with the otherworldly and fantastic, bringing these worlds to life in robust color. Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki showcases his expertise of not only folklore, but celebrates him as a naturalist. Elements of Mizuki's lush compositions―flora, fauna, and everything in between―showcase his mastery of form and love for nature. These popular renderings of a disappearing, rural Japan are his contribution to the preservation of a cultural heritage that would have otherwise been forgotten. The grotesque realism central to his body of work is offset by the ingenuity of his fancy for the macabre. Pieces in this deluxe, full-color edition call to mind the playful pop-sensibility of Maurice Sendak informed by the technical prowess of traditionalists like Dürer and Doré. And like any other Mizuki classic, each oeuvre is a unique snapshot of spirit, human or otherwise, in constant transition. Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki includes supplementary writing by acclaimed Mizuki scholar and translator Zack Davisson."