WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE Circa 2009 -2010
‘WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE’ was part of the project that aimed to promote and spread TEZUKA MANGA and Japanese Manga culture around the world
Content is from the site's 2009 -2010 archived pages.
Free Version
Now on sale at App Store
'ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE' will allow you to take the Tezuka Manga with you,wherever you go!
This Free version of WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE will be publishing weekly almost 100 pages as one volume.
One volume of the 'WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE', consisting of almost a hundred pages, will be published weekly.
The first volume includes ‘ASTRO BOY’, the most popular of Osamu Tezuka’s MANGA, as well as ‘PHOENIX’, ‘BLACK JACK’ and more.
The cover page depicts ‘ASTRO BOY’. The first volume is free, and each volume after that will be on sale for 0.99$ per week/one volume.
- FEATURES:
- This is a free version, you will get vol.1 and more volumes will be publishing each week continually.
- WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.1
- -Contents-
ASTROBOY
PHOENIX
DORORO
BLACK JACK
- REQUIREMENTS:
- Compatible iPhone and iPod Touch
- Requires iPhoneOS 3.1 or later
- LANGUAGES:
- English, Japanese
- Available iTunes Store:
- United States,Canada,Japan,
United Kingdom,Singapore,Philippines,Indonesia,
Malaysia,Australia,New Zealand
Complete Version
Now on sale at App Store
'ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE-Weekly' will allow you to take the Tezuka Manga with you,wherever you go!
This Full vesion of WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE will be publishing weekly almost 100 pages as one volume.
One volume of the 'WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE', consisting of almost a hundred pages, will be published weekly.
The first volume includes ‘ASTRO BOY’, the most popular of Osamu Tezuka’s MANGA, as well as ‘PHOENIX’, ‘BLACK JACK’ and more.
The cover page depicts ‘ASTRO BOY’. The first volume is free, and each volume after that will be on sale for 0.99$ per week/one volume.
- FEATURES:
- In this complete vesion of 'WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE',you will get vol.1 and vol.2,and more volumes will be publishing each week continually.
- WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.1
- -Contents-
ASTROBOY
PHOENIX
DORORO
BLACK JACK - WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.2
- -Contents-
ASTROBOY
BUDDHA
BLACK JACK
- REQUIREMENTS:
- Compatible iPhone and iPod Touch
- Requires iPhoneOS 3.1or later
- LANGUAGES:
- English, Japanese
- Available iTunes Store:
- United States,Canada,Japan,
United Kingdom,Singapore,Philippines,Indonesia,
Malaysia,Australia,New Zealand
-Comment from Frederik L. Schodt
It’s a Brand New World!
Osamu Tezuka is called the manga no kamisama, or “God of Manga,” for good reason. He was a master artist and story-teller who made “comic books” a far more dynamic medium of expression. The global popularity of manga and anime today rests in large part on the foundation he created.
I’ve always hoped more people could enjoy Tezuka’s manga, but until recently there have been many obstacles. Tezuka’s works have been hard to read without an understanding of Japanese and hard to obtain outside of Japan. While many are now being translated and published in other countries, true fans in and out of Japan have also always faced the problem of space. Tezuka specialized in long stories, and his entire collection spans over 400 paperback volumes.
With this wonderful new service we can now enjoy reading classics by the master manga artist on our mobile devices. We can read them any time of day, all over the world, any place—on the plane, at the bus stop, even under the covers at night—without needing big bookshelves or wheelbarrows to cart them around. On my own iPhone, I found myself quickly immersed in old favorites in no time at all, enjoying them all in a brand new way.
* Frederik L. Schodt, author of The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution.
+++
My take: Often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, Osamu Tezuka was an extraordinary artist. His animated version of Astro Boy in 1963 created the first successful model for animation production in Japan. The animated films that have since been created in Japan are still some of the most visually breathtaking. Even at a young age my son was a fan of manga. I remember our first Kaanapali waterfront rental in Maui. It was the first of many over the years. Our son had just turned twelve and liked to spend all his time drawing his own manga characters and creating convoluted adventure stories about them. Tezuka was an idol and of course our son had the Astro Boy magazine app on his phone. One evening, as the sun set over Kaanapali, he showed me a sketch of a character adorned with intricate sterling silver rings, each bearing symbols reminiscent of our adventures in Maui. The shimmering rings mirrored the glistening waters of the Pacific and held stories of the tropical fish and turtles we encountered during our snorkeling expeditions. The rings became central artifacts in his manga tales, imbuing the wearers with powers inspired by the vibrant marine life of Maui. The three mile beach stretching on either side of our Kaanapali condo became the backdrop for many of his stories, with the sterling silver rings playing a crucial role in the narrative. Years have passed, and our son's passion for art and manga has only grown stronger. Recently, he was accepted at the Rhode Island School of Design where he plans to major in film/animation, continuing to weave the tales of sterling silver rings and their mystical powers. His journey, greatly inspired by Tezuka, is a testament to the indelible mark that art leaves on young minds. We'll forever be grateful to Tezuka for lighting that spark in our son.
The Latest Volume Information
- WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.18
March 17, 2010 - -Contents- ASTRO BOY, BUDDHA, PHOENIX, BLACK JACK
- WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.19
March 24, 2010 - -Contents- ASTRO BOY, BUDDHA, ADOLF, BLACK JACK
- WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.20
March 31, 2010 - -Contents- ASTRO BOY, BUDDHA, DORORO, BLACK JACK
- WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.21
April 7, 2010 - -Contents- ASTRO BOY, BUDDHA, PHOENIX, BLACK JACK
- WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE vol.22
April 14, 2010 - -Contents- ASTRO BOY, BUDDHA, ADOLF, BLACK JACK
How to Read?
- -What is Koma Animation?
- This KOMA-Animation moving
Manga Viewer is made for iPhone and iPod touch.
This lead you to new style of reading Manga on iPhone and iPod Touch.
Of Course,you can read each pages by Flick.
- -How to Stock it?
- Once you delete the Volume that you have bought,you can download again form the Server for free.
- -How to Buy?
- You will buy on iTunes App Store!
Each volume will be on sale 0.99$ per weekly/one volume.
About ‘WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE’
- -Why is the ‘WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE’ a weekly?
-  Tezuka Osamu Manga consists of 150,000 pages, 700 titles, and has been translated and published all around the world.
 In order to allow as many people to enjoy as many productions as possible, we have decided to deliver "weekly multi-productions" in serial form. We look forward to creating more fans who will be facinated by Tezuka Osamu Manga.
- -Why iPhone?
-  Because its market and distribution scheme is highly developed and ahead of its competitors.
- -About production delivery schedule for ‘WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE’
-  The translated version has already been published and those productions that have a proven track record in the market will be delivered in order of precedence.
The production immediate schedule includes the delivery of 100 pages a week, 30,000 pages in all, taking 3 years to complete.
- -About countries and areas where ‘WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE’ will be delivered.
-  Starting with delivery of the English version to the USA in the autumn of 2009, delivery will be made possible in Japan, continuing with the French and the English version to the EU in the summer of 2010, and the Chinese, Italian and Spanish versions after that.
- -About the devices that ‘WEEKLY ASTRO BOY MAGAZINE’will be delivered in the future.
-  There are no "rules" when it comes to enjoing Manga. We plan to seek and develop various methods that enable the enjoyment of Manga.
WHO WAS OSAMU TEZUKA?
Osamu Tezuka created a revolution in comics and animation.
Born in 1928 in Toyonaka, in Osaka,Japan,he was reised in the nearby city of Takarazuka.
From a very early age he loved to draw (and love to collect insects so much that he later incorportated the ideogram for ‘insect’ into his first name as a pen-name.)
When he was eighteen,and enrolled in university as medical student,he made his debut as a cartoonist with a four panel newspaper comic strip titled ‘Ma-chan’s diary’.
Not too long thereafter paperbaxk compilations of his longer stories,with titles as ‘New Treasure Island’,‘Lost world’and ‘Next World’
In doing so he brought an unusually creative and educated mind to both fields.
In comics,in particular,he pionaeered long narratives of hundereds,even thousand of pages,bringing ‘cinematic’ art styles and novelistic plots to the medium.
By 1950 he had finally established his position as the leading comics artist of his day when he serialized his now-classic work,‘Jungle Emperor’(also known as ‘Kimba the White Lion’) in the monthly magazined,‘Manga Shonen’.
Then,in 1952 he began serializing ‘Mighty Atom’,in the young boy’s monthly Shonen.
Mighty Atom,which later became known to Amereicans as ‘ASTROBOY’,cotinued until 1968,becaming one of Tezuka’s most pupular and famous works.
Tezuka did not stop with Atom,however.
He began turning out one hit after another,with ‘Princess Night’in 1953,‘Ambassador Magma’ and ‘W3’ (‘Amazing 3’)in 1965.
‘Vampire’ in 1966,and ‘Dororo’ in 1967.
In 1967 he also began drawing waht he called his ‘life work‘--‘The Phoenix’ and creating comics targeted at a more abult audience.
Remarkably,Tezuka continued creating comics with powerful,original themas throughout his long career.
Some of his best known later works,include Ode to Kirihito,1970,A History of Birdman,1971,A Hundred Tales,1971,Ayako,1972,Black Jack and Buddha,1973,MW,1976,A Tree in the Sun 1981,tell Adolph,1983,Ludiwig B.,1987,and Neo Fausto,1988.
Tezuka continued creating and drwaing comics until he died on Feb 9th in 1989.
Asahi newspaper explained the coontribution of this this great artist as follows;
Foreign visitors to Japan often find it difficult to understand why Japanese people like comics so much.
For example,they often reportedly find it odd ti see grown men and women engrossed in weekly comics magazine on the trains during commute hours.One explanations for the popularity of comics in Japan,however,is that Japan and Osamu Tezuka,the postwar explosion in comics in Japan would have been in conceivable.
-Policy-Tezuka Manga to all over the world!
As the environment surrounding network infrastructure and information technology continue to change, Tezuka Produtions’ publishng division has created a brand new style of enjoying MANGA. The main project is the ’Osamu Tezuka Magazine branding project, which carries the themes “reading, seeing, chatting, creating”. These services have already been put in motion this past year, commemorating the 80th anniversary of OSAMU TEZUKA.
PRESS
Weekly Astro Boy Magazine brings Tezuka to the iPhone
2009-10-21 Brad Rice
Looking for some manga on the go? How about Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy? I bet you were expecting me to say Bleach or Lucky Star, weren't you?
Well, thanks to the people at Tezuka Productions and the eminent Fred Schodt, we'll be getting a new app in the iPhone store enttiled "Weekly Astro Boy Magazine," which will feature chapters of Phoenix, Black Jack and Astro Boy. The first volume will be free, followed by $0.99 per chapter of the magazine.
So not only are we getting manga on the go, but essentially three Tezuka classics at once! Hot damn, this is exciting. While I'm not one of the many legion of iPhone users (although I am looking forward to the Motorola Droid!), I'd plop down my money in an instant on this.
They've gone ahead and launched a site for the app, but it's still just a teaser at the moment. I am expecting all you iPhone people to buy this. I will be severely disappointed when I check your phones and see it's not there.
English Language Osamu Tezuka Digital Library Coming to iPad this July, Android Planned
Exciting New Venue For the "God of Manga's" Work
Scott Green
July 04, 2011
A Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan notice for a luncheon with Tezuka Productions' Takayuki Matsutani, f SOBA Project's Kazushi Inui and translator Frederik L. Schodt note plans to bring Osamu Tezuka's manga such as Astro Boy and Black Jack to English reading iPad users this July.
Beginning in this July, the library will be offered to iPad users in the English-speaking world, allowing subscribers to carry around a large digitalized archive of translated volumes of Tezuka's work. The library will expand to Android PC tablets later this year, with services provided in French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean also planned.
In addition to digital manga, the application also includes video versions with voiceovers from top actors and special effects for added entertainment called "Motion Manga" (with English Subtitles).
Tezuka manga, including Astro Boy, Black Jack, Phoenix, Dororo and Adolf has been serialized for the iPhone via the weekly Astro Boy Magazine app.
Thanks to All
- -Tezuka Productions
- -U.S. Publishers
- DARKHORSE Comics (Oregon) 
- VERTICAL-Inc. (New York)
- VIZ Media,LLC (San Francisco)
- -Frederik L. Schodt
- -Credit of Each Books
- ASTRO BOY(The first publishing was in 1951 in Japan)
English-language version produced by DRAK HORSE COMICS, Inc.
Translation/Frederik L. Shodt
Lettering and Retouch/Digital Chameleon - BLACK JACK(The first publishing was in 1973 in Japan)
English-language version produced by Verticla, Inc.
Translation/Camellia Nieh - BUDDHA(The first publishing was in 1972 in Japan)
English-language version produced by Vertical, Inc.
Translation/Yuji Oniki - DORORO(The first publishing was in 1967 in Japan)
English-language version produced by Vertical, Inc.
Translation/Down T. Laabs - PHOENIX(The first publishing was in 1967 in Japan)
English-language version produced by VIZ Media, LLC
Translation/DADAKI Jared,Cook,Sakamoto,and Frederik L. Shodt - ADOLF(The first publishing was in 1983 in Japan)
English-language version produced by VIZ Media, LLC
Translation/Yuji Oniki
Touch-Up Art&Lettering;/Yoshiyuki Higuchi
- -Weekly ASTROBOY MAGAZINE
iPhone Digital Publisher - D-Arc, Inc
- -Chinese-language version