This episode delves into the remarkable creative collision between William Shakespeare, the titan of Western literature, and Osamu Tezuka, the founding "god" of Japanese manga. We explore how Tezuka used the dynamic, accessible medium of manga to not only adapt the Bard's tragedies and comedies but also to critique the moral and political contradictions of post-war Japan.The Shakespeare Manga Theater anthology, spanning nearly 25 years (1959–1982) of Tezuka’s career, demonstrates a fascinating evolution in adaptation—moving from relatively faithful narrative transposition to radical thematic appropriation.
CFP: Shakespeare: Remembered Futures, Imagined Pasts. Shakespeare in Comics and Manga
The idea for the issue of Multicultural Shakespeare devoted to Shakespeare comics and manga originated during discussions which took place during European Shakespeare Research Association conference in Porto in July 2025. We are looking for articles that will focus on reclaiming the past of comics and manga adaptations, their beginnings and roots, to acknowledge their present existence but also predict their future. We are particularly looking for articles about comics and manga Shakespeare adaptations and comics creators which have hardly been discussed before.Prof. Ronan Paterson [email protected] Anna Wołosz-Sosnowska, [email protected]