This September, Viz Media will release an omnibus edition of Taiyo Matsumoto’s acclaimed and previously out-of-print series Black and White. Viz first published the indie comics-style Japanese manga in the late 1990s. The new 614-page edition is entitled Tekkonkinkreet: Black and White All-in-One and collects the original three-volume series in an oversized, left-to-right English-language format (similar to Iou Kuroda’s Sexy Voice and Robo) and includes color pages as well as a fold-out poster and a double-sided dust jacket.
The book release coincides with a feature-length anime DVD release from Sony Pictures. The animated feature was directed by Michael Arias (Animatrix) with the screenplay adaptation written by Anthony Weintraub and art direction by Shinji Kimura (Steamboy). An interview with Arias and Weintraub is featured in the new Viz omnibus edition, and Viz is also working with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on cross promoting both products.
“It was very fortuitous that there was a film made and that the omnibus came out in Japan,” said Viz editorial director Elizabeth Kawasaki. Kawasaki told PWCW that discussion about republishing the Black and White series had come up in the company a number of times. “It hasn’t been available for a good five years but it wasn’t something that we planned to reprint in the old format,” she said.
Tekkonkinkreet is the story of two street urchins—the savvy Black and his dim-witted yet clairvoyant friend, White—in a corrupt city on the brink of gentrification. Matsumoto contrasts moments of extreme violence with scenes of quiet tenderness, portraying dynamic rage alongside subtle bouts of sadness and joy. “It’s genius,” Kawasaki said, describing the story. “It’s a love story. It’s about what they do for each other and how they descend into their own madness when separated. I have known grown men who have cried when they read this.”
Kawasaki believes Tekkonkinkreet will appeal to the same audience that bought Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha (Vertical) or Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s Pushman and Other Stories (Drawn & Quarterly). Stylistically, Matsumoto’s art stands apart from the formulaic standard of many of his manga contemporaries. Having traveled to France in the 1980s, Matsumoto is heavily influenced by the legendary French comics artist Moebius. Kawasaki describes Tekkon as edgier and darker than most manga available on the American market.
The Tekkonkinkreet omnibus has been priced at $29.95, and while most licensed Japanese manga these days is published in its original right-to-left reading format, this omnibus edition will appear in a flipped, left-to-right format, the way it first appeared in Viz’s English-language Pulp magazine in the late 1990s. Kawasaki calls the English-language left-to-right format a “ friendlier presentation. We need that accessibility.” Kawasaki explained that Viz took a cue from Vertical and its success with Buddha, which was published in a flipped format. “[Non-manga readers] wouldn’t have picked it up if it were in the traditional, right-to-left format.” She said that Viz has been in contact with Diamond Book Distributors in hopes of reaching the indie-comics crowd and the U.S. comics shop market.
Despite the buzz around the book, its unusual story and art style could be a tough sell in the U.S. market, which is focused on more conventional manga titles. The New York comic book shop Forbidden Planet plans to shelve the book in its “new releases” section as well as the manga section and will display a copy in the window. Store manager and book-buyer Jeff Ayers said he was skeptical about whether the book will cross over to American comics readers. “It would have to get enough buzz,” he said.
Nevertheless, Christopher Butcher, store manager at Toronto’s The Beguiling, is enthusiastic describing Tekkonkinkreet’s re-entry into the American comics market. “It’s an important book,” said Butcher, “We’ve ordered 100 copies.” The Toronto comics shop has gotten behind the book with plans for floor displays on both store floors as well as plans for a window display. “It’s bigger than regular manga, and it’s more important than regular manga,” said Butcher. “Black and White is an accessible and proven book that speaks to people in their 20s and 30s. If this book does well, that means the industry can grow with the audience.”
