Comics and graphic novel publisher Ablaze announced on Feb 13, 2023 that they have licensed four titles of legendary mangaka Osamu Tezuka from Tezuka Productions.

The manga will be released in English in co-operation with DI Books under the Ablaze manga imprint. This is the first time these manga will be getting an English release.

The first title will release in August 2023 in both digital and print edition, with other titles set to follow later.

The details of the manga and their release dates are given below!

One Hundred Tales

Release Date: August 2023

An adaptation of the Faust legend as a samurai period piece. Ichirui Hanri is an ordinary accountant servicing his lord. Though innocent, he is sentenced to death by hara-kiri after being entangled in a power struggle. A witch named Sudama appears and offers Hanri three wishes in exchange for his soul. Hanri accepts. Is it worth it?

Shakespeare Manga Theater

Release Date: Q4 2023

Over the course of his career, Tezuka adapted many of Shakespeare’s works: Hamlet, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet (featuring Astro Boy!), and The Merchant of Venice. This book collects them into one volume and is sure to be popular not just with Tezuka fans, but also schools interested in presenting Shakespeare in a format that is easier for readers to engage with.

Tomorrow The Birds

Release Date: Q2 2024

A science fiction manga depicting a future society in which evolved birds surpass humanity, Tomorrow the Birds is a parable about how we treat those who aren’t like us, and the eventual price that must be paid for arrogance. An unforgettable tapestry of seven-page chapters and longer stories.

Neo Faust

Release Date: Q4 2024

This adaptation of Goethe’s Faust is Tezuka’s third rendering of this classic and one of the serializations he was working on at the time of his death. Despite being terminally ill, Tezuka continued to develop his already legendary storytelling and illustrations and left behind this enthralling take on a timeless theme.

 Osamu Tezuka is known worldwide as the most influential person of the past century in the development of manga and anime. A medical school graduate who pursued a career in comics instead, Tezuka’s early success in the years following WWII inspired generations of artists and propelled the burgeoning manga industry. Over his lifetime, the “Godfather of Manga” drew tens of thousands of pages in approximately 700 titles for a wide variety of readerships.

Ablaze manga releases a variety of titles from different genres catering to different age groups, including manga, manhwa and webtoons among others.

Ablaze titles are distributed in-print worldwide by Diamond Comic and Diamond Book Distributors. Digital versions of ABLAZE titles are available via most major digital platforms.

They had previously revealed that they licensed Wakfu, Centaurs and Terror Man to release in Summer this year.

Source: Press Release