Billy Bat 9 [Birii Batto 9]

Billy Bat #9

by Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki

1922. Einstein, en visite au Japon, fait la connaissance du jeune Zôfu conteur de kaimihibai, un théâtre de papier. Deux ans auparavant, Zôfu, lui, rencontrait un assassin portant sur le torse un tatouage de chauve-souris… C’est évidemment elle le dénominateur commun entre l’artiste de kamishibai et le criminel !

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Comics, Graphic Novels, Seinen, Fiction, Fantasy

200 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2012

About the author

Urasawa Naoki (浦沢直樹) is a Japanese mangaka. He is perhaps best known for Monster (which drew praise from Junot Díaz, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) and 20th Century Boys.

Urasawa's work often concentrates on intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, a deep focus on character development and psychological complexity. Urasawa has won the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival excellence award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2008 Urasawa accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University.

Series list (not including short stories collections):
- Pineapple ARMY (パイナップルARMY) 1985-1988, written by Kazuya Kudo;
- YAWARA! 1986-1993;
- Master Keaton (MASTERキートン) 1988-1994, written by Hokusei Katsushika;
- Happy! 1993-1999
- MONSTER 1994-2001
- 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) 1999-2006
- 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年) 2007
- PLUTO 2003-2009, based on Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom
- BILLY BAT 2008-2016
- Master Keaton Remaster (MASTERキートン Reマスター) 2012-2014
- Mujirushi (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) 2017-2018, collaboration with Musée du Louvre
- Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) 2018-ongoing

Reviews

[P.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One-Man Army

In this one, we are introduced to a sizeable cast of new characters! Einstein meets Kevin Yamagata's master Zōfū Karama during a trip to Tōkyō. The kamishibai artist asks Einstein about the ominous black bat... And a major antagonist is introduced, one Henry-Charles Duvivier, sent to Japan by Culkin Enterprises to acquire land for a future Billy Land... But this is only a front, as the agent is also a sort of censor, tracking down alternative versions of Billy Bat, and looking for the original scroll bearing the sinister black bat. Finally, we are acquainted with Kōtarō Akechi (an alternative version of Ishirō Honda, the creator of Gojira). Culkin Enterprises contracts the Japanese master of special effects to shoot a very unusual sequence: the first images of a man on the moon.

See also:
Fahrenheit 451
Death in Midsummer and Other Stories
Uzumaki
The Colour Out of Space
The Collected Connoisseur
White King And Red Queen: How the Cold War Was Fought on the Chessboard

Everything Everywhere All at Once – D. Kwan & D. Scheinert
Bioshock game series

[Federico Elías · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanta el descaro que tiene esta obra para meter personajes y eventos históricos, y hasta "teorías" conspiracionistas, y usarlos como hilo conductor para justificar su historia, y justificar a estos mismos con su historia, en una especie de retroalimentación narrativa.
Ni he llegado a la mitad del manga y han pasado miles de cosas

[yel ᰔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➺ 4/5 🌟

ohhh, the plot thickens even more!!

[Arsenic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le mystère s'épaissit, y'a tellement de rebondissements que j'avais presque oublié des éléments du tome 1.
Et je suis toujours aussi perplexe sur la noire ou la blanche...

[Ibbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

RIP Umberto Eco avresti amato Billy Bat

[Jacek]

Coming back to Billy Bat after a long break only emphasizes how much there is to enjoy here, and the tale’s unique flavor.

Several interlocking strands woven across volumes, some heretofore invisible, come together and extend tantalizingly out ahead; there are reappearances of characters left behind long before, and the believable and natural-seeming revelation of unexpected relationships. I’m reminded how impressive a plot-based story can be if its progression is worked out well in advance.

Urasawa is a master of the eerie. There are shade-cousins of Monster’s Ruhenheim in these episodes, the scene full of dismal happenings into which the unlikely band of heroes injects some cheer.

Another highlight is the Arizona movie studio and the shenanigans within.

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho conosciuto Urasawa con 20th Century Boys, osannato come capolavoro. Confermo, ma ho sempre sentito come se mancasse qualcosa, come se fosse la conferma di una struttura narrativa già collaudata e che ha riproposto nella sua serie conosciuta ai più. Aveva l'idea e i personaggi, ma non lo svolgimento e ha utilizzato una struttura a lui confortevole e sicura. Ecco, credo che questa tecnica il maestro l'abbia collaudata qui per la prima volta e si vede dagli intrecci naturali, fluidi e spontanei che accadono in questo volume. Inoltre, di 20th Century Boys ho sempre mal sopportato come certe rivelazioni non fossero mai esplicite. Anche qui, prima di snoccilare qualcosa, ci mettiamo secoli; ma poi, quando arrivano, è davvero un colpo al cuore!

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t care what that assassin says, I trust Zofuu sensei. Also something I noticed while reading this is that the way it’s written, with people being able to hear Billy and Billy guiding people, there really can’t be any coincidences because so long as it involves people who can hear Billy then it can be assumed that they were guided there or they were manipulated to be somewhere in order to need someone. And I think that’s pretty cool

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kevin, Jackie e il papà vanno al villaggio di Komori, dove trovano la popolazione impazzita, che scava buche per trovare il rotolo del pipistrello. Intanto un regista figlio dell'ex capo delle ferrovie Shimoyama, viene chiamato a girare un film sull'allunaggio da parte degli americani. Tutto è intrecciato e ben poco va avanti.

[stanley snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry charles devivie saying that Zofu is using Billy Bat to change the story? Are we sure he's saying the truth? Akechi, is Shimoyama's nephew! And that night he saw Kevin! Things are getting really hard I like that

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Hal Incandenza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Urasawa ha la straordinaria capacità di farti sentire un’angoscia senza paragoni, sfociando a tratti quasi nell’horror.
Numero stupendo e inquietante.

[Solim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the heck is going on? We are getting closer to the scroll!!!

[John Lemonsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

MOON LANDING!?
EINSTEIN?!
Where is this manga going?
This volume was pure thriller!
The series is getting really good.

[Eduardo Solis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hahah man it's getting really dark.

[Alejandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Demasiado arte

[Štěpán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moon landing, A. Einstein and scroll. This is so cool.

[dzdzdz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anxiety. Thats it.

[fooleveunder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The time travelling sequence is fire!

[Princess Keziah · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is time travel, there is Einstein, there is the fake moon landing. There’s everything in this Manga!

[Mangiastorie]

Io boh. La capacità di questo autore di incastrare le linee di trama, le storie e i personaggi mantenendo tutto coerente è da studiare.

[readwithlogolepsy || AFNAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

n

[Milenrrama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esto va a saquísimo: personajes famosos, eventos históricos y todas las teorías conspiroparanoicas que puedan haber imaginado para conducir la trama y colisionarlo todo.