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Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga #20-39
Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 2
In this collection of Japanese manga styled after the classic 1960s television series, the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin face off against such villains as Dr. Faceless, Lord Death Man, and the Human Ball.
333 pages, Paperback
First published July 14, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
April 9, 2022
Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga collects five Batman stories written and illustrated by Jiro Kuwata.
As with the previous volume, the style is '60s manga, warts and all. I love the way Jiro Kuwata's Batman and Robin look. Apart from the '60s Batmobile, greatest of all Batmobiles, and the Batcave, everything else is different or absent. Gordon is an inspector rather than commissioner. Vicki Vale and Alfred are introduced. More on that in a bit.
In these stories, Batman and Robin battle Clayface, The Outsider, a wrestler called The Hangman, an aquatic dinosaur, and some masked guy that I've already forgotten the name of. Clayface is a version of the Batman villain, most resembling the Matt Hagen version, while The Outsider looks like his DC counterpart, complete with being created with Alfred's "death."
Much with the previous volume, Batman and Robin are the consummate straight-men in a somewhat ridiculous world. Dinosaurs, both robot and true, brutish pro-wrestlers, and protoplasmic monsters barely make them bat an eye. As with the last volume, the world of Batman and Robin feels lived in. They've fought Clayface before, whether it was documented or not.
I'll be sad to see this series end with the next volume. The stripped down, odd, meat and potatoes style is a nice change of pace in a world where we get a Batman book or two every week.
Four out of five Batarangs.
As with the previous volume, the style is '60s manga, warts and all. I love the way Jiro Kuwata's Batman and Robin look. Apart from the '60s Batmobile, greatest of all Batmobiles, and the Batcave, everything else is different or absent. Gordon is an inspector rather than commissioner. Vicki Vale and Alfred are introduced. More on that in a bit.
In these stories, Batman and Robin battle Clayface, The Outsider, a wrestler called The Hangman, an aquatic dinosaur, and some masked guy that I've already forgotten the name of. Clayface is a version of the Batman villain, most resembling the Matt Hagen version, while The Outsider looks like his DC counterpart, complete with being created with Alfred's "death."
Much with the previous volume, Batman and Robin are the consummate straight-men in a somewhat ridiculous world. Dinosaurs, both robot and true, brutish pro-wrestlers, and protoplasmic monsters barely make them bat an eye. As with the last volume, the world of Batman and Robin feels lived in. They've fought Clayface before, whether it was documented or not.
I'll be sad to see this series end with the next volume. The stripped down, odd, meat and potatoes style is a nice change of pace in a world where we get a Batman book or two every week.
Four out of five Batarangs.
October 26, 2017
Every bit as fun and ridiculous as the first volume. I loved the story about Alfred going bad, and the last story in this volume was pure Batman Kaiju monster awesomeness. The hangman story also hit me in the feels. It was so sad! I love this series because of the cheesy and fun silver age aspect of it all, but I did not expect it to make me want to cry. The one thing that volume 2 lacks though is, unfortunately, there are no more colored pages like the first volume had. There are a few colored covers that look fantastic, but this is really upsetting because the colored pages was a real highlight of volume one. I really hope volume three has a few colored pages.
December 24, 2024
3.5 stars.
March 19, 2017
More of the same. If you liked Volume 1 (and I did) you will like Volume 2.
The one thing I am kinda bummed out about is they didn't use any of Batman's Rogues Gallery. I would love to see Kuwata's take on the Joker and Two-Face.
My favorite part is always Kuwata's renditions of Batman in action and the Batmobile. Great stuff.
The one thing I am kinda bummed out about is they didn't use any of Batman's Rogues Gallery. I would love to see Kuwata's take on the Joker and Two-Face.
My favorite part is always Kuwata's renditions of Batman in action and the Batmobile. Great stuff.
August 31, 2015
Public library copy.
It's more of the same from the prior volume collecting the 50 year old stories. This book brings Clay Face and Alfred around in different stories. The work isn't as impressive to judge by today's interpretation of Batman or techniques from modern comic books, but considering it was created in 1960s and by a creator from a different culture, it's pretty great.
It's more of the same from the prior volume collecting the 50 year old stories. This book brings Clay Face and Alfred around in different stories. The work isn't as impressive to judge by today's interpretation of Batman or techniques from modern comic books, but considering it was created in 1960s and by a creator from a different culture, it's pretty great.
August 28, 2015
This second volume is more whacked-out than the first. If this were any other title, I'd be laughing out of narrative frustration, but Batmanga is fascinating for its historical significance. Also, I'd just be laughing outright. We'll discuss this title on our upcoming manga episode of the podcast.
May 27, 2017
This book collects Issues 20-39 of Jiro Kuwata's Batman Manga stories from the 1960s. The book features five separate multi-part stories:
The Revenge of Clayface: Clayface escapes from prison enters the house of a professor, apparently kills him, and then goes on a criminal rampage. Overall, it's a solid Clayface story even if Clayface's MO is a little different than we typically see in American comics.
The Hangman of Terror: A pro Wrestler who is hated by fans becomes a hero in the public's eyes after killing a jewel thief who was disguised as him. This one has a little bit of personal tragedy in it for a girl concerned with her brother. The plot itself is absurd but it fits the era and tone of the book.
Fiend of the Masquerade Festival: Batman chases an escaped criminal into a masquerade festival where there are mysterious goings on and eventually, a murder. It's a good solid mystery story like the American comics had though with a very Manga set up in the Masquerade festival.
Mystery of the Outsider: A story borrowed from the American comics that finds Alfred transformed into the Mystery Outsider who is as dedicated to destroying Batman and Robin as Alfred was to protecting them. Overall, a solid adaptation.
The Monster of Gore Bay: There's a Sea Monster at Gore Bay, but Batman doesn't want to get involved. However, he does become involved in a roundabout way when a professor is kidnapped and his daughter comes to Batman for help. This is a solid mystery/monster story with the most manga moment in the book when Robin is incapacitated after a girl kisses him.
Overall, this book is as good if not better than the American comics of the same era. Batman stories in the 1960s were given 23 pages at most. The multi-part nature of these stories gives them space to breathe. Kuwata's work never felt padded.
This is only slightly more serious than the 1960s TV series. The dialogue is funny with you getting the feeling that something was lost in the translation and the stories often have a silly concept like Batman battling a real pro-wrestler.
Overall, this is a fun book if you can enjoy the slightly more goofy interpretations of Batman that are still well-plotted.
The Revenge of Clayface: Clayface escapes from prison enters the house of a professor, apparently kills him, and then goes on a criminal rampage. Overall, it's a solid Clayface story even if Clayface's MO is a little different than we typically see in American comics.
The Hangman of Terror: A pro Wrestler who is hated by fans becomes a hero in the public's eyes after killing a jewel thief who was disguised as him. This one has a little bit of personal tragedy in it for a girl concerned with her brother. The plot itself is absurd but it fits the era and tone of the book.
Fiend of the Masquerade Festival: Batman chases an escaped criminal into a masquerade festival where there are mysterious goings on and eventually, a murder. It's a good solid mystery story like the American comics had though with a very Manga set up in the Masquerade festival.
Mystery of the Outsider: A story borrowed from the American comics that finds Alfred transformed into the Mystery Outsider who is as dedicated to destroying Batman and Robin as Alfred was to protecting them. Overall, a solid adaptation.
The Monster of Gore Bay: There's a Sea Monster at Gore Bay, but Batman doesn't want to get involved. However, he does become involved in a roundabout way when a professor is kidnapped and his daughter comes to Batman for help. This is a solid mystery/monster story with the most manga moment in the book when Robin is incapacitated after a girl kisses him.
Overall, this book is as good if not better than the American comics of the same era. Batman stories in the 1960s were given 23 pages at most. The multi-part nature of these stories gives them space to breathe. Kuwata's work never felt padded.
This is only slightly more serious than the 1960s TV series. The dialogue is funny with you getting the feeling that something was lost in the translation and the stories often have a silly concept like Batman battling a real pro-wrestler.
Overall, this is a fun book if you can enjoy the slightly more goofy interpretations of Batman that are still well-plotted.
March 12, 2022
How can you not love this manga?
You can't not love this manga. It's physically impossible, unless you're dumb. (This isn't really my opinion, but I wanted to say some ridiculous things because this manga is ridiculous and I love that.)
Well, so, Clayface makes an appearance, but for some reason Kuwata decides to do a switcheroo on the reader and replace the real Clayface with a fake-o who acts just the same as the real one. I am not sure how the old-school Clayface acted, but this one seems to actually transform into the things he is mimicking, while the one in the cartoons just made his mud-body look like those things I think.
My favorite stories were one with Alfred and one with a giant monster. Alfred--my gosh! What an insane story. Alfred basically, through an absolutely bizarre series of events, is turned into a super-powered mutant with telekinesis powers and he wants to kill Batman and Robin. Plus there is another dude who has Alfred's face, because now Alfred looks like a spotted weirdo. It gets wackier from there.
Also in another story some crazy crooks use a giant robot monster to rob people, and then a real monster shows up, and things go crazy.
Lunatic stupid storytelling and I loved it.
You can't not love this manga. It's physically impossible, unless you're dumb. (This isn't really my opinion, but I wanted to say some ridiculous things because this manga is ridiculous and I love that.)
Well, so, Clayface makes an appearance, but for some reason Kuwata decides to do a switcheroo on the reader and replace the real Clayface with a fake-o who acts just the same as the real one. I am not sure how the old-school Clayface acted, but this one seems to actually transform into the things he is mimicking, while the one in the cartoons just made his mud-body look like those things I think.
My favorite stories were one with Alfred and one with a giant monster. Alfred--my gosh! What an insane story. Alfred basically, through an absolutely bizarre series of events, is turned into a super-powered mutant with telekinesis powers and he wants to kill Batman and Robin. Plus there is another dude who has Alfred's face, because now Alfred looks like a spotted weirdo. It gets wackier from there.
Also in another story some crazy crooks use a giant robot monster to rob people, and then a real monster shows up, and things go crazy.
Lunatic stupid storytelling and I loved it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2020
Enjoyable Batman comic that show how Japanese manga adapted him, though not a standout for Batman in general. Jiro Kuwata has fun adapting the comic and Adam West TV show into manga form, delivering fun adaptations of classic villains like Clayface along with new ones like the Hangman. It should be noted that being manga, it is more violent than typical comics at the time, with numerous scenes of torture and death. The art is nicely cartoony with some fun manga influences as well, while Batman & Robin fit right into the style. However, the stories are a bit slight while Batman & Robin are not depicted as smart as they should be (at one point, they unknowingly blurt out an important plan to a criminal). Overall, still a fun read along with a nice bit of Batman h history.
January 23, 2022
I thought this book was funny and just an overall enjoyable read. I really liked the feel of the comic and it reminded me of being a kid and reading comics whenever I could go to the library. It's cool that the creator of this comic is of a different culture since it allows for a different interpretation of the character we know and love. My favorite story in this manga was the one with Clay Face!
June 28, 2024
Volume 2 is insane.
Kuwata continues the Japanese manga artist's unique reinterpretation of Batman's world. One notable highlight is Kuwata's take on the villain Clayface, portrayed with similarities to Venom from Marvel Comics.
The volume features episodic adventures where each story stands alone without significant continuity between them. My favorite being "The Monster from Gore Bay," which playfully incorporates elements of the Loch Ness Monster trope, complete with robots, mobs, and a campy tone reminiscent of the Adam West Batman era.
Kuwata continues the Japanese manga artist's unique reinterpretation of Batman's world. One notable highlight is Kuwata's take on the villain Clayface, portrayed with similarities to Venom from Marvel Comics.
The volume features episodic adventures where each story stands alone without significant continuity between them. My favorite being "The Monster from Gore Bay," which playfully incorporates elements of the Loch Ness Monster trope, complete with robots, mobs, and a campy tone reminiscent of the Adam West Batman era.
January 16, 2018
Juste Génial! Un manga des années 60 inspiré de la série batman originale, des onomatopées en japonais, la batmobile, les ennemis... tout y est. Avec les jeunes étudiantes qui frappent avec des gourdins, la touche manga supplémentaire :-)
December 16, 2021
Fun read! It was great seeing Batman fight a different cast of characters. Weirdly, there's a lot of death in this, but it's still pretty lighthearted. It's from the 60's, so just know what to expect and enjoy the ride!
June 15, 2024
Book #6 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Volume 2 by Jiro Kuwata. Another beautiful collection of unique Japanese Batman comics from the 1960s! Looking forward to reading Volume 3!
June 16, 2017
An interesting bizarro world look at batman from a manga perspective. Certainly not cannon but that's what makes it fun.
June 16, 2017
Better than vol. 1. This one is less formulaic than the previous volume. I especially liked the one with Alfred as the villain, that was a nice twist.
February 28, 2020
I loved this Japanese twist on the traditional character we all know and love!
September 11, 2020
This fantastic series continues and takes the time to introduce Alfred the Butler and Vicki Vale. If you are a fan of Batman you owe it to yourself to check out this series.
December 8, 2020
The art is amazing but the stories haven’t aged well.
Read
December 2, 2021Without a doubt the wildest Batman comic I’ve read in ages
March 16, 2022
Batmanga Volume 2, more of the same as the first volume.
New Villains:
Clayface
The Hangman
The Arab
The Outside
The Monster of Gore Bay
and we get the first appearance of Bruce Wayne.
New Villains:
Clayface
The Hangman
The Arab
The Outside
The Monster of Gore Bay
and we get the first appearance of Bruce Wayne.
September 22, 2022
These are just remarkably fun to read
March 2, 2023
Similar to the first volume: entertaining enough but I wouldn't consider it a masterpiece.
December 29, 2023
Είναι εντυπωσιακό το πώς τα manga είχαν πάντα υπερβολικά καλύτερο ρυθμό από τα αμερικανικά κόμικς.
May 9, 2024
Este segundo volumen también es una joyita. No dejen de leerla.
September 17, 2024
Segundo tomo de 3 del Batmanga en edición argentina.
August 10, 2024
Libro de historietas con ISBN propio. Tomo segundo.
November 9, 2015
To briefly recap: When the Batman television series was brought to Japan in the 1960s, it was decided to do a manga tie-in using the talents of Jiro Kuwata (creator of 8-Man). Rather than being based on the TV show directly, Mr. Kuwata was given a bunch of recent issues of the American comics (which were slightly more serious) and based his interpretation on those. Please see my review of Volume 1.
The first story in this second volume is the return of Clayface, a shape-shifting villain who gained his ability from a pool of water in a cave. The criminal is dismayed to find the cave has been collapsed with explosives, but is eavesdropping when Batman mentions that a scientist took some of the water to analyze it. He then apparently kills the scientist to get his hands on the transformation fluid and starts a crime wave again. A great moment is when Batman realizes that the person complaining of toothache is actually Clayface, as the real person wears dentures.
Next is a professional wrestling based story. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson witness a match between popular “face” (good guy) wrestler Apache Arrow, and despised “heel” (bad guy) wrestler the Hangman. Despite the Hangman using illegal moves, he wins the match handily. Afterwards, Batman and Robin go on patrol. They spot the Hangman robbing a jewelry store, but before they can catch up, another Hangman appears and defeats the robber!
Turns out that in this continuity, pro wrestling is real, but the Hangman is working an angle anyway. He and Batman engage in a mask-off match, where the loser has his true face revealed. Or does he?
The third story (each of these is told in several weekly chapters, by the way) is set at a masquerade carnival that moves from city to city, happening to be in Gotham City this week. Batman is looking for an escaped convict, which is a trifle more difficult when everyone in the fairgrounds is disguised. When the Dynamic Duo do catch up with the crook, he’s been murdered. Some clues are provided by photojournalist and sometime Batman love interest Vicki Vale, the best showing of a female character in the manga.
Next up is “The Mystery of the Outsider.” In the American comics, this was a plotline that went on for several months as the unseen but insanely powerful Outsider used his uncanny knowledge of Batman and Bruce Wayne to try to kill them. It’s considerably condensed here, and for the readers there is no mystery. U.S. readers might be shocked to see Alfred on the phone with Police Chief Gordon, casually mentioning that he’s Batman’s butler. This is explained later when we learn that in this continuity, Chief Gordon is fully aware of Batman’s double identity.
The storyline loses some of its impact here because this is the first time the person who is secretly the Outsider appears in the manga at all; we’re not as shocked as the original readers would have been.
This volume concludes with a complex tale of a missing scientist, a robbery gang, and the Monster of Gore Bay. Robin gets to be more of a teenager here, getting overenthused about investigating a sea monster, and dealing with the scientist’s tsundere (ill-tempered on the outside, sweet on the inside) daughter.
The writing is decent enough, remembering that this manga was aimed at elementary school boys, and there are some clever twists. The art is old-fashioned and looks stiff compared to many modern manga. Every so often there’s a great splash page where the artist cuts loose.
This volume is primarily for Batman completists, while casual Bat-fans may want to check it out at the library.
The first story in this second volume is the return of Clayface, a shape-shifting villain who gained his ability from a pool of water in a cave. The criminal is dismayed to find the cave has been collapsed with explosives, but is eavesdropping when Batman mentions that a scientist took some of the water to analyze it. He then apparently kills the scientist to get his hands on the transformation fluid and starts a crime wave again. A great moment is when Batman realizes that the person complaining of toothache is actually Clayface, as the real person wears dentures.
Next is a professional wrestling based story. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson witness a match between popular “face” (good guy) wrestler Apache Arrow, and despised “heel” (bad guy) wrestler the Hangman. Despite the Hangman using illegal moves, he wins the match handily. Afterwards, Batman and Robin go on patrol. They spot the Hangman robbing a jewelry store, but before they can catch up, another Hangman appears and defeats the robber!
Turns out that in this continuity, pro wrestling is real, but the Hangman is working an angle anyway. He and Batman engage in a mask-off match, where the loser has his true face revealed. Or does he?
The third story (each of these is told in several weekly chapters, by the way) is set at a masquerade carnival that moves from city to city, happening to be in Gotham City this week. Batman is looking for an escaped convict, which is a trifle more difficult when everyone in the fairgrounds is disguised. When the Dynamic Duo do catch up with the crook, he’s been murdered. Some clues are provided by photojournalist and sometime Batman love interest Vicki Vale, the best showing of a female character in the manga.
Next up is “The Mystery of the Outsider.” In the American comics, this was a plotline that went on for several months as the unseen but insanely powerful Outsider used his uncanny knowledge of Batman and Bruce Wayne to try to kill them. It’s considerably condensed here, and for the readers there is no mystery. U.S. readers might be shocked to see Alfred on the phone with Police Chief Gordon, casually mentioning that he’s Batman’s butler. This is explained later when we learn that in this continuity, Chief Gordon is fully aware of Batman’s double identity.
The storyline loses some of its impact here because this is the first time the person who is secretly the Outsider appears in the manga at all; we’re not as shocked as the original readers would have been.
This volume concludes with a complex tale of a missing scientist, a robbery gang, and the Monster of Gore Bay. Robin gets to be more of a teenager here, getting overenthused about investigating a sea monster, and dealing with the scientist’s tsundere (ill-tempered on the outside, sweet on the inside) daughter.
The writing is decent enough, remembering that this manga was aimed at elementary school boys, and there are some clever twists. The art is old-fashioned and looks stiff compared to many modern manga. Every so often there’s a great splash page where the artist cuts loose.
This volume is primarily for Batman completists, while casual Bat-fans may want to check it out at the library.
July 21, 2015
Like the first volume, this doesn't have much to recommend to someone who is not a Batman connoiseur or a manga fan, but to the person who falls in one of those two catagories, this book is pretty awesome.
By this point, Kuwata was clearly much more comfortable with the character. We see more of Bruce and Dick, and they start to exhibit a bit of personality. We also see, in the stories contained in this volume, traditional Batman figures making appeareances. Vicki Vale, Alfred, Clayface and The Outsider show up. The take on them is very Japanese (I was scratching my head over the whole Clayface thing), but still interesting.
The big difference I found between the stories here and in volume 1 is that we get cliffhanger endings more often, and the stories get vastly more absurd as you go, culminating in a giant monster fight. I had no idea Batman could get so very, very Japanese, but that's probably the pinnacle. I think Batman is now a naturalized Japanese citizen because of it.
Good reading for those who don't mind Batman using a gun and fighting giant monsters. If you have trouble with either of those things, you should probably steer clear.
By this point, Kuwata was clearly much more comfortable with the character. We see more of Bruce and Dick, and they start to exhibit a bit of personality. We also see, in the stories contained in this volume, traditional Batman figures making appeareances. Vicki Vale, Alfred, Clayface and The Outsider show up. The take on them is very Japanese (I was scratching my head over the whole Clayface thing), but still interesting.
The big difference I found between the stories here and in volume 1 is that we get cliffhanger endings more often, and the stories get vastly more absurd as you go, culminating in a giant monster fight. I had no idea Batman could get so very, very Japanese, but that's probably the pinnacle. I think Batman is now a naturalized Japanese citizen because of it.
Good reading for those who don't mind Batman using a gun and fighting giant monsters. If you have trouble with either of those things, you should probably steer clear.
June 25, 2016
During the height of the Batman craze of the 1960s, and inspired by the TV show starring Adam West, artist Jiro Kuwata was given the assignment to commission a series of Batman stories for a Japanese audience. Fusing the East with the West, Jiro manages to create a hilariously fun, unique, yet serious dynamic duo that is as addictive as its original. Using source material from Detective Comics, each story follows the same story structure and action sequences. Though the stories are at times repetitive and lacking in depth, it is nonetheless a manga series that entertains and, at times, makes the reader want to laugh, due to the way in which the climatic action is resolved between the heroes and villains.
I recommend for anyone who enjoys comics and manga. Also, some of the villains are pretty awesome; they possess some neat powers.
I recommend for anyone who enjoys comics and manga. Also, some of the villains are pretty awesome; they possess some neat powers.
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