Billy Bat 4

Billy Bat #4

by Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki, Yvonne Gerstheimer (Translator)

Unusual book

Genres: Manga, Seinen, Comics, Mystery, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Comics Manga

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2010

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.]

The Wizard of Oz

This time we are offered a magical mystery tour in Billy Land, the amusement park built around Chuck Culkin's version of Billy Bat, who robbed Kevin Yamagata of his rights on the franchise he created initially.

And... we also have a special guest in this one:



Lee Harvey Oswald... In the end, it dawned on me I didn't know much about JFK's supposed assassin. In this manga, he is mostly portrayed as an unmoored young man, desperately looking for acceptance and appreciation, aspiring to become a national hero (and encouraged in his delusions of grandeur by the sinister bat...).

What's even more preoccupying: Captain Finney is looking for Oswald... and for Kevin too, hidden in a deserted town in Utah... The Japanese American comic illustrator tries to blot out the prophecies and the appeals of the bat by staying drunk 24/7, as he can't stand being used as a vessel by the ominious animal... However... friendly agent Mr. Smith won't have any of it and puts Kevin back on track. The visions Kevin channels through his drawings seem to be the best shot to foil and prevent JFK's assassination.

Meanwhile, it would seem the slimy and disgusting Cpt. Finney is on Chuck Culkin's payroll... And yet... Chuck doesn't look like Chuck... He looks much more like... Walt Disney??



Or his assistant illustrator Les Clark, come to think of it.


In any case, there's no stopping this train, and I can't wait to read the next tome :)


Also see:

22/11/63
Travels In Hyperreality

[Štěpán]

I am very dumb, but I have google to understand history and politics.

[TV’s Kevin Lanigan]

I was mostly kidding before about this being 11/22/63 canon but I'm now convinced Jake Epping's ass is gonna show up.

Listen to Hogz 2 Slop podcast to hear me untangle this.

[yel ᰔ]

➺ 4/5 🌟

I don't know yet if Kevin's drawings are predictions of the events that can alter the history, or the events happened BECAUSE he drew it. This is actually so fascinating. I am quite unsure of the timeline though, so it's still a bit confusing for me.

[Rahul]

4 Stars

Good continuation to the series, looking forward to further volumes.

[Emi gosto ruim]

Entendiiii

[Naren]

great cliffhanger at the end (as always)

[Ibbo]

Io come Kevin mentre vedo tutti i miei momenti storici preferiti comparire nel manga

[Aminah Hussain]

poor oswald is being brainwashed

[Chris]

Wow more pls

[Arsenic]

Le mystère s'épaissit ! J'ai beaucoup aimé le passage de la ville Far-West. La partie avec Oswald était intrigante et intéressante (et le bon clin d'oeil à Disney quand il est dessiné en lapin !).

[Jacek]

Now things are really getting awesome. This is the best volume yet.

The community of Yamagata diehards is a wonderful creation, and its shadows marvelous. I love that Urasawa can put in a scene so similar to one of Monster’s most memorable and still make it eerie and powerful all in its own right.

The desperation of the seer was so beautifully, sadly, sensitively, and horrifically portrayed that I could feel the hairs rising on the back of my neck.

I was reminded at times of two great novels: Thomas Pynchon’s Against the Day and William Golding’s Double Tongue, as well as of some of the most exciting moments of the middle arc of 20th Century Boys.

“Twenty-four years would be enough to clear away the country’s darkness, wouldn’t it?”

Can’t wait to read more, though lately opportunities are somewhat fewer.

[Vittorio Rainone]

Il pipistrello ossessiona Kevin Yamagata, portandolo a rintanarsi in un paesino che sembra lo sfondo per un western (ed in effetti lo è: un western sceneggiato e disegnato dallo stesso Yamagata). A tirarlo fuori dal suo torpore, l'agente Smith che sembra rivelarsi uno dei buoni, intenzionato a farlo riprendere a disegnare storie e a cambiare il mondo. Ma ci sono altri alle calcagna del disegnatore: gli stessi che erano in Giappone, e che sembrano appartenere a un'opposta fazione non ancora dichiarata. Nel mezzo, la storia di Lee Harvey Oswald e dei suoi cloni, tutta da scoprire. BB continua benissimo la sua corsa.

[Federico Elías]

Definitivamente esto es un relato de terror: la incertidumbre de lo que pueda ocurrir, la impotencia frente a una fuerza mayor, la desesperación, etc.
Siempre me llama la atención cómo los japoneses suelen representar a los pueblos aislados, como gente conservadora, cosa bastante lógica, pero que luego demuestran ser muy cálidos cuando te sienten parte de ellos. Los japoneses no tienen pinta de ser así, uno nunca será japonés si no nació allá de familias de allá.

[M. Carmen C. González]

Uff...
UFF.
Ya noto como empieza a escalar esto. El vuelco que ha dado la situación, ese par de viñetas que me han provocado un mini ataque... Y el momento conmovedor, cuando Kenvin admite que...


...estaba enamorado de Shizu...


...y te acuerdas, y te entran ganas de soltar la lagrimita.

Su espiral ya me ha enganchado la pierna. ¡Ay!

[Philippe Lhoste]

Ce tome revient à l'auteur de manga, tout en se consacrant à Lee Harvey Oswald, vu sous un angle intéressant...

L'histoire est plus lisible, tout en ajoutant du mystère et des fils narratifs de conspiration assez touffus...

Intéressant, toujours à suivre.

[Bouilloire]

Et toujours infoutue de mettre une note indicative. Je crois que j'accroche moyen en fait.

[andrew y]

In a way I guess this was better since I could follow what was happening. In another way it was not since what the heck is this story about.

[Erik B.K.K.]

This is getting really good.

[Tar Buendía]

Esto cada vez es más raro y maravilloso.

[Gabriel Servin]

Después de explorar la era Sengoku de Japón, nos regresamos a los United States, concretamente a Billyland, que me huele mucho a Disneyland, más aún por Chuck Culkin, que tiene un atroz parecido a Walt, nos topamos a otro de los personajes clave de esta épica historia, y lo que es peor: un personaje de la historia real, es decir, Lee Harvey Oswald, quien presuntamente asesinó a John F. Kennedy. Exploramos también un pueblito desértico de Utah y la excelente dupla entre el detective Smith y Kevin Yamagata. El caso se vuelve más peliagudo y no sé qué más esperar. ¿Será que, a diferencia del caso Shimoyama, este manga se atreverá a cambiar la historia tal y como la conocemos? ¿Cómo se moverán los hilos de la intriga política?

Estoy enganchado.

[Eli Henson]

After the wonderful volume 3, this is definitely a change in pace, but it feels natural for the story. Anyone who's read Urasawa or watched any of the anime adaptations of his works will know that, though there's a "main character," Urasawa doesn't hesitate to dedicate a lot of time to the side characters too. While I did rate this volume less than the previous 3, it still has killer moments and is a gripping read, it just feels like it's ramping up to something it doesn't quite get to yet.

[Michael Sorbello]

First we had Jesus and Judas, now we have President Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and Lee Harvey Oswald. What the hell is this story? Things started to get interesting in this volume but it’s still a bit hard to make sense of. I’m guessing it’s about predicting and rewriting history or something of the sort? I suppose I’ll just have to keep reading. I have a feeling it’s finally starting to get good.

[ASM Samiur Rahman]

আমি জানি যে উরাসাওয়া সেন্সেই এভাবে লম্বা সময়কে ফ্রেমে আটকে, মাঙ্গার পাতায় জাদু সৃষ্টি করেন। তাও যে এভাবে বিমোহিত হই, অদ্ভুত। লী হার্ভে অসওয়াল্ড-এর নাম দেখে চমকে ওঠাই লাগে। এবার ঘটনা ঘটছে ইউএসএ-তে। মিস্টার পিস্তল হেয়ার, ইয়ামাগাতার সেই পুরোনো মাঙ্গার সাথে কি সংযোগ বিলি ব্যাটের? কুরুসু এখানে কি করছে? ফিনি আর স্মিথ, কে কাকে টেক্কা দেবে আদি ও অকৃত্রিম বিলি ব্যাটের খোঁজে?

[John Lemonsmith]

Hold on!
Hold the frick on!
The reveal is insane!
If you know what it even is!!!
Billy Bat ~~ Mickey Mouse!
Walt Disney is one of the antagonist!
Now it makes sense why this manga doesn't have official transcripts around the world. Absolutely nuts!
Conspiracy theories above conspiracy theories, weaves so perfectly together!!

[Aaron]

I cannot say I wasn’t surprised when Lee Harvey Oswald showed up as a mascot character, makes you wonder what the real Oswald would’ve thought about that. Anyway this mystery keeps on going, I’m really curious to find out if the bat that Kevin sees is the black or white one or maybe it’s neither and there’s a third Billy Bat. I don’t know but I’m excited to see

[Ramit]

L’arc di Oswald in cui non si capisce bene se è filo russo o filo americano e con il possibile assassinio di Kennedy che può essere sventato tanta roba . Vediamo se la storia può cambiare o se in linea di massima andrà sempre com’è andata realmente . Il plot twist dei sosia bella trovata , chissà come andrà nel prossimo volume . Anche l’atmosfera spaghetti western mi è piaciuta . Gli do’ 5/5

[MARIA LARIN]

Biblioteca Central de Valencia (TBO MAN ura)
2210 páginas

Manga protagonizado por un mangaka japo-estadounidense que descubre que su cómic Billy Bar es una copia. Vuelva a Japón para encontrar al autor original, encontrándose con un entramado criminal que se remonta muchos siglos en la historia.

[Rosa Mateos]

Súper confuso. Ya me pasó con 20th century boys: cuanto más leía, menos entendía y mas necesidad me creaba de seguir conociendo la historia. Con este tomo, Naoki Urasawa me deja aún mas confundida si cabe, pero la verdad que con ganas de seguir.

[Anthony Lacroix]

Après bleach c’est encore meilleur