is a 1934

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

written and drawn by Gajō Sakamoto. The comic features the eponymous character, a robot-like character with a round iron body who could transform into various shapes and produce anything he wanted from the hole in his belly. He fights his archenemy, Kuro Kabuto (Black Helmet). ''Tank Tankuro'' is considered one of the first robot and science fiction manga, inspiring characters like

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

's ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 ''tankōbon'' vo ...

'' and

Fujiko Fujio was a manga writing duo formed by Japanese manga artists and . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987, upon Fujimoto's illness. The pair was best known ...

's ''

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...

''; however it was preceded by the 1929 comic story ''Jinzō ningen'' (''Artificial human'') by

Suihō Tagawa , better known by the pen name Suihō Tagawa (田河水泡, ''Tagawa Suihō''), was a Japanese manga artist. Biography Born in Sumida, Tokyo, Nakatarō Takamizawa grew up an orphan: his mother died upon his birth, his father and his uncle (who ...

Publication history

Sakamoto published Tank Tankuro's stories as a ''

yonkoma , a comic strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requirements of ...

'' for the ''Chugai Shougyou Shimbun'' (current ''

Nihon Keizai Shimbun ''The Nikkei'', also known as , is the flagship publication of Nikkei, Inc. (based in Tokyo) and the world's largest financial newspaper, with a daily circulation exceeding 1.73 million copies. The Nikkei 225, a stock market index for the Tok ...

''). He felt he needed a bigger space for his stories and turned to

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

, presenting a draft to the editor of ''Yonen Club'' magazine. The draft was accepted, and Sakamoto published ''Tank Tankuro'' stories in the magazine for four years. In 2010, a collection of ''Tank Tankuro'' stories was published in English by Presspop. It was reissued in 2017 by

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

References

External links

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{{Authority control Fictional robots Science fiction anime and manga 1934 comics debuts Robot comics Kodansha manga Fantagraphics titles Yonkoma 1930s manga