After years of anticipation from manga fans, Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s Billy Bat has officially arrived in English.
Publisher Kana, the manga imprint of Abrams ComicArts, has released Billy Bat Volume 1, marking the beginning of its plan to publish the acclaimed 20-volume series in English. To celebrate the launch, Anime Corner has the opportunity to share an exclusive preview of pages from the newly released volume.
Originally serialized between 2008 and 2016, Billy Bat is one of the few major works from Urasawa that had never received an official English-language edition despite its popularity among international manga readers.
The series follows Kevin Yamagata, a Japanese-American comic artist living in the United States in 1949. After finding success with his detective comic character Billy Bat, Kevin discovers that a nearly identical character already exists in Japan. Concerned that he may have unknowingly copied the design, he travels overseas to investigate, only to become mixed in a sprawling conspiracy involving murders, secret organizations, historical figures, and mysteries stretching across centuries.
Like many of Urasawa’s works, Billy Bat combines multiple genres, such as historical fiction, thriller, mystery, political intrigue, and metafiction. The story features appearances by figures such as Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Neil Armstrong, Adolf Hitler, and Oda Nobunaga, while weaving them into a story centered around the mysterious bat character that appears throughout human history.
Urasawa is widely regarded as one of manga’s most influential modern creators, best known internationally for series including Monster, 20th Century Boys, and PLUTO. He also attended Manga Barcelona event in Europe in 2024, for which he drew a special illustration featuring numerous of his series and where he was named the “Mangaka of Honor.”
Urasawa’s work has earned multiple Shogakukan Manga Awards, Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes, and Kodansha Manga Awards. PLUTO was recently adapted into an anime series by Netflix.
Billy Bat was created alongside longtime collaborator Takashi Nagasaki, who previously worked with Urasawa on Monster, 20th Century Boys, and PLUTO. Before becoming a writer, Nagasaki worked as an editor at Shogakukan.
Kana editor Kristiina Korpus commented on the announcement:
“Finally bringing Urasawa and Nagasaki’s Billy Bat to English readers has been a dream project for the Kana team. We can’t wait to see how fans react to the announcement and the eventual release. It’s been a long time coming for English-speaking fans! Everyone at Kana has been so excited to finally bring this unmatched manga to English and we’re all thrilled to finally be able to share it.”
The announcement marks the first time English-speaking readers will be able to officially collect the complete series. For years, Billy Bat has frequently appeared on fan lists of manga titles most in need of an English release.
Billy Bat Volume 1 is scheduled to release in bookstores and comic shops from June 2, 2026.
Source: Press Release
© Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki / Kodansha
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