A History of Astro Boy in American Comic Books (Gold Key, Now Comics, Dark Horse)

DISCLAIMER: this is a documentary about Astro Boy in AMERICA, therefore im only covering details pertaining to Astro Boys' american comic appearance. Perhaps i will make a Tezuka / Astroboy History video in the future if there is interest.
Since the 1950's Osamu Tezuka's iconic creation has served as one of the most iconic and identifiable characters to come from japan. Despite its debut on american television in 1963 it wouldnt be until 2002 that Astro Boy in its original manga form would be released by Dark Horse. Despite that 40 year gap in the american zeitgeist, Astroboy debuted twice in american comics through licensing, Astroboys story in america is one that is both tragic and emblematic of The journey anime took from corporate franchise fodder to the respected and reverred giant in the industry it has become today. The growing presence & influence of Manga in American pop culture has grown from an obscurity in the 1980s' direct market, into a juggernaut that has begun to overtake the american comic book industry in sales.
This is episode 1 of a series on the history of manga. Please comment anything you might want me to cover in the future or any feedback.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

My brother and I had that "Oh My Goddess" comic. They stupidly released the manga stories out of order (to more closely match the order things happened in the anime), and I never read beyond that issue.
The "Tokuma Comics" localization of the first Street Fighter II manga released in America was handled in a unique way. Most manga translations at the time would simply mirror the image so it wouldn't be "backwards" from how US comics are. For this SF2 comic, though, they actually cut out and rearranged panels rather than flopping them, and also colorized it.

[@jeffwolcott7815]

I wish the entire 63 version of Astro Boy series would come out subbed to DVD.

[@michealperez1863]

I enjoyed the NOW Astro Boy comics that I have read. Some ideas for future videos: Nintendo comics in America, Street Fighter comics in America, other video game comics in America (MegaMan, Sonic, etc.), Robotech comics, Voltron comics, publishers like Antarctic Press, Eternity, Eclipse, Viz, Jademan (Hong Kong), Eastern Comics (South Korea), etc..

[@Comicculturevoyager]

Oh a lot of those are on the docket! You definitely gave me some more ideas, like udon and Nintendo but viz is probably the main reason I started the channel, to tell their story , oh and I got an antarctic video in the future forsure. Ppl don’t realize how popular ninja high school was back in the day.

[@jaehojeong5036]

We hope there will be new remake movies and TV series (Osamu Tezuka's) 'Astro Boy / Iron Arm' produced by 'Walt Disney Animation Studio' in the far future since the 2030s or 2040s.
It truly looks like and fits to Walt Disney animation.

[@Aquaman1054]

Congratulations on your first video on your channel! I was glued to the TV set when Astro Boy debuted on NBC back in 1963. I had never watched anything like it and I was enthralled. I had the Gold Key comic, and I was disappointed when there was no second issue. Thanks for your video! It was very informative!

[@toddrallen]

Very informative and to the point. I am not an Anime/Manga fan but I love learning about these kinds of things. Interesting! I have bought comics from this streamer, mainly because I enjoy hearing about the details and history of comics you don't always know. Give him a follow, I know his videos will get even better with time!

[@bohem5568]

I remember Astro boy. Used to watch Astro boy as a little kid.

[@J-R_YT]

If only dark horse kept the manga in there original READING format!

[@Comicculturevoyager]

Probably the most confusing aspect of early manga localization was the enigma the reading format proved to be for publishers. It wasn’t that hard to figure out in hindsight

[@raptorskilltor4554]

I heard the comic book industry is more of a joke now, so it doesn’t surprise me that manga dominate them in the first place