Osamu Tezuka (1928-89) is the godfather of Japanese manga comics. He originally intended to become a doctor and earned his degree before turning to what was then a medium for children. His many early masterpieces include the series known in the U.S. as Astro Boy.

With his sweeping vision, deftly interwined plots, feel for the workings of power, and indefatigable commitment to human dignity, Tezuka elevated manga to an art form. The later Tezuka, who authored Buddha, often had in mind the mature readership that manga gained in the sixties and that had only grown ever since.

The Kurosawa of Japanese pop culture, Osamu Tezuka is a twentieth century classic.

Tetsuro Kasahara is a manga artist whose body of work revolves mostly around the robot and mecha genres. One of his most famous works, RideBack, was adapted into an anime in 2009.

Now, he is focusing on ATOM: The Beginning, a prequel to Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy.