12 Facts You May Not Have Known About Astro Boy

Everyone loves comic book trivia, but with 75 years of superhero comics behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in comics in our continuing video series. You think you know comics? Well, here’s a few things you might not know!

This week we're taking a look at the long-running, ground-breaking series by Osamu Tezuka, god of manga and father of anime: Astro Boy! As both a manga and an anime, Astro Boy is one of the earliest and most successful examples of Japanese comics and animation to be introduced to American audiences. In this video, we look at the history of Astro Boy, from his earliest appearances as a secondary character in another comic to various tributes to this classic of a genre to his modern day role as a Japanese ambassador.

Show notes:

• To read Tezuka's original Astro Boy series, start here.
• To watch the original Astro Boy anime, click here. The complete 2003 series is here.
• To learn more about Osamu Tezuka and his career, here is an art book you should get.
• To read more of Tezuka's expansive and hugely influential bibliography, click here.
• Have you read Pluto? You should read Pluto.

Watch more installments of You Think You Know Comics? below and let us know what comic book characters we should cover next.