First ever complete English release slated for this year

Jiro Kuwata's 1960s Batman manga series will get a complete English release for the first time in both digital and print formats this year. DC Comics will first release a new chapter online each week beginning on Saturday. DC will then publish the complete run by the 8 Man manga artist in three volumes later this year. The manga will appear in its original right-to-left format.

The manga adaptation of DC Comics' popular American superhero ran in Shonengahosha's Weekly Shōnen King and Shōnen Gahō magazines from 1966 to 1967. Like the original comic, the manga recounts the adventures of the "World's Greatest Detective" and his sidekick Robin in Gotham City.

Chip Kidd designed and compiled Pantheon's Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan , a 2008 book with translated selections of Kuwata's manga.

The series received its first Japanese book release via a three-volume set last year. Shogakukan Creative's new box has all 53 chapters of Kuwata's manga run, including the color pages from the magazine serialization. It also has Kuwata's essay on his Batman memories and commentary by manga critic Kōsei Ono.

Source: The LA Times' Hero Complex