Billy Bat Volume 1: When Inspiration Becomes Conspiracy

Written by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki. Art by Naoki Urasawa. Translated by Kristi Iwashiro. Lettered by Aiden Clarke and Brendon Hull. Published by Kana.

Where do ideas come from? Anything can spark an idea, such as an experience or another piece of media. And they’ll definitely vary in quality. But an idea will rarely create a domino effect of dangerous situations. That’s unless you’re cartoonist Kevin Yamagata, the protagonist of Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s 2008 to 2016 manga series, Billy Bat, which has just begun being printed in English through Kana.

Billy Bat Volume 1 cover by Naoki Urasawa.

Set in 1949, the story follows Kevin, a Japanese-American cartoonist who’s on the verge of success with his comic Billy Bat. One day, he discovers that he might have unintentionally plagiarised the idea when working as an interpreter in Japan after the war. Wanting to set things right, he heads back to Japan to track down the original cartoonist to ask permission to use the character. However, he’ll soon be thrown into a larger conspiracy involving the Billy Bat creative origins that will see him mix with organised crime, murder, and an ancient religion.

As an aside: Billy Bat is a 20-volume series. As a result, you won’t get much of a resolution. Instead, it’s the start of a centuries-long conspiracy. Luckily, Kana will be publishing subsequent volumes at an accelerated pace, with volumes 2 and 3 hitting shelves before the end of the year.

Billy Bat Volume 1 page by Naoki Urasawa.

The debut volume commences unexpectedly. The reader is dropped into Kevin’s comic, Billy Bat, for the first chapter and a half. It’s a cartoon-noir – think Mickey Mouse meets Humphrey Bogart – with a cartoon bat in a trench coat being a private detective. It’s drawn in a western style and in full colour – something uncommon for manga, where usually a handful of pages are coloured at most. Readers going blind into Billy Bat Volume 1 might find it jarring, as it’s tonally and aesthetically unexpected for a manga series, especially by the creators involved. However, it does shift into something more familiar. Naoki Urasawa’s first “manga” panel is a stark contrast, showing a highly detailed view of Kevin’s workspace, littered with art tools and other bits and pieces. From there, the comic continues in Urasawa’s signature visual style. So what is the point of opening like this? It plays into the mystery of the character’s inspiration, as well as the character acting now and then as an angel and devil on Kevin’s shoulder.

Billy Bat Volume 1 panel by Naoki Urasawa.

Much of this first volume is setup, introducing characters and establishing the mystery. However, the Urasawa and Nagasaki touch on some themes. Primarily, it explores the American occupation of Japan. As a Japanese-American, Kevin doesn’t quite fit in Japan. He’s a man between two worlds. He sees the effects of the war, the uncomfortable disdain for the Americans, and the flippant attitudes of the occupiers. Much of it is uncomfortable, but war and its effects are never pretty.

There’s also some discussion of the nature of artistic inspiration. Some of this discussion plays into the larger conspiracy, with the reader not realising it so until later in the volume. At the same time, it also allows the creators to talk about manga itself, being set in 1949, the early days of what we know as manga, and allows for some admiration for Osamu Tezuka, a.k.a. the “God of Manga”.

Billy Bat Volume 1 page by Naoki Urasawa.

Like many seinen manga, Urasawa renders backgrounds and objects with realism in mind, rendering them in great detail. However, what makes him a great artist is through how he draws his characters. Here, he steps away from the realism to draw in a way that prioritises expressiveness over excessive detail. Through this, each character looks different, which adds life and flavour to the comic.

While Billy Bat Volume 1 begins unexpectedly, it kicks off a conspiracy and mystery. This forms the foundation of a sprawling conspiracy that will run through this long-running series. Urasawa’s art is expressive, providing dozens of interesting characters that make it a visually enjoyable trip down the rabbit hole.

Billy Bat Volume 1 is available at all good comic book shops, online retailers, eBay, and Amazon/Kindle.