Rocketman (ロケットマン) is a rental manga by Shigeru Mizuki and his debut work as a manga artist.
About[]
As the kamishibai industry began to decline, Mizuki decided to make the switch to rental manga. So in autumn of 1957, he spent about 2 months drawing "Rocketman"[1], with cover art by Kōji Kata[2]. It was published as a rental book by Togetsu-Shobō on February 25, 1958, and became his debut manga. However, before his debut he briefly worked with Kenji Miya on the story "The Red Phone", so some sources site it as his debut work instead[3].
Synopsis[]
Dr. Uetsuto departs via rocket to investigate a second moon that appeared in the night sky, but the rocket is sabotaged by his rival Dr. Dorai, so it crashes and Uetsuto's corpse sinks to the bottom of the sea. However, right before the crash, Uetsuto came into contact with a mysterious being named Guraya who enters his body like a parasite, causing Uetsuto to later resurrect and with superpowers. Uetsuto becomes the mysterious hero Rocketman and battles against Dr. Dorai's giant robot Neo-Dorai.
Characters[]
- Dr. Uetsuto / Rocketman
- (上津戸博士, Uetsuto-hakase) / (ロケットマン)
- The first Japanese scientist to win the Nobel prize. He becomes possessed by the mysterious parasite Guraya (グラヤ) and gains superpowers. He suddenly appears as Rocketman in the story's climax. After defeateing Dr. Dorai he becomes the new prime minister.
- Shinichi Uetsuto
- (上津戸 新一, Uetsuto Shinichi)
- Dr. Uetsuto's son. Although he is in college studying plants, after his father's disappearance he begins to investigate the situation.
- Dr. Dorai
- (怒雷博士, Dorai-hakase)
- A scientist who aims to rule the world. He builds the giant robot Neo-Dorai (ネオドライ) and uses it's power to take over as prime minister.
Collections[]
- Shigeru Mizuki Early Works Collection (with Kaijū Raban, Kaiki Neko-Musume and Hell Water), published by Nakano-Shoten, 1980
- Rocketman: Limited Edition BOX, published by Shogakukan, 2002
- The Complete Shigeru Mizuki Manga Collection Volume 001: Rocketman, etc, published by Kodansha, 2013