Jiro Kuwata, who served as the writer and artist of Batman: The Manga and 8 Man, passed away on August 4 at the age of 85. Kuwata's publisher Akita Shoten confirmed the news in a brief statement.Kuwata's first comic was The Strange Star Cluster, which he created at the age of 13. He would later rise to prominence with the creation of the original manga series Maboroshi Tantei, which would later be adapted into the tokusatsu series Phantom Detective. Kuwata legacy was cemented with the creation of the Batman manga.
Batman enjoyed a surge of popularity in Japan due to the 1966 TV show starring Adam West. Kuwata took a sci-fi approach to the Dark Knight, pitting him and Robin against a variety of villains including Lord Death Man and Professor Gorilla. The manga would later be adapted to English by DC Comics in 2014, after being highlighted in Chip Kidd's Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan. The entire series is currently available in three English-language volumes.
Kuwata co-created 8 Man with writer Kazumasa Hirai in 1963. The manga follows a cyborg superhero and would receive an anime adaptation in the same year it was published. It has inspired a video game, as well as two live-action films.