Osamu Tezuka in the context of "Anime"

Comics are a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically takes the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. There is no consensus among theorists and historians on a definition of comics; some emphasize the combination of images and text, some sequentiality or other image relations, and others historical aspects such as mass reproduction or the use of recurring characters. Cartooning and other forms of illustration are the most common means of image-making in comics. Photo comics are a form that uses photographic images. Common forms include comic strips, editorial and gag cartoons, and comic books. Since the late 20th century, bound volumes such as graphic novels and comic albums have become increasingly common, along with webcomics.

The history of comics has followed different paths in different cultures. Scholars have posited a pre-history as far back as the Lascaux cave paintings. By the mid-20th century, comics flourished, particularly in the United States, western Europe (especially France and Belgium), and Japan. The history of European comics is often traced to Rodolphe Töpffer's cartoon strips of the 1830s, while Wilhelm Busch and his Max and Moritz also had a global impact from 1865 on, and became popular following the success in the 1930s of strips and books such as The Adventures of Tintin. American comics emerged as a mass medium in the early 20th century with the advent of newspaper comic strips; magazine-style comic books followed in the 1930s, and the superhero genre became prominent after Superman appeared in 1938. Histories of Japanese comics (manga) propose origins as early as the 12th century. Japanese comics are generally held separate from the evolution of Euro-American comics, and Western comic art probably originated in 17th-century Italy. Modern Japanese comic strips emerged in the early 20th century, and the output of comic magazines and books rapidly expanded in the post-World War II era (1945–) with the popularity of cartoonists such as Osamu Tezuka. Comics has had a lowbrow reputation for much of its history, but towards the end of the 20th century, it began to find greater acceptance with the public and academics.

A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (Japanese: 漫画家), is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga.

Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the industry as a primary creator. More rarely a manga artist breaks into the industry directly, without previously being an assistant. For example, Naoko Takeuchi, author of Sailor Moon, won a Kodansha Manga Award contest and manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka was first published while studying an unrelated degree, without working as an assistant.

"Shin Takarajima" (Japanese: 新宝島; pronounced [ɕintakaɾadʑima] , "New Treasure Island") is a Japanese one-shot manga published by Ikuei Shuppan in January 1947. It was written by Sakai Shichima, and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka.

It is Tezuka's debut full-length work, and is considered to be the starting point of postwar Japanese manga.

Astro Boy, known in Japan as Mighty Atom (Japanese: 鉄腕アトム, Hepburn: Tetsuwan Atomu; lit. 'Iron-Armed Atom'), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's Shōnen from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected in 23 tankōbon volumes by Akita Shoten. Dark Horse Comics published an English translation in 2002. The story follows the eponymous Astro Boy, an android young boy with human emotions who is created by scientist Umataro Tenma in the likeness of his son Tobio after the latter's death in an accident. Eventually, Astro is sold to a robot circus run by ringleader Hamegg, but is saved from his servitude by Professor Ochanomizu. Astro becomes a surrogate son to Ochanomizu who creates a robotic family for Astro and helps him to live a normal life like an average human boy, while accompanying him on his adventures.

The series has been adapted into three anime series produced respectively by the first incarnation of Mushi Production and its direct successor Tezuka Productions, with a fourth in development. The manga was originally adapted for television in 1963 as Astro Boy, the first popular Japanese animated television series, which pioneered and embodied the aesthetics that have characterized anime in general. After enjoying success abroad, Astro Boy was remade in the 1980s as New Mighty Atom, known as Astroboy in other countries, and again in 2003. In November 2007, the titular character was named Japan's envoy for overseas safety.

Princess Knight, also known as Ribon no Kishi, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with the blue heart of a boy and the pink heart of a girl. She pretends to be a prince to prevent the evil Duke Duralumin from taking over the kingdom through his son, Plastic. The gender-bending main character was inspired by the all-female musical theater group Takarazuka Revue in which women performed both female and male roles.

The story was ordered by an editor of Kodansha's magazine Shōjo Club who wanted Tezuka to produce a manga aimed towards a female audience that could replicate the success of his former boy-aimed stories. The author then created Princess Knight, originally serialized in that magazine from 1953 to 1956. The manga's popularity resulted into a radio dramatization in 1955, three other serializations between 1958 and 1968, and a 52-episode television anime series by Mushi Production that aired on Fuji TV from 1967 to 1968. It has also influenced several stage musicals since the 1980s and inspired remakes of the work by other authors.

Kimba the White Lion, known in Japan as Jungle Emperor (Japanese: ジャングル大帝, Hepburn: Janguru Taitei), is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka which was serialized in the Manga Shōnen magazine from November 1950 to April 1954. An anime based on the manga was created by Mushi Production and was broadcast on Fuji Television from 1965 to 1967. It was the first color animated television series created in Japan. It began airing in North America from 1966. The later series was produced by Tezuka Productions.

A TV special premiered September 5, 2009, on Fuji TV. Produced in commemoration of Fuji TV's 50th anniversary, it was directed by Gorō Taniguchi, written by novelist and drama writer Osamu Suzuki, and featuring character designs from illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.

Black Jack (Japanese: ブラック・ジャック, Hepburn: Burakku Jakku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka in the 1970s, dealing with the medical adventures of the title character, doctor Black Jack. Black Jack consists of hundreds of short, self-contained stories that are typically about 20 pages long. Black Jack has also been animated into an OVA, two television series (directed by Satoshi Kuwahara and Tezuka's son Makoto Tezuka) and two films.

In 1977, it won the first Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen category. It has since then become one of Tezuka's best selling manga with over 47.66 million copies sold in Japan. Osamu Dezaki's anime film adaptation, Black Jack: The Movie, won Best Animation Film at the 1996 Mainichi Film Awards.