Earlier this year, fans got a taste of what Batman may have been like if he were a samurai. Batman Ninja did the impossible by bringing the DC legend to Japan’s Feudal Era, and the anime has become one of Warner Bros. Pictures’ favorite DC pursuits since.
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Oh, but it’s not over just yet! It looks like Batman Ninja is being turned into a manga for good measure.
Recently, Monthly Hero’s Magazine confirmed Batman Ninja is heading to paper. Shogakukan revealed Masato Hisa will be overseeing a manga take on the Batman story. The one-off manga will be published this month in the magazine’s July issue (via ANN).
So far, there is no word on what exactly the adaptation will cover, but fans assume its story will come right from the movie. As for Hisa, fans are excited to see his take on Batman. The artist is best-known for working on titles such as Grateful Dead, Kamuya Ride, Nobunagan, and Tsukinowaguma Koroshiya.
Of course, this is not the first time Batman has dipped into the world of manga. Aside from a few Justice League adaptations, the Dark Knight has starred in his own manga titles over the years. Artists like Katsuhiro Otomo, Kia Asamiya, Yoshinori Natsume have all dabbled with the hero in the past.
If you are not familiar with Batman Ninja, the project was officially announced at New York Comic Con by Junpei Mizusaki, Takashi Okazashi, and Kazuki Nakashima, who have comprised a crew that’s worked on the likes of Afro Samurai and Kill la Kill. Warner Bros. describes the film’s story as such:
“Batman Ninja takes a journey across the ages as Gorilla Grodd’s time displacement machine transports many of Batman’s worst enemies to feudal Japan – along with the Dark Knight and a few of his allies. The villains take over the forms of the feudal lords that rule the divided land, with the Joker taking the lead among the warring factions. As his traditional high-tech weaponry is exhausted almost immediately, Batman must rely on his intellect and his allies – including Catwoman and the extended Bat-family – to restore order to the land, and return to present-day Gotham City.”
Will you be reading Batman Ninja? Have you gotten to check out the movie yet? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!
