The Same Hat! guys have unveiled their super-secret manga project that they’ve been working on and hinting about frequently. It’s a translation of the manga Tokyo Zombie by Yusaku Hanakuma. The book will be published by Last Gasp and see it’s debut at the San Diego Comic-Con:
Tokyo Zombie is a horror-comedy manga about two blue-collar factory workers, Mitsuo and Fujio, whose plans for martial arts fame are sidelined when zombies take over Tokyo. In this gory and hilarious tale, the survivors of the zombie apocalypse have been enslaved by the wealthy ruling class, and must cater to their every depraved whim…or be thrown outside the city to fend for themselves. When some of the survivors are enlisted to fight in an undead gladiator arena for the amusement of the rich, Mitsuo and Fujio are locked in a battle for fame, freedom, and their very lives!
Years before Shaun of the Dead introduced Western audiences to the zombie comedy genre, Yusaku Hanakuma’s hilarious and outrageous manga was already a cult classic in Japan. Tokyo Zombie’s class-conscious storyline about the haves and the have-nots during a zombie uprising anticipated such films as George Romero’s Land of the Dead. Now English-speaking audiences will have the chance to check out the genre-mashing tale that started it all.
A preview of sorts from a recent art exhibition can be found here.
