I had meant for this post to be published during the period when Takehiko Inoue’s The Last Manga Exhibition was still on, but work got in the way and this magazine eventually disappeared into my pile of books at home and was only very recently excavated. Well, better late than never.

Done in pretty much the same style as the “Who is Katsuhiro Otomo ?” special issue published last year, Brutus (a very popular Japanese lifestyle magazine) celebrates the work of manga artist Takehiko Inoue and the launch of his Last Manga Exhibition by releasing this special issue of the magazine that covers in detail his work, past and present.

(above) Some pictures and artwork from the enormously successful “The Last Manga Exhibition” that was held in Ueno, Tokyo. ( Some of you will be thrilled to know that due to the overwhelming response for the exhibition, a 2nd exhibition has been confirmed, this time held to be in Kumamoto in April 2009. Perhaps a pilgrimage is in order for fans of Vagabond. )

(above) Inoue-san at work in his studio.

(above) The magazine comes with an A3 sized foldout poster of Musashi.

The magazine also covers a full biblography of Inoue-san, his dvds and artbooks, including Sumi and Water (shown above ), as well as his work featured in television commercials, etc.

IMHO Takehiko Inoue’s success is an excellent example of how any skill (in this case comic illustration) can be honed to prowess by years and years of constant practice; during the early days of the Slam Dunk comic his artwork was somewhat rough round the edges, maybe even amateurish, but his drawing skills improved steadily as the series progressed and at the end it has blossomed into a most polished piece of artwork, and now Inoue-san is unquestionably one of the most successful manga artists in Japan, with fans all over the world. Kinda makes you want to work harder, no ?

So have you read any of his manga yet ?

Also read “Who is Katsuhiro Otomo ?”

“Brutus Magazine Inoue Takehiko Special″ Art book details :

– Dimensions – 11 x 8 x 0.4 inches
– Softcover, appr 100 pages
– Full color / b & w

*Note – The publishers have since changed the cover illustration for the magazine ( note difference between top image of this post and the one right below ), but the old contents remains largely unchanged. Some new content have been added to the magazine.

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