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Doraemon Co-Creator's Complete Works to be Published

The Japanese publisher Shogakukan has announced that it will begin publishing the complete manga works of the late Doraemon co-creator Fujiko F. Fujio at the end of July. The wide A5-size volumes will average about 300 to 600 pages each. Even at a rate of two to three volumes per month, it will take several years for the project to run its course. In the first year between July 2009 and June 2010, Shogakukan plans to release 33 volumes. That first year of volumes will contain Doraemon, Obake no Q-Taro, Paaman, ESPer Mami, Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Bakeru-kun, Umi no Ōji, and other titles.

Fujio was born Hiroshi Fujimoto in 1933, and he passed away in 1996 after over three decades of creating manga for all ages. He co-created the robot cat Doraemon with Motoo Abiko under the collective penname Fujiko Fujio in 1970. After the duo split up in 1987, Fujimoto assumed the pennames "Fujiko Fujio F" and eventually "Fujiko F. Fujio," while Abiko used the penname "Fujiko Fujio (A)." Fujiko F. Fujio's hometown of Kawasaki is planning to open a museum in his honor in 2011. Other prolific manga creators who have had their complete works published include Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy/Mighty Atom) and Shōtarō Ishinomori (Cyborg 009).

Source: Comic Natalie

Image © Fujiko Pro., Shogakukan