Behind the Scenes of Fujio Akatsuka's First Issue of Manga No. 1: The Early 1970s

Behind the Scenes of Fujio Akatsuka's First Issue of Manga No. 1: The Early 1970s
In the early 1970s, Fujio Akatsuka launched Manga No. 1, a magazine that he edited himself. It was an ambitious project that sought to transmit manga in an artist-driven manner without being bound by the established publishing system, but it had only three members on the editorial staff. Despite financial and manpower shortages, Akatsuka maintained the founding philosophy of the magazine by publishing a separate volume of his older works. This attitude of placing top priority on "creating interesting products" without regard to profit was also a criticism of the commercialism of the publishing industry at the time. With the rapid economic growth of Japan and the increasing centralization of publishing and distribution, it was a touchstone for independent expression that manga artists such as Akatsuka took the initiative in attempting publishing activities. Although these attempts often ended in failure, they were nevertheless important attempts that supported the diversity of
magazine culture.