Writing a Biography

Osamu Tezuka

By

Soledad Suárez

Osamu Tezuka, the Japanese manga artist, who is best known as the creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion, started to draw comics at the age of seven. He was born in 1928 in Osaka. After surviving World War II, he created his first piece of work at age 17, Diary of Ma-chan (1946) and then New Treasure Island (1947), which began the golden age of manga. Osamu created his first professional work while he was studying medicine at Osaka University, where he obtained his degree, and would use it later to enrich his sci-fi mangas, such as Black Jack. The distinctive "large eyes" style of Japanese animation was invented by Tezuka, drawing inspirations on cartoons of the time such as Betty Boop and Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. Tezuka died of stomach cancer at the age of 60 in 1989, and he is considered all around the world as “the father of manga”.