English translation of the Japanese manga Akira, this was one of the first major American publications of a Japanese manga and notably made itself a premium item for Western audiences by officially colorizing the manga. Because these colors were not in the Japanese original, a joint effort between Marvel Kodansha (the manga's Japanese publisher) resulted in the entire series being re-released in Japan from 1988-1996 in 12 slipcases that each included multiple issues along with a bilingual boo...