"Tetsuwan Penguin" wrote:Was the color picture from an official Tezuka publication or a knockoff? I've never seen Atom drawn with blue eyes except on third party stuff. Also the drawing style doesn't exactly match the Dr's. (and that's not his signature. )
KNOCK-OFF! I think you should choose your words more carefully as "knock-off" usually has a negative connotation!
The pictures in question are from what could be described as a Japanese deluxe trade paperback style magazine from 1978 with MUSHI Pro. copyrights, so it might be considered sanctioned as "official!."
Since Tezuka Pro. is an animation studio and not a publishing firm I don't think they had "official publications". At least not in the seventies. In just the same way Life Magazine can publish an "official James Bond anniversary edition" (with UA's blessings and support as well as the licensing fees that have to be paid), a Japanese publishing co. can publish an "official commemorative "Astro Boy" edition.
The magazine from which these pictures were taken has the English title of "Animation Golden Books" This is listed as No. 2 featuring "TetsuWan Atomu"! The book has many scenes from "Earth Defense Squadron" and other episodes (like "Birth of Atom" and World's Greatest Robot"), but also features an episode guide of all 193 original episodes, and color "renditions" from memorable episodes which include "Attack from Space" as well as "Cobalt". (After all these are not cels form the shows as the shows were in B & W!)
The diagrams showing how to draw Cobalt are "official" diagrams as they have been shown in many other publications. (Also included in the magazine are diagrams for drawing other 'Astro Boy" characters.)
Astro Boy's "blue eyes" were commented in another thread. I believe it was thought by those on the ABOL, as a by-product of the fact that "Jetter Mars" has blue eyes and publications from the seventies like Roman Album no. 7 "Memories of Mighty Atom" showed Astro Boy in color with blue eyes.
The book also has a feature depicting all the "Mighty Atom Club" magazine covers, as well as all the covers of all the Kappa Comics Astro Boy reprints.
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