is a manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 written by Katsuhiro Otomo

Katsuhiro Otomo

is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...

 and illustrated by Takumi Nagayasu. The manga is published in Kodansha

Kodansha

, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

's Young Magazine. The English-language release of manga has been licensed in North America by Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

, for a French-language release in France by Delcourt

Delcourt (publisher)

Delcourt is a French publishing house that specializes in comics and manga.It was founded in 1986 through the fusion of the magazines Charlie Mensuel and Pilote...

, for a Spanish-language release in Spain by Norma Editorial

Norma Editorial

Norma Editorial is a Spanish comics publisher, with its headquarters in Barcelona.Founded in 1977 by Rafael Martínez, it publishes both original Spanish comics , Spanish translations of Japanese manga as well as Spanish translations of American or European comics and...

 for an Italian-language release in Italy, first by Play Press Publishing, then by Panini Comics and a German-language release in Germany by Carlsen Comics.