It has been announced that a project to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the birth of manga artist Kazuo Umezu, who passed away on October 28, 2024, at the age of 88, is being launched. The first project, "ZOKU-SHINGO COMPLETE BOX" (Shogakukan), will be released on November 28. The set includes "ZOKU-SHINGO: The Little Robot Shingo Museum," his first new work in about 27 years, which was unveiled at the "Kazuo Umezu Grand Art Exhibition" in 2022, and "I Am Shingo: Complete Collection of Cover Illustrations," which brings together all the cover illustrations from his masterpiece "I Am Shingo."
The "UMEZZ AUTHENTIC COLLECTION" (same publisher) will also be published, a collector's edition series in B5 magazine size that Umezu had strongly desired to publish during his lifetime. The first volume will be "The Drifting Classroom," and many of the precious cover illustrations from the serialization will be included.
The Angoulême Museum of Fine Arts in France will hold a retrospective exhibition titled "Kazuo Umezu: Exorcising Fear" from January 29 to March 15, 2026. Approximately 170 original drawings will be on display. This will be the first exhibition of Umezu's original works in approximately 30 years, and the first to be held overseas.
