The Bizarre Lady | Title page #2, The Wedding of Death | Erotopia | Hitoshi 'Jin' Hirano

The Bizarre Lady (Ryōki Fujin) - Original Published Title Page by Jin Hirano - #2: The Wedding of Death

Size: 27 x 37.5 cm
Media: pencil, ink, aquarel & photo's on paper
Condition: good to very good

Jin Hirano (1941–) is a Japanese mangaka who began his career in animation before making his manga debut in 1970. He worked primarily in the gekiga tradition, known for his realistic drawing and dramatic storytelling. Hirano initially published his works in Houbunsha's Weekly Manga Times and Manga Punch, during the 1970s, he expanded into Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday and Big Comic, where his collaborations with legendary manga writer Kazuo Koike resulted in some of his best-known works.

From the early 1980s onwards, Hirano concentrated increasingly on seinen manga, contributing to publications such as Futabasha's Manga Action. His detailed drawing style, expressive characters and cinematic compositions made him a distinctive figure in Japanese adult manga.

The Bizarre Lady is a supernatural horror manga originally published in the adult manga magazine Manga Erotopia. The story was written by Noribumi Suzuki (1933–2014), the celebrated Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his cult exploitation.

The story follows a powerful Japanese corporation attempting to conceal the environmental damage caused by its factories. As the company tries to silence its victims through money and influence, a mysterious woman emerges, driven by resentment and a thirst for revenge. The manga combines supernatural horror, corporate corruption and social criticism.

This striking original artwork is the published title page of the second echapter, The Wedding of Death. Hirano combines delicate ink drawing with photographic collage, contrasting the mysterious woman's almost serene expression with disturbing imagery and splashes of blood-red colour.

The juxtaposition of traditional Japanese beauty, modern urban photography and violence creates a particularly unsettling composition, perfectly capturing the darker atmosphere of the story.

The Bizarre Lady was republished as a complete 228-page digital edition by Group Zero in 2018.