Mangaka Monkey Punch Dies

It was announced on Wednesday that the mangaka behind the Lupin III series, Monkey Punch, died from pneumonia last Thursday. He was 81 years old.

Born in Hokkaido on May 26, 1937, as Katou Kazuhiko, his first serialization was Playboy Nyuumon in Futabasha's Manga Story magazine, published under the pen name Eiji Gamuta. Two years later, he released his hit series Lupin III and adopted his pen name Monkey Punch. The manga was serialized in the first issue of Futabasha's Weekly Manga Action magazine and ran until 1972 with 14 compiled volumes. It spawned numerous animation and live-action film and television adaptations, as well as video game and other various adaptations based on the series.

He received multiple awards for his work, including the San Diego Comic-Con INKPOT award, Rome Comics Festival ROMICS Award, AMD Achievement Award, and Tokyo Anime Award. In addition to researching 3D art, he was also a visiting lecturer for various universities.

Source: Mantan Web