A Drifting Life

More than four decades ago, Yoshihiro Tatsumi transformed the landscape of sequential art by employing manga's visual vocabulary to craft raw, literary narratives centered on the intimate struggles of ordinary people. Widely regarded as the grandfather of Japanese alternative comics, his visionary work—including acclaimed collections like *The Push Man and Other Stories* and *Good-bye*—has profoundly influenced generations of artists worldwide. Now, in a project over ten years in the making, Tatsumi turns his unflinching perspective inward to examine his own journey. *A Drifting Life* stands as his most ambitious and deeply personal achievement: an autobiographical bildungsroman rendered entirely in comic form. Anchored by his lifelong devotion to the medium, Tatsumi constructs a richly layered narrative that navigates complex family dynamics, shifting currents in Japanese culture and history, the vulnerability of first love, and the demanding intricacies of the manga publishing industry. Above all, it serves as a profound meditation on what it truly means to dedicate oneself to art. Alternating between moments of sharp humor, illuminating insight, and quiet melancholy, this monumental work represents the masterful culmination of a remarkable life. It is both a definitive portrait of an artist’s evolution and a historic record of a career that forever redefined the boundaries of storytelling.