Lupin III is a Japanese manga, written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It spawned a media franchise that includes several animated television series, television specials, theatrical and home video features as well as further manga titles.
Contents
The story follows the adventures of a gang of thieves led by Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of novels. Lupin and his gang travel throughout the world to steal treasures and escape from the law.
Lupin III was written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It was serialized by Futabasha in Weekly Manga Action in 94 chapters from August 10, 1967. Additional chapters known as Lupin III New Adventures were released from August 12, 1971. Tokyopop licensed the series for North America, and released all 14 volumes between December 10, 2002 and July 6, 2004. The Tokyopop edition is adapted from the Chuokoron Shinsha edition from 1989. In Europe, the series was licensed by Star Comics in Italy and Ediciones Mangaline in Spain.
Monkey Punch began publishing the second Lupin manga, Shin Lupin III (新ルパン三世) in Weekly Manga Action on June 23, 1977 until 1981. Three chapters were published in the British magazine Manga Mania between May and July 1996. Tokyopop licensed the second series, and released the first 6 volumes as Lupin III – World's Most Wanted between September 7, 2004 and February 7, 2006. Like the first series, the Tokyopop release was based on the Chuokoron Shinsha edition from 1990. Tokyopop later cancelled the series due to low sales.
A number of other series by other creators have since followed.
On August 27, 2004, Futabasha launched Lupin III Official Magazine, a quarterly publication of Lupin III manga by various authors.
Lupin III – World's Most Wanted
Seventeen volumes were planned.
Lupin III M
Lupin III M by Yukio Miyama began serialization in 2004.
Lupin III H
Lupin III H by Naoya Hayakawa started in summer 2009. The first volume was released on October 12, 2010 and an eighth volume was released on March 27, 2015.
Lupin III B
Lupin III B by Tamio Baba was serialized between 2012 and 2013. A collected volume was released on February 28, 2014.
Spin offs
A number of spin offs focusing on individual characters were also created. Captain Zenigata was first released on September 12, 2011.M.F.C (Mine Fujiko Company) was published as two volumes on September 28, 2009.Goemon Ishikawa XIII by Kazuo Hoshi was released on September 27, 2014.