This is the catalogue to the museum exhibition mounted for the Angouleme Comics Festival in January 2023. With over 200 original pages, including 30 rendered in color.

From the publisher:

The Angoulême Festival is devoting a vast exhibition to the internationally recognized mangaka, Ryoichi Ikegami. Still active at almost 80 years old, winner of the prestigious Shogakukan Prize twenty years ago, he is distinguished by an almost exclusive desire to put his drawing to the service of scenarios written by others.

Born in 1944, Ryoichi Ikegami drew his first manga at the age of 17 and first earned his living as a painter of advertising signs. Published in the monthly magazine Garo, his pages caught the eye of Shigeru Mizuki who asked him to become his assistant. Very quickly, it became obvious to Ikegami that his practice would be limited to drawing alone. He surrounded himself with screenwriters including Kazuo Koike and Buronson to perfect his line and satisfy his creative ardor.

At ease in the outline of sculptural bodies, he also nourishes a fascination for monsters and he does not restrain any form of violence, whether physical or psychological. The West recognizes Ryoichi Ikegami for his contribution to the introduction of manga in its territories: in 1987, his series Mai, the Psychic Girl was one of the first to be translated into English, while, in 1994, Crying Freeman begins to be published in France.

Through a selection of more than 200 original plates, including thirty in color, the exhibition offers a dive into the graphic virtuosity of Ikegami. This retrospective reveals his acute sense of composition, from his first alternative publications to his recent series. It also presents his most significant/popular works: Sanctuary, Strain, Heat, Crying Freeman, Otoko Gumi, and Trillion Game.

Résume:

Publié à l'occasion de la grande rétrospective que le Festival consacre à Ryôichi Ikegami, ce catalogue constitue une approche unique du travail du mangaka né en 1944. S'appuyant sur de très nombreuses planches originales, les auteurs analysent la construction de la grammaire visuelle de cet « artisan du manga » qui se plaît à mettre sa virtuosité graphique au service de grands scénaristes tels que Buronson ou Kazuo Koike, avec lequel il signe notamment Crying Freeman, l'un des tout premiers mangas à avoir connu le succès en France au milieu des années 1990.