That said, the last decade has opened up a world of manga in English with a scope only imagined by weeaboos and comics fans alike.

if by “the first,” you mena the first in English, I disagree. Catalan actually published a book by Tatsumi called Good-bye and other Stories some 15 year or earlier (if memory serves). It turns out that it was basically bootleg (and translated from Japanese to Spanish to English), but I liked it a lot and really wanted more.

In addition, RAW published some alternative manga (including a story by Yoshiharo Tsuge), and Blast Books came out with some, including Comics Underground Japan. There were a few other odds and ends as well, although Drawn & Quarterly’s Tatsumi books have been the handsomest and most sustained effort.

Tatsumi’s style reminds me a lot of Gilbert Hernandez, visually speaking. In fact, I know I read somewhere, I think in one of the TCJ interviews, that Hernandez based the opening chapters of “Poison River” on Tatsumi’s “Goodbye,” which he presumably must have seen in the Catlan version.

Out of curiosity, do you know whatever happened with that unlicensed version? Who was responsible, was there ever any legal action, etc.? That’s pretty despicable behavior for a publisher, even if they did have a good eye for talent.