Legendary mangaka Junji Ito, the mastermind behind Tomie, Uzumaki, The Enigma of Amigara Fault and much more, has been terrifying horror fans with his iconic stories for almost 40 years – but now he’s telling his own story with a new prose memoir Uncanny: The Origins of Fear.
Manga distributor VIZ Media announced the release as part of their Ito-verse collection via Twitter today, promising “behind-the-scenes tales from the master himself”, as well as teasing a release date coming sometime in Fall 2024.
As the busiest man in horror manga, Uncanny will be another exciting addition to Ito’s storied career, which includes his vast volume of books, a whole host of film adaptations (including one in production from our very own FANGORIA Studios!), a recent anthology-style anime series on Netflix, an upcoming Uzumaki adaptation from Adult Swim, AND work on a selection of games, including – while not yet confirmed – a team that he was working on Bokeh Game Studio’s long-awaited Slitterhead.
Ito was also recently spotted on the Instagram of another Japanese genre legend, Hideo Kojima, with whom he was once rumored to be working with on Konami’s scrapped Silent Hills project. What Ito and Kojima have been cooking up this time is still unknown, but fingers crossed it has something to do with the recent Death Stranding 2 announcement or Kojima and Jordan Peele’s upcoming OD game (it’s worth taking this with a grain of salt though, as Kojima does just tend to hang out with the coolest people.)
While you wait to grab a copy of Uncanny: The Origins of Fear, here’s a sneak peek of the cover art, courtesy of VIZ Media!:
