Q: When you say 'modernize,' what kind of changes did you feel like you had to make to the Cyborg 009 story to make it more accessible to contemporary Western readers?

F. J. DeSanto: I think it was more visual than anything else. To be honest, we haven't really deviated too much from the core essence of the characters. They're still the same exact characters as before. The beauty of Ishinomori's creation is that he was so ahead of his time!

He understood the world, the different cultures in the world, and the essence of teamwork - those are the cornerstones of this property.

To sound somewhat technically geeky, Ishimori Productions is so protective of the estate and his body of work, they provided us with Cyborg 009 encyclopedias that outline everything that ever happened in the manga and the anime.

Q: Wow, really?

F. J. DeSanto: These are huge binders that both Brad and I would have in front of us. We'd sit there, and read them together. The whole foundation of the project came from having this kind of access to the original manga and this encyclopedia, and finding the best elements of this story.

The story is still about nine random people who have been kidnapped by the Black Ghost. They've been turned into cyborgs, they escape, and they turn the tables on their captors. We fleshed out the characters a little bit, especially Joe (Shimamura, a.k.a. 009, the lead character of the series). We gave him a little more of an emotional stake in it.

The way I try to think of it is like Batman Begins, which was not necessary straight from the comics, but is an amalgam of different things that are great about the comics. This is a little more loyal to the original Ishinomori story, though. I don't want to spoil it, but if you're a big Ishinomori fan, this story has some really sweet Easter eggs for you.

Q: How cool! So is this planned as a single volume, or will this be the first volume of an ongoing series?

F. J. DeSanto: It's going to be a 100-page hardcover graphic novel, and then we'll have some historical material about Ishinomori, and about Cyborg 009 in the book as well. This is a self-contained graphic novel with the hope of our being able to do more.

We're taking this very seriously! This isn't just some cash grab, let's put this out there and make a movie kind of thing. I want this book to have a life of its own that Ishinomori fans can appreciate, and new fans can discover Cyborg 009, and use it as their entry point to the world of Ishinomori.

This is part of a larger plan, because I LOVE this stuff! It's like when I was 10, 12 years old and I discovered the original manga. I'm hoping some 10-12 year old kid finds this new book, and then says, 'Wow, I've got to find all this original stuff!' We're trying to make it so it's accessible, and in English for these fans.

We're trying to be really loyal to the original story. Everything that we're doing has gone through Ishimori Productions. The visuals, the script, the character designs; everything you're seeing has been approved by them. They live and breathe this stuff, and now, so do we!

IS THE WORLD READY FOR A NEW CYBORG 009?

Q: That's very exciting stuff. I grew up in Hawaii, so I was also exposed to Kikaida, Kamen Rider, Go Rangers as part of my childhood too. They're still hugely popular with fans in Hawaii, even years after these shows were regularly shown on TV. (NOTE: Don't believe me? Check out the Generation Kikaida website, a fansite built and maintained by hardcore fans from Hawaii.) Ishinomori's work is also very dear to me, which is why I was very excited to hear about this project.

So from the sounds of what you're describing, this is a completely independent interpretation of this story that is not a retelling of 009 Re:Cyborg, the animated feature film directed by Kenji Kamiyama that is scheduled for release in Japan in Fall 2012.

F. J. DeSanto: : Right. This has no connection to that at all.

Q: So I guess my question is, given that you're not going off a connection to Kamiyama's film, why now? Why put out this version of Cyborg 009 for Western comics readers now?

F. J. DeSanto: I guess the timing is right. I think the world loves these kinds of characters. In these uncertain times, the paranoia of the Cold War exists now.

The beauty of the property is that these characters, they're not exactly heroic people. They are people who have had horrible things done to them. But instead of being angst-y or depressed about it like The X-Men, which I love by the way, don't get me wrong! (laughs) (The characters in Cyborg 009) don't necessarily agree with each other and they don't come from the same place, but they all have the same goal. They're able to work together because of that. I think there's a message here that has resonated since the inception of Ishinomori's original story.

Even now people react to it as an iconic story, so that's what I'm hoping we'll be doing here. None of that has changed - who these people are, and what their motivations are - that's still the same as the original. The Black Ghost is still relevant today as it was 40 years ago. That's why now I think the audience is ready for it; I think the world has caught up with Ishinomori, a little bit.

Q: I don't know if you've been following this, but Digital Manga has been using Kickstarter to fund publication of some, uh, riskier manga titles by Osamu Tezuka. Whenever DMP asks fans, which other classic manga should we try to license, fund and publish via Kickstarter, Ishinomori's work comes up over and over again. So you're right — there's definitely interest in Ishinomori's work out there.

So that said, how's it going with the live action Cyborg 009 movie?

F. J. DeSanto: We're still in the very, very early stages. We're trying to build awareness of the property. Doing the movie will be like the graphic novel — it has to be the right situation for the property, so we don't run into a Dragon Ball Z problem, you know what I mean?

Q: (laughs) Yes, I do!

F. J. DeSanto: Everyone who works on these properties has to understand this, or at least be educated on this.

Since this project has been announced, a lot of Ishinomori fans have come out of the woodwork, so this has been very exciting. For a long time, I thought I was the only person who knew about this property here, but it turns out there are legions of fans! So we feel a real responsibility to them. When we really get into the movie - it's very embryonic right now - it has to be of that quality, it has to adhere to that. I'd rather not make it than make a crap movie!

It's easy to say that now, because it's very early in the process, but this is one that I'm willing to fight tooth and nail for!

Q: That sounds awesome! Anything else you'd like to pass on to readers to encourage them to pick up Cyborg 009 when it comes out in 2013?

F. J. DeSanto: I appreciate everyone's support! I hope everyone keeps an open mind about this - we're determined to stay loyal to Ishinomori's vision, reach his legions of existing fans, and touch a new generation of fans too.

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Look for the Cyborg 009 graphic novel by F.J. DeSanto, Bradley Cramp and Marcus To in 2013, when it will be released as a hardcover print edition, as well as available as a digital edition.

To learn more about Archaia's edition of Cyborg 009, visit Archaia.com.

Read the original Cyborg 009 saga in English, online now at ComiXology.

To discover more about the world of Shotaro Ishinomori, visit the official Ishimori Productions website at Ishimoripro.com.