Viz Media aimed to bring Japanese comics to the American market, translated to English, in 1985. Founded by Japanese-American Seiji Horibuchi living in San Francisco, the goal of Viz was to bring exceptional titles to the states, not just every day manga.
Gunhed started life as a PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 shmup (Blazing Lazers in NA) but eventually saw life in a live-action movie, Japanese manga adaptation and American English translated comic. This is issue #2 of a three-comic series from Viz. Story and art by Kia Asamiya.
