It requires some serious digging to unearth a concrete connection between Japan's manga tradition and the very American world of DC Comics superheroes. Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan finds such a thread by shedding light on the peculiar story of Batman's Japanese incarnation. Edited by renowned graphic artist and comic-book freak Chip Kidd, the book covers the Japanese Bat-fascination of the late '60s through Jiro Kuwata's previously untranslated comics. It also includes photos of Japanese memorabilia from the collection of Bat-enthusiast Saul Ferris. All of the book's contributors – they include photographer Geoff Spear and translator Anne Ishii – hit the Strand tonight to discuss this new piece of comic-book history.