Lupin III manga in English

The English manga story starts late and moves fast. Tokyopop licensed the original series and released all 14 volumes between December 10, 2002 and July 6, 2004, working from Chuokoron-Shinsha’s 1989 Japanese edition. The books sold respectably, several volumes made ICv2’s top-50 graphic novel lists, and then the trail narrows: Tokyopop’s edition of the second series, Lupin III: World’s Most Wanted, stopped after nine volumes (2004–2007), cancelled for low sales. Shin Lupin III has never been completed in English.

The revival is a different kind of object. After Monkey Punch’s death, Futabasha’s Masterpiece Collection curated his best stories in Japan (2019, 2021), and Seven Seas brought them west as oversized hardcovers with new translations: Greatest Heists (December 21, 2021) and Thick as Thieves (August 1, 2023), the latter gathering thirteen capers from both classic series. Reviewers at Anime News Network greeted Greatest Heists with the run’s best notices, calling it a highlight reel of the manga at its most inventive.