Hiroji Tani

He is a Japanese mangaka and illustrator. He grew up near the United States military bases around Yokohama and was exposed to American comics and pulp magazines at an early age. He was heavily influenced by the work of Hannes Bok cover illustrator for Weird Tales and other scifi pulps. He debuted as a manga artist in Garo in 1970 with his work Ryuusei. His famous works include Bara to Kenjuu and Kaiketsu Shinkirou. His artwork can be characterized by an attenuated even apparitional quality. Fantasy themes and aristocratic European settings are typical in his works. His work is a departure from what was then the Japanese alternative manga mainstream of reworked folklore ghost stories war memories psychedelic reveries and bohemian romances.