Zack Davisson (born August 15, 1972) is an American writer, lecturer, and translator, especially known for translating the works of Shigeru Mizuki, Leiji Matsumoto, Go Nagai, Satoshi Kon, and Gou Tanabe. He is also well known for his works on Japanese folklore and ghosts.
Zack Davisson is on faculty at NYU in the Center for Publishing, Writing, and Media.
In 2015, Davisson wrote his first book, Yurei: The Japanese Ghost. Davisson went on to translate the works of Shigeru Mizuki, a popular Japanese manga artist and historian, into English. Davisson has cited Japanese writer Lafcadio Hearn as an inspiration on his work.
Personal life Davisson was born in Anaheim, California, but grew up in Spokane, Washington, where he attended University High School. He moved to Seattle where he attended Cornish College of the Arts. He moved to Japan on the JET Programme from 2001–2008 and did an MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield. He married his wife, Miyuki, in Osaka. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
Career Davisson started his career writing for Japanese magazines like Japanzine and Kansai Time-Out. His first professional translation was Mizuki's manga series Showa: A History of Japan. He ran a website, hyakumonogatari.com, where he published translated works on manga and Japanese horror legends. He has translated several manga series into English and has written for Smithsonian and The Comics Journal. He co-scripts Demon Days and Ultimate X-Men from Marvel comics with Peach Momoko.
He has lectured on manga, folklore, and translation at colleges such as Duke University, Annapolis Naval Academy, University Ca' Foscari di Venezia, UCLA, and the University of Washington and contributed to exhibitions at the Henry Art Gallery, the Museum of International Folkart, Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Selected works Writing Yurei: The Japanese Ghost – Chin Music Press, 2014 Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan – Chin Music Press, 2017 Yokai Stories – Chin Music Press, 2017 The Art of Star Wars Visions – Dark Horse Comics, 2022 Demon Days – Marvel Comics, 2022 Edge of the Spider-verse – Marvel Comics, 2022 Demon Wars – Marvel Comics, 2023 Ultimate X-Men – Marvel Comics, 2024 Mizuki: Facing Demons (Overwatch) – Blizzard Entertainment, 2026
Translations Showa: A History of Japan – Drawn and Quarterly, 2013 Opus (manga) – Dark Horse, 2014 Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler – Drawn and Quarterly, 2014 Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt – Dark Horse Comics, 2015 Queen Emeraldas – Kodansha, 2016 Gegege no Kitaro – Drawn and Quarterly, 2016 The Black Museum (manga) – Kodansha, 2016 Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage – Seven Seas, 2017 H.P.Lovecraft's THE HOUND and Other Stories – Dark Horse Comics, 2017 Captain Harlock – Seven Seas, 2018 Devilman – Seven Seas, 2018 Cutie Honey – Seven Seas, 2018 Space Battleship Yamato – Seven Seas, 2019 Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 – Dark Horse Comics, 2019 Cat + Gamer – Dark Horse Comics, 2022 H.P. Lovecraft's THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE – Dark Horse Comics, 2025 H.P. Lovecraft's THE SHADOW OUT OF TIME – Dark Horse Comics, 2025
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