The great manga artist Fujio Akatsuka sits casually, a glass of Chivas Regal in one hand, for all the world as if he were drinking at an izakaya with friends rather than sitting in his hospital room in Tokyo.

"I'm happy that my manga will be read in English by foreigners," says Akatsuka, referring to the bilingual edition of his popular comic book "Tensai Bakabon (The Genius Bakabon)."

Published in July by Kodansha International, the book is the first in a planned series of three volumes. The English translation of the original Japanese dialogue in most cases succeeds admirably in conveying the nuances of Akatsuka's wacky brand of humor, although the meaning behind some of the plays on words might be hard for English-speaking readers to grasp. However, the unique and likeable characters and the loopy situations in which Akatsuka places them have a universal appeal.