Kevin Yamagata

Kevin Yamagata in 1949 is a nisei Japanese-American comic book artist drawing the popular detective series "Billy Bat." When he learns he may have unconsciously copied the character from an image he saw while serving in occupied Japan, he returns to Japan to get permission to use Billy Bat from its original creator. Kevin's comics mostly feature anthropomorphicized animal characters, such as dogs or mice. Later on, his Billy Bat comic become a kind of prophecy, its various plotlines precisely predicting future world events. Kevin's Japanese name is Kinji Yamagata (山縣金持). He is said by others to resemble actor Ryo Ikebe in both looks and personality. He was born and raised in Orange County, California on November 26, 1923, while his parents were both originally from Niigata. (Source: Wikipedia)