Billy Bat

Kevin Yamagata, a Japanese-American artist, draws the comic Billy Bat for Marble Comics. His workday changes when two detectives enter his studio and take over the room to watch a neighboring building. The pair resemble Laurel and Hardy dressed in suits and trench coats from a Dick Tracy-era story. The thinner detective recognizes Billy Bat and admires Kevin’s work, but his companion says the characters look familiar and accuses Kevin of copying an old Japanese comic. As the detective tries to recall the comic he has in mind, the story shifts to Tokyo in 1949.