鳥山明○作劇場 [Akira Toriyama Marusaku Gekijō] #1

This 1983 Jump Comics volume showcases 鳥山明's delightful range in a single, densely packed cover: a scrappy boy in a backwards cap clutches a chunky sci-fi weapon, flanked by a sharp-eyed green-haired woman armed and ready, a small blonde girl in a white dress perched above the title, a snarling blue dragon, a pink-haired kid, a mustachioed man in tinted shades, and a cheerful little robot — all crammed together with unmistakable energy and wit. The sheer variety of characters hints at the anthology of short stories within, each one clearly its own distinct world. 鳥山明's linework is as confident and inventive here as fans of his early-'80s output would expect, making this first volume a wonderfully lively sampler of his storytelling imagination.