are currently 12 VIZBIG editions released. Two art books for the series were released on October 23, 2006; Water containing the manga's colored art and new pieces, and containing the black and white art as well as early rough sketches. Both were published in North America by Viz on September 16, 2008. Reception As of December 2012, Vagabond had over 82 million copies in circulation worldwide. Vagabond won the Grand Prize for manga at the 4th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2000. The following is an excerpt from the speech congratulating Takehiko Inoue: "From Toyotomi to Tokugawa. Musashi Miyamoto grew up amidst the turn of two great eras. Mr. Inoue has taken the powerful Musashi who was sometimes called a 'beast' and drawn him as a vagabond. The artist brags about boldly challenging the national literary work of Eiji Yoshikawa, even so, the sense of speed that he creates is impressive. I send my applause to the artist for creating a new image of Musashi". The same year, the series won the 24th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category. Vagabond also received the Grand Prize of the 6th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002, and the North American version earned Inoue a nomination for the 2003 Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist category. Notes References Further reading External links 1998 manga Biographical comics Comics based on real people Comics set in the 16th century Cultural depictions of Miyamoto Musashi Epic anime and manga Historical anime and manga Kodansha manga Madman Entertainment manga Martial arts anime and manga Samurai in anime and manga Seinen manga Sharp Point Press titles Takehiko Inoue Viz Media manga Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (General) Winner of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Grand Prize)