Barefoot Gen is the powerful, tragic, autobiographical story of the bombing of Hiroshima and its aftermath, seen through the eyes of the artist as a young boy growing up in Japan. The author survived the atomic bomb, and bears witness to this tragic event. Nakazawa's honest portrayal of emotions and experiences speaks to children and adults everywhere. Barefoot Gen serves as a reminder of the suffering war brings to innocent people, and as a unique documentation of an especially horrible source of suffering, the atomic bomb. Cartoonist Keiji Nakazawa was six years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on his hometown of Hiroshima. Shielded by a stone wall, he miraculously survived the blast. In this illustrated memoir, Nakazawa recounts his wartime childhood, his experience surviving the atomic bomb, and how the effects reverberated throughout his life. Compelled to tell his story in the memory of his family, Nakazawa turned to comics, penning his epic graphic novel series, Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima.

This is part one of a new, five-part edition. The new edition features all new lettering throughout as well as four pages in colour for the first time. This edition collects the first two volumes of the series: Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima and Barefoot Gen: The Day After.