Because of his dislike of work (or is it editors? ), he's had few creations, but the sense of transparency which his art has, combined with the unique science-fiction sensibility which informs the worlds he creates, have earned him numerous devoted fans.
After a dojinshi stint, Tsuruta had his
professional debut in 1986, when he won a prize in the Comic Open,
sponsored by Kodansha, for his story "What a Big Wonderful
Universe It Is". Writing primarily for Kodansha's
Morning Magazine, he had his first collected volume in 1988,
"The Spirit of Wonder".
Since then he has created
numerous other works, but the quantity of his output steadily began
to decline. His intermittent serial in Afternoon Magazine, "The
Spirit of Wonder: the China Stories", has had all of five
installments since its premiere in 1989! What's really amazing,
though, is that there are fans out there who keep waiting for the
next one.
