Issen Hage

Issen Hage is a reoccuring character in the Osamu Tezuka Star System. He usually appears as a criminal or sidekick, particularly alongside Skunk Kusai or Acetylene Lamp.

Origin
Issen Hage is one of Osamu Tezuka's earliest characters. He first appeared in Oyaji's Treasure Island in 1945, playing Hamegg's brother-in-law. Much like Hamegg, Issen was also partially modelled after Hollywood actor Peter Lorre. This influence is referenced in Tezuka's 1951 manga Mad Age of Adventure, where Issen plays a character named "Peter Lawrey".

Issen's name comes from a particular bald spot on the side of his head. He has alopecia areata, which can cause small, circular patches of hair to fall out. Issen's full name means "penny bald", a reference to the bald spot being about the size of a 1 yen coin, or a penny.

Appearance
Issen is a short, stocky human man aged somewhere in his early 40s. He is clean-cut, with short black hair featuring one round bald spot. This spot's location on his head varies throughout his roles, usually appearing on either side of his head, located above or past his ears. In his 2003 series appearance, he is always wearing a hat as if to cover the bald spot

He is not to be confused with Pilat or Jazz, although the three are visually similar.

Series
Throughout his Star System roles, Issen is most often working alongside Skunk, Hamegg, and Lamp. His most well-known role was in the Black Jack chapter "Treasure Island", where he assists Skunk in kidnapping and torturing Black Jack.

Astro Boy series
Issen Hage appears in the 2003 anime series as a space junker named Tarlin. He collects and resells robots and machinery that have been abandoned in space. Tarlin was one of the suppliers for Hamegg's robot battle arena, until Hamegg accused Tarlin of knowingly selling him junk and stopped buying from him. When Professor Ochanomizu and Astro look for Hamegg in a Mars diner, Tarlin is there, and immediately sells out Hamegg's plans. Later, while Hamegg is orchestrating the live Blue Knight battle, Tarlin is hosting a betting pool in the diner.

Tarlin is also the first person to find Atlas floating in dead space. He is searching through space wreckage in his specialized personal ship when he comes across Atlas. Tarlin immediately informs Acetylene Lamp, implying he is now another one of Lamp's employees.

Episode appearances

 * Secret of the Blue Knight
 * Atlas Strikes Back