Gauntlet Gallery — Complete KAWS Index
Companion vs Astroboy (First Edition)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
This screenprint pairs KAWS's signature Companion figure with the silhouette of Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka's iconic manga and anime robot. KAWS layers his X-eyed, glove-handed Companion over the unmistakable Astro Boy form, collapsing his own invented mascot into a beloved piece of Japanese pop history. A 'First Edition' print in his graphic vocabulary, it reads as a flat, bold composition with KAWS's characteristic crisp outlines and limited palette. The work sits within his long practice of appropriating and reworking cartoon characters, treating mass-culture icons as raw material for a personal symbology of melancholy and play.
Collector notes: Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
KAWS built his fine-art reputation by hijacking the most recognizable figures in cartoon and advertising history, and Astro Boy is one of the most loaded of those references — a postwar symbol of Japanese optimism and technological hope. By fusing Companion with Astro Boy, KAWS connects his own brand-mascot to a global lineage of character design, underscoring how thoroughly his Companion has itself become a pop icon. The Japanese market has been central to KAWS's rise, from his early work with Bounty Hunter and OriginalFake in Tokyo, and an Astro Boy mashup speaks directly to that audience. For collectors, prints like this distill KAWS's core thesis: that mascots are a shared visual language he can remix. The 'versus' framing also nods to toy and fighting-game culture, situating the work at the intersection of street art, designer toys, and gallery prints that defines his crossover appeal.
Collector Perspective
This appeals to collectors who prize KAWS's appropriation works and the crossover between his Companion universe and recognizable cartoon characters. It is a natural fit for buyers who already own Companion prints and want a piece with an extra layer of pop-culture reference, and it pairs especially well with the companion 'versus Pikachu' print as a set. As a bold, flat graphic it hangs cleanly and reads from across a room, making it a strong anchor or accent in a contemporary collection. Buyers attracted to KAWS's Japanese-market roots and toy-culture sensibility tend to gravitate here. Condition, framing, and authentication matter for resale, as with all KAWS editions.
Historical Context
The work belongs to KAWS's mature period, after his transition from subway interventions and graffiti to designer toys and gallery editions. Astro Boy and other manga characters connect to the deep relationship KAWS has had with Japan since the late 1990s and early 2000s, when collaborations with Tokyo streetwear and toy brands cemented his status there. Appropriating Astro Boy continues the strategy he began by reworking Mickey, the Michelin Man, the Simpsons, and SpongeBob — pulling familiar mascots into his X-eyed idiom. It reflects the phase in which Companion had itself matured into a recognizable brand, allowing KAWS to stage dialogues between his own creation and the icons that inspired it, rather than simply defacing existing imagery.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned print or object
- Release date
- 2002
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Series
- Companion Series
- Medium and materials
- Medium and materials were not documented in the saved record.
- Edition details
- Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record.
- Signature and marks
- Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats KAWS's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: No per-work artist statement is recorded for this edition. Any thematic reading should be treated as interpretation of the imagery, not a documented statement of the artist's intent. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2002. It is grouped under Companion Series in the saved record.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to the release source named in the saved record. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- KAWSONE — official site — KAWS studio · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official artist site; career context, not an individual-edition record.
- KAWS — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- KAWS (Q3194367) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
Market Context
- Estimated value. The median of recorded public sale prices for this piece, matched by title and colorway. We use the median (not the average) because it resists outliers.
- Min / max sale. The lowest and highest individual recorded sale prices; the range shows dispersion, not a guaranteed band.
- Recorded comps. The number of independent comparable sales; reliability rises with sample size (1–2 sales are indicative only).
- Liquidity & sales volume. Our liquidity rating reflects sales velocity — the number of recorded comparable sales and how recent the latest sale is. More frequent and more recent sales rate as more liquid (Highly Liquid → Liquid → Moderate → Thin → Very Thin); a piece with no recorded public sales is Extremely Rare.
- Product-level estimate. This colorway has few or no recorded sales of its own, so the figure is pooled from sales across all colorways of the same product (median, with the 25th–75th percentile as the range). Indicative; specific colorways can trade above or below.
- Estimate confidence. A traffic-light read on how well the data supports the estimate: green high, yellow medium, red low / indicative.
- Data source & currency. Compiled from recorded public marketplace and auction sales of US$200 or more, in US dollars, as of the latest recorded sale shown. Coverage is not exhaustive.
- Not financial or investment advice. For collector reference only — not an appraisal, offer, or guarantee of resale value. Art is volatile and illiquid; do your own research. Use is subject to our Terms & Conditions.
FAQ
Who is the Astro Boy character referenced in this print?
Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) is Osamu Tezuka's classic manga and anime robot, a landmark of postwar Japanese pop culture that KAWS layers with his own Companion figure.
What is the Companion figure?
Companion is KAWS's signature character — a cartoon-inflected figure with X-ed-out eyes and gloved hands — that recurs across his prints, paintings, toys, and large-scale sculptures.
Is this an original screenprint?
It is presented as a limited screenprint edition in KAWS's flat graphic style. Confirm edition size, signature, and authentication documentation directly before purchase.
Why does KAWS use cartoon characters like Astro Boy?
Appropriating recognizable mascots is central to KAWS's practice; he remixes familiar icons into his own visual language, reflecting his roots in street art and designer-toy culture.
Related KAWS Works
