>>150326340
Almost certainly, granted a lot of this early anime/manga influence was more surface level and more visuals/ proportions than page composition. Even if he didn't directly cite influences,so many other indies were inspired by anime (and literally anime, not as much manga-- funny that even in Japan there would be a coming wave of artists inspired by anime more than manga).
You could probably find some manga if you were in the scene at least. Any place in a major city with a significant Japanese population would be importing books, especially on the west coast. And considering Comic con was in SD, a lot of them could get into circulation that way. I wouldn't be surprised if Wagner looked at(if not read) some Tezuka since there were already some books and a handful of translations ofMighty Atom/Astro Boy in the early 80s. Or course there could just be the influence of Astro Boy being on US TV too.