Reviews for Black Jack, Volume 1

The average rating for Black Jack, Volume 1 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-10-20 00:00:00 Virginia Sanchez Osamu Tezuka is not an easy manga genius to contain in a neat simple package. On one level he's the Walt Disney of Japan/Manga world, on the other he's a very dark artist who has a rather bleak view of the world that comes off sad and often shocking. The Atomic Bomb in many ways started off Tezuka's imagination and thoughts on the welfare of our planet, and via his works on Buddha as well as Hitler he also come up with beloved manga characters like Astro Boy, White Lion, and the very odd character of "Black Jack." Who is somewhat a gothic figure with his white streaked hair, and dark cape with a string tie. He's sort of a cute version of Robert Mitchum's character in "The Night of the Hunter." But Black Jack is basically a good guy who is a master surgeon that operates under his own skills as well as ignoring the hospital/doctor system that's out there. In other words he's a doctor without a medical license. He operates for those who can afford him, and usually can't go to a regular hospital -due that they may be criminals or some sort of individual that is not accepted by mainstream culture or society. Vol. 1 is a series of narratives with Black Jack as he deals with various victims of the atomic bomb, various cancers, weird growths, sex changes/gender issues, and even Frankenstein issue once in awhile. In other words Black Jack deals with the essence of life and what it means to be alive in a world of indifference. Essential reading of course.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-17 00:00:00 Donald Bouldin If House was a little more fun, if he could do stuff like full body transplants, you'd have Black Jack. I'm always game for a Tezuka book. Astro Boy might've been the first Japanese comic I read a lot of, and it was great fun, not to mention the layouts and art were groundbreaking. Also, any robot who has an ass full of machine guns is my kinda wacky. It's another book off the shelf of stuff I wanted to read and then divest myself of before moving. This one is tough. It's a really good book. I don't think I'll read it again just because there's SO MUCH left on the shelf, and this is how I got there in the first place. But it's one of those books you'd like to see go to the right reader, someone who would appreciate it. But it'll probably end up in the Little Free Library up the street, which has got to be the awesome-est LFL ever. I've been putting some great shit in there, some weird shit, and some good reads, and you should be so lucky as to live close to that Little Free Library. List me the titles in any other LFL you find, I got 'em beat.