It's another book off the shelf of stuff I wanted to read and then divest myself of before moving. Also, any robot who has an ass full of machine guns is my kinda wacky. 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. If House was a little more fun, if he could do stuff like full body transplants, you'd have Black Jack. This is kind of an all over the place book so I know it won't be for everyone, but weird and heart-warming is just my cup of tea so Black Jack is already one of my favorite discoveries this year. You can tell Tezuka really cared about this series, the medical illustrations are gorgeous and, despite their predictability, most of these stories are emotionally packed. Some of them with serious overtones, commenting on the traumatizing experience of radiation poisoning and raising awareness on polio disease. Every story is just uniquely weird and amusing.

Supernatural wounds, robot surgery, serial-killer chasing, a sentient tumor turned secondary character and a bunch of whimsical transplants.

The scientific knowledge he acquired during that time was essential for the creation of this series.īlack Jack is basically a collection of bizarre medical dramas, the stories are loosely based on possible(ish) medical situations with several psychedelic and absurd plot maneuvers. Before dedicating himself completely to his art Tezuka attended medical school and, unlike his unlicensed Black Jack protagonist, he was a licensed physician. I don't know what he was thinking when he decided to blend mystery, medical melodrama, body horror and a few silly gags to create Black Jack, but I'm glad he did it.

Never had the words amputation and trepanation been used so often, and so casually, in a comic book before.

Black jack read online