No deceased manga authors have received near the attention in the English-speaking manga world as Osamu Tezuka has, especially in the last couple years. It’s funny that his more adult and obscure works have received most of the attention, and only recently have his most popular works finally been issued (or reissued after being long out-of-print). Dark Horse recently released a huge double-volume Astroboy trade, and now what may be the most anticipated manga of the year (at least for “older” readers) is finally available. Black Jack is probably Tezuka’s most popular comic ever for adults. Vertical Inc. has promised 17 volumes of Black Jack to be released every other month over the next three years. That seems like a bold commitment, until you start reading the stories. By Osamu Tezuka Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Genre: Medical Drama Age: 16+ Price: 16.95 USD The series title character is a brooding doctor who is introduced as all the best mysterious characters are: with no back story and no introduction. (Think Clint Eastwood from the spaghetti westerns of the 60s and 70s.) Quiet and brooding this unlicensed doctor is a slave to his skills on the operating room table. That alone is not enough to carry the 12 individual stories that appear in Volume 1, and…
