In the novel-length "The Greatest Robot on Earth," a wealthy sultan creates a giant robot to become the ruler of all other robots on Earth. But in order for that to happen, he must defeat the seven most powerful robots in the world, including Astro Boy, who must have his horsepower raised from 100,000 to 1,000,000 to face the challenge! And his sister, Uran, also files in to lend a helping hand!
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From Publishers Weekly
For those unfamiliar with Tezuka, Japan's manga master, the first English translation of the original Astro Boy series will be a revelation, both for its inventive charm and for its surprising sophistication. In "The Greatest Robot on Earth," the novel-length first story of this third volume in the series, the eponymous hero is one of seven robots being targeted by a crazy sultan intent on declaring his own robot, Pluto, the greatest in the world. Pluto dispatches his competitors with ease, but Astro Boy is a robot of a different order. He's the size and shape of a little boy, with spirit and spunk to match, and also has searchlight eyes, jet rockets in his feet and an atomic engine for a heart. This is a pre-digital, 1950s Cold War vision of modernity. Astro Boy must open his chest when he wants to check the time, and the threat of an arms race haunts the story, but Tezuka's generous characterizations give this story a timeless relevance. These robots might disintegrate into piles of screws and bolts, but like humans, they're capable of pride, affection and even a kind of love. Operating out of a steadfast loyalty, they are undone by the greed of the humans who created them. The clean, bold lines of Tezuka's remarkably efficient artwork complement his dynamic storytelling, proving the artist equally adept at capturing nuances in expressions and the explosive action of fight sequences. Entertaining and beautifully executed, this, along with the other pocket-sized editions in the series, is destined to become a classic.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Osamu Tezuka (1928-89) is the godfather of Japanese manga comics. He originally intended to become a doctor and earned his degree before turning to what was then a medium for children. His many early masterpieces include the series known in the U.S. as Astro Boy. With his sweeping vision, deftly interwined plots, feel for the workings of power, and indefatigable commitment to human dignity, Tezuka elevated manga to an art form. The later Tezuka, who authored Buddha, often had in mind the mature readership that manga gained in the sixties and that had only grown ever since. The Kurosawa of Japanese pop culture, Osamu Tezuka is a twentieth century classic.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The children's classic that inspired a modern masterpiece,
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This review is from: Astro Boy (Volume 3) (Paperback)
Volume 3 of Astro Boy is special for a couple of reasons.
First, as Tezuka tells us himself in the introduction, the novel-length story "The Greatest Robot on Earth" that comprises most of this volume is one of his most popular Astro Boy stories. It's a children's comics classic about the world's seven strongest robots, and like all Tezuka works has a number of themes and messages buried beneath the surface. It's excellent reading for kids, Tezuka fans, and adults interested in the comics medium in general. Second, "The Greatest Robot on Earth" inspired a recent manga called Pluto, which has been running in Japan since 2003, won numerous awards and is drawing comparisons to such graphic novel greats as Alan Moore's Watchmen. Pluto is by Naoki Urasawa, famous for his long, intelligent and realistic mystery and sci-fi thrillers Monster and 20th Century Boys. Viz is scheduled to start publishing Pluto in English in February 2009. Having read most of Pluto myself, I can say that it is a marvel of modern manga storytelling that re-imagines "The Greatest Robot on Earth" and makes it darker, more adult, and more complex. It's fascinating to read this volume and Pluto together to see how Urasawa took inspiration from Tezuka's adventure story and expanded on its characters and universe (Pluto has run 50-odd chapters as of mid-2008). If you only ever buy one volume of Astro Boy, make it this one.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astro Boy's Greatest Battle,
This review is from: Astro Boy (Volume 3) (Paperback)
"Astro Boy (Volume 3)" reprints one of the most popular stories in the Astro Boy saga, that of his struggles against the mighty Pluto, a super-robot designed to duel and destroy Earth's seven most powerful robots. Astro Boy, or course, is number seven on the list.
Pluto has long been depicted as Astro Boy's Arch Enemy, and any action shots of Astro Boy are likely to be seen in battle with this mighty horned robot. One by one, Pluto tackles and destroys the greatest robots from several countries, such as Mont Blanc from France, Hercules from Greece, as well as champions from Australia, Germany and Scotland. In order to challenge Pluto, Astro Boy has his power increased to 1 million horsepower. Will it be enough? As well as a good story, "Astro Boy (Volume 3)" is a glimpse into Tezuka Osamu's soul. Unable to make Pluto completely evil, he redeems the murderous robot with a sense of honor and responsibility, as well as a desire for the friendship of Astro Boy's sister, Uran. As with all of Tezuka's stories, there is more going on under the surface, as the struggle to build a more and more powerful robot becomes a metaphor for the nuclear arms race of the 1950s Cold War. Also included in this volume is a short story, "Mad Machine," where an evil scientist creates a device that makes all machines, from clocks to Astro Boy, go berserk. He uses the machine to extort 2 billion yen from the robots of the world. Of course, such a scheme could never work with Astro Boy around!
4.0 out of 5 stars
The inspiration for 'Pluto' is here,
By Stan FREDO (BORDEAUX, Aquitaine, France) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Astro Boy (Volume 3) (Paperback)
In this volume, you will find two stories. The first, 'The Greatest Robot On Earth', takes up most of the book and forms the basis for Naoki Urasawa's 'Pluto' (you have to start here, if you don't already know of this masterpiece Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka, Vol. 1). In the 'Greatest', a mad dictator helped by a mad scentist builds Pluto, what he thinks will be the 'Greatest Robot On Earth'. Pluto has to kill 7 robots that could pretend to the title of 'Greatest Robot On Earth'. Will Astro Boy, who is among the 7 others robots, survive the challenge and if yes, at what a price? The second story also deals with science gone mad: someone has built a device to drive all machines crazy. How will Astro Boy, himself a machine, manage to put everything right? Tezuka's Astro Boy is considered a masterpiece and laid the foundations for mangas as we now know them. If you have but a fleating interest in comics, do not miss this volume (and Urasawa's 'Pluto').
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