Black Jack, Volume 10 (Black Jack (Vertical)) [Paperback]

Osamu Tezuka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2010 | Series: Black Jack (Vertical) (Book 10)

Black Jack is a mysterious and charismatic genius surgeon who travels the world performing amazing and impossible medical feats.  Though highly trained, he freelances without a license because he disdains the medical establishment. This leads to run-ins with the authorities and unscrupulous, sometimes criminal, individuals.  Because Black Jack keeps his true motives secret, his ethics are perceived as questionable and he is considered a selfish, uncaring devil my the medical industry. 

The Black Jack series is told in short stories.  Volume 10 will contain 14 stories, each running approximately 20 pages in length.  This tenth volume includes the following stories:

The Most Beautiful Woman in the World-- Given Black Jack`s profession it is not unusual for the unlicensed surgeon to get requests for house calls at least opportune times of night.  While his prices are negotiable he is always on-call, ready to provide services twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week.  But on this particular night, it is not Black Jack who is called for his services.  This time the person on the phone is calling for someone named Kuroo, and instead of calling in a panic, this caller wants to have some chit-chat before detailing where Kuroo`s services will be needed. 

Blood Relations--After his last tirp to Macau Black Jack was not looking forward to returning to the Portugese colony.  Unfortunately he receives another call from the penninsula, but this time from his step-mother. 


"Tezuka spins an entertaining, slightly preposterous yarn, serving up more plot twists, car chases, and gender-bending costume changes than Dressed to Kill and The Manchurian Candidate combined." --PopCultureShock

"You'll stare at the page, eyes popping and muttering, 'I cannot believe I just read that.' But you did, and it worked, and you turn the page." --Comic World News

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Osamu Tezuka was born on November 3, 1928, in Osaka. He grew up in an open-minded family exposed to comics and Walt Disney. As a boy he also had a love for insects, which he would later as a grown-up incorporate into pen name. Having developed an intense understanding of the preciousness of life from his wartime experience, Osamu Tezuka aimed to become a physician and later earned his degree in medicine, but ultimately chose the profession he loved best: manga artist and animated film writer.

Tezuka's manga and animated films had a tremendous impact on the shaping of the psychology of Japan's postwar youth. His work changed the concept of Japanese comics, transforming it into an art form and incorporating a variety of new styles in creating the "story cartoon." Osamu Tezuka lived out his entire life tirelessly pursuing his efforts, passing away at the age of 60 on February 8, 1989.

In all, Tezuka produced more than 150,000 pages of graphic storytelling before his death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Vertical; 1 edition (March 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934287741
• ISBN-13: 978-1934287743
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #593,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another fantastic volume of Black Jack!, April 26, 2010

By 

ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" (Whereever I go, here I am.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Black Jack, Volume 10 (Black Jack (Vertical)) (Paperback)

I have to say, I've loved just about every volume of this series so far. Sure, there's been some stories that I haven't liked as much as others & some volumes I prefer more, but overall this series has been fantastic. I can't believe that it took so long for a company to put this series back out again.

This volume is definitely one that shows us a lot of insight into Black Jack's character. We see him reunited with the father who left Black Jack & his mother behind in order to marry a mistress. We see one of his earliest cases concerning an elderly builder. We also get to see a case of a rather strange rich man who wanted Black Jack to implant 3 billion dollars worth of diamonds inside of his body.

I have to say, this is one of my favorite volumes of the series. Like other volumes, I can see where some of the medical data was false, but the strong storytelling manages to pull off these errors. The glimpses into Black Jack's background is fascinating, giving a lot of explanation for why he ended up the way that he did. If you've been faithfully following the series so far, you'll be richly rewarded with this volume.

Again, this is a volume that you can read without having read the previous volumes. Of course... if you get & read the previous volumes it makes the story that much better!