Black Jack, Volume 11 (Black Jack (Vertical)) [Paperback]

Osamu Tezuka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2010 | Series: Black Jack (Vertical) (Book 11)

Black Jack is a mysterious and charismatic genius surgeon who travels the world performing amazing and impossible medical feats. Through highly trained, he freelances without a license because he distains 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.

The Black Jack series is told in short stories. Volume 11 will contain 15 stories, each running approximately 20 pages in length. This eleventh volume includes the following stories:

Spasms:
Black Jack is ill. After hundreds of operations Black Jack's health and career hangs in the balance. The good doctor has come down with a condition that might force him into retirement and the medical world is now on baited breath as they wait to hear whether Black Jack will ever return to the operating table again.

The Only Means of Living: While in Paris Black Jack is witness to a horrible jet accident. A passenger jet burst aflame upon landing at Paris' Orly International Airport and the doctor is called to the scene to treat the wife of a passenger he was to meet.

The Dog Whispers: Young love meets a tragic ending, when a young woman while rushing on her way to work is struck dead by a commuter train. Her boyfriend Tadaaki is so distraught by the thought of being left alone he wishes he could only hear his darling Sayori's voice once again.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“What makes Black Jack so great, in addition to Tezuka’s artwork and whirlwind narrative velocity (you can either breeze through these volumes or linger on the details), is his bottomless bag of stories. Tezuka effortlessly integrates scores of different surgical procedures into short, sharp tales that eviscerate the codified vicissitudes (especially reticence and duty) of Japanese society with, yes, surgical precision.”  —Richard Gehr, The Village Voice

“While Astro Boy is more iconic and Phoenix is more epic in scope, Black Jack is arguably Tezuka’s best and most enjoyable work… [It] hits Tezuka’s sweet spot where his heart, his head and his sense of humor meet in perfect company.”  —About.com 

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: 312 pages
• Publisher: Vertical; 1 edition (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934287784
• ISBN-13: 978-1934287781
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #550,355 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

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another volume in a consistently good series!, May 29, 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 11 (Black Jack (Vertical)) (Paperback)

I've been a huge fan of the series thus far, making sure to collect every volume as it is released. With the latest volume hitting the shelves of my bookstore earlier this week, I knew that I'd be taking it home as soon as payday hit.

This volume collects more stories from the series, with the stories ranging from a man who wants to implant his dead girlfriend's voice into his dog (with mixed results) to a crazed dictator whom Black Jack has been ordered to keep alive. Each story in this volume is just filled with good quality stories that'll keep you reading to the end of the volume.

As always, the artwork is top notch classic Tezuka & despite it's cartoonish appearance, it manages to impart a wealth of emotions to the reader. The artwork may be off-putting to some, but I really implore potential readers to give this manga a chance. There's a good reason that this is considered to be one of the true classics of manga.

Also as always, this is a standalone volume & new readers can pick it up without missing too much of the previous storyline- although I still insist that you should start from the first few volumes. Even though you can read this without missing much of the previous stories (all of which are also self contained), this volume sort of glosses over some of the previously stated information.

I have to admit, this might be turning into my top favorite volumes in the series. This is one that fans of the series really can't miss out on getting! It's starting to get into the home stretch, with only about 6-7 more volumes to go! (If Vertical is going by the original Japanese publications, then there's about an extra volume's worth of manga besides the 17 established volumes in the series- I'm not sure if they'll be publishing it or not.)