07 May / Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka 001 by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka, co-authored by Takashi Nagasaki, supervised by Macoto Tezka
Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of manga, introduced his beloved Tetsuwan Atom – better known in the West as Astro Boy – way back in 1951. The adorable robot boy became a worldwide phenomenon, thanks to his animated incarnation that began in 1963. Since then, somewhere, somehow, Astro Boy is always playing on some screen. Urasawa, himself a renowned contemporary manga artist, re-envisions Astro Boy with his own dark twists.
The introductory volume begins in a brave new world where humans and robots peacefully co-exist. That is, until someone – or something – starts brutally murdering the world’s most powerful robots. When Mont Blanc, beloved robot protector of the forests, is butchered, Europol superdetective Gesicht (which means “face” in German – as in can’t tell a being by just the face?) is called to investigate. Gesicht himself is a robot who appears completely human (he has a wife, plans long-needed vacations, gets tired), but his left hand turns into a hypno-gas gun on command! As the murder count builds, he learns from imprisoned, partially disassembled Brau 1589 that seven robots are on the target list … and according to the evil junk heap, nothing is going to save them from utter destruction.
Astro Boy himself, by the way, doesn’t make his debut until the final pages. For now, this is Gesicht’s story. And it’s some amazing heart-racing fun, even with a few moments of gore thrown in. Can’t wait for the next volumes, that’s for sure. Keep ’em coming!
Tidbit: Can anyone tell me why Tezuka’s oldest son, Macoto Tezka, who “supervises” this latest rendition of his father’s creation, dropped the ‘u’ in his family name? And interestingly enough, his given name – depending on the character(s) – means “truth,” although the word is usually romanized with a ‘k,’ makoto. Something definitely going on with names here!
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2009 (United States)
PLUTO © Naoki Urasawa/Studio Nuts, Takashi Nagasaki, and Tezuka Productions
Original Japanese edition published by Shogakukan Inc.
Based on Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka