The amazing Tezuka

Osamu Tezuka is specifically known in USA for his creation Astroboy which is also one of the first animes ever created.  To be completely honest, I could never get into the feel good aspect of Astroboy.  Particularly because the character designs were so cheesy retro and their personalities were in a similar tacky vein.

But herein lies the problem. Astroboy is a small blip on the Tezuka radar.  He has countless amazing works that make Astroboy pale in comparison.  It's sad that in the US he is known for this dated work when in Japan he is known as the father of modern manga (also known as the god of manga).  And it's a title he deserves.

Granted, he's no Will Eisner, who is a force that formed American comic books into a work of art, but his story telling is compelling and his style is what all of our animes and mangas of today are based off of (Big eyes, small nose, lipless mouths, etc).

The most amazing thing about him, to me, is that he was in medical school while he wrote many of his works.  That's right!  He was studying in an intensive graduate school program while making all this amazing shit for fun!  He even finished the damn degree before he began his comic career full time, but that is after years of studying and drawing professionally side by side.  Crazy!

I think that's why I find his manga series Black Jack, to be one of my favorites.  Though it's not medically accurate in many of its stories, it's about a 'rogue' doctor that goes around helping people with extreme and odd medical problems.  Tezuka's light, childish drawing style helps make the comic book digestible, as the subject matter can be fairly dark and hard to deal with, particularly if organs make you queasy.

Come to think of it, I think that's what I came to like most about Tezuka's work.  The very dark, adult content hidden behind the up-beat, simple artwork.  I feel this is what he's best known for since all ages can enjoy the same content but on different levels.

He also did an amazing series about the life of the Buddha (aptly named Buddha) following the birth, life, and death of Siddhartha Guatama.  It has a fair amount of inaccuracies if you base it upon historian research, however, it is a great introduction to Buddhist teachings as well as the historical evolution of buddhism in general.  It is also a very dark comic, with murder and other heinous acts in it, that you don't find so heavy because of his art and writing style.

So here's to you Osamu Tezuka.  I hope people take notice here in the U.S. of A. of your contribution to our culture and at least become more recognized in the comic community of today. Thank you for making so many enjoyable works that I can share randomly with others on all different levels of life.  Even if they could care less about my enthusiasm on an inane subject like comics.