Copy Listing

CopiesReviews

Number	Call Number	Branch	Status	Volume
1	GN F Tezuka Osamu	KL	In at KL (Kathryn Linnemann)	v.1
2	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	Out: Due Jun 4 2013	v.1
3	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	In at SP (Spencer Road)	v.6
4	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	In at SP (Spencer Road)	v.5
5	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	In at SP (Spencer Road)	v.7
6	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	In at SP (Spencer Road)	v.8
7	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	In at SP (Spencer Road)	v.4
8	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	In at SP (Spencer Road)	v.2
9	YAGN F Tezuka Osamu	SP	In at SP (Spencer Road)	v.3

BookPage Reviews 2003 November

What is manga?

Within the realm of graphic novels, manga is its own vast universe. The term generally refers to Japanese animation in book form, as opposed to anime, the style's video incarnation. Manga books are traditionally read from right to left; that can be awkward to a Western reader, so most English-language editions have been adapted by printing mirror images of each page in a left-to-right format. But, because this can distort the artwork and the flow of the story, several publishers recently have begun producing English translations of manga titles in the traditional, right-to-left format. Warning signs on the back pages ("You're reading in the wrong direction!") help newbies navigate the books.

Viz and TOKYOPOP are two of the more prominent publishers of traditional manga in the U.S.

Viz, whose Shonen Jump imprint calls itself the world's most popular manga, has several new titles appearing this fall. The most appealing is Shaman King ($7.95, 205 pages, ISBN 1569319022), in which the traditional manga hero—a cute, tiny, spiky-haired, huge-eyed warrior kid with supernatural powers—battles ghosts and settles scores in the afterlife, watched by a constantly terrified apprentice/friend.

TOKYOPOP's upcoming World of Hartz ($9.99, 160 pages, ISBN 1591824109) promises to be huge with the teenage crowd, blending manga-style art with a story that centers on the world of Internet gaming, a sure bet to corner the young geek market.

TOKYOPOP has also published its first annual The Rising Stars of Manga ($9.99, 250 pages, ISBN 1591822246), a collection drawn from hundreds of entries in a 2002 contest to find the best of American manga. The book shows an impressive range of styles, tones and subject matter; it's a great starting point for checking out up-and-coming artists and getting a feel for the current scene.

Certain to be big news in the graphic novel world is Osamu Tezuka's eight-volume Buddha series. Volume one, Buddha: Kapilavastu, has just been released with a cover designed by well-known graphic artist Chip Kidd. Tezuka, who died in 1989, had a massive influence on Japanese manga. His re-creation of the life of Siddhartha is at once sweet, funny and tragic, with childlike artwork that nevertheless expresses suffering and injustice.

ForeWord Reviews 2004 January

While Westerners watched Disney cartoons, the author watched too and created his own. The godfather of Japanese manga and anime (comics and animation), originally trained as a medical doctor, went on to shape the Japanese animation industry as few others could. Readers of manga already know Tezuka. If they havent yet discovered his rendering of the story of Buddha, originally published in Japan in 1987, now is the time to explore this fivevolume edition. The original artwork has been produced as a mirrorimage, says a note on the copyright page, in order to conform with the English language. Japanese comics, of course, are read back to front. Tezuka has created two characters, the young boys Tatta, a pariah, and Chapra, a slave, who introduce the reader to the caste system and the harshness of life for those at its bottom. Chapra, delivering some fabric, is set upon by Tatta, who steals the goods. Chapra returns emptyhanded to his master, and is whipped and told that if he fails to recover the fabric within three days, his mother will be sold. Chapra fights Tatta and his gang; outnumbered, he loses. But when he tells Tatta about his mother, the pariah decides to free her, and he exchanges consciousness with a tiger. The tiger attacks the slave procession and drags Chapra s mother to freedom. Tatta becomes himself again, and tells Chapra that he is able to get inside animals minds because, as a pariah, he has been regarded as less than human: I bet you have to hit rock bottom and start wondering if you arent just a beast after all. The charm of the cleanly drawn pictures is just one of the wonders of this book. The skill evident in every drawing, the emotions visible in every characterfrom animal to human and the smooth progression of the story mark the hand of a master. Although Tezuka was heavily influenced by Disney, his work remained fresh and original, and his love for and respect of nature and animals is evident throughout. The three characters stay together, later assisted by a Brahmin monk, and they experience miraculous happenings and acts of selflessness, accompanied by death, destruction, and war. They find themselves challenged at every turn. The monk learns a lot from the two boys, as the child Siddhartha is born nearby. It is a grand beginning to a grand story; readers will be eager to see what comes next. Copyright 2004 ForeWord Reviews.

LJ Reviews 2004 January #1

This excellent book begins an eight-volume hardcover presentation of one of manga master Tezuka's mature works: an epic historical fiction GN based on the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. In this volume, Tezuka weaves the story of the Buddha's portentous birth with the stories of the slave Chapra, rising in the world but separated from his loving mother, and the pariah Tattva (even lower in the Indian caste system than a slave), who has the power to possess the bodies of animals. Any reader expecting a dry biography is in for a surprise: the story is full of action and laced with Tezuka's trademark goofy humor. Tezuka shares nuggets of Buddhist philosophy while also showing a more humanist compassion for the suffering and the downtrodden. Tezuka's figures are cartoony in the style familiar from Astro Boy, but he shows his range as an artist with the book's many realistic and detailed landscapes. There's a good deal of nudity here, all in non-titillating contexts. Appropriate for older teens but probably of more interest to adults; recommended for all collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

PW Reviews 2004 January #1

Tezuka, the master of Japanese comics, mixes his own characters with history as deftly as he transfers the most profound, complex emotions onto extremely cartoony characters, and his work defies easy categorization. In Buddha, originally serialized in the 1970s and one of his last works, he lavishly retells the life of Siddhartha, who isn't even born until page 268. Instead, Tezuka introduces Chapra, a slave who attempts to escape his fate by posing as the son of a general; Tatta, a crazed wild child pariah who communes with animals; Chapra's slave mother, who stands by him no matter what; and Naradatta, a monk attempting to discover the meaning of strange portents of the Buddha's birth. Throughout the book, the characters engage in fresh and unexpected adventures, escapes and reverses, as they play out Tezuka's philosophical concern with overcoming fate and the uselessness of violence. Despite episodes of extreme brutality and broad humor, the core of the story revolves around various set pieces, as when Tatta sacrifices himself to a snake to save Naradatta and Chapra's mom. After a moment of intense emotion, the scene is upended by the arrival of a bandit who mocks their attempts at keeping their karmic slates clean. "Why were you all fussing over some stupid trade? Why not just kill the snake and eat it?" The answer unfolds over succeeding volumes. Heavily influenced by Walt Disney, Tezuka's often cute characters may take some getting used to, but his storytelling is strong and clean. Appearing in handsome packages designed by Chip Kidd, this is a stunning achievement. (Oct. 2003) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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