Comments on: Manga Milestones 2000-2009: 10 Manga That Changed Comics #5

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:54:53 +0000

Yeah, like Jason and Daryl said, I totally flubbed that sentence. Everyone thinks Volume 4, Karma, is the best, but the inventiveness of the visual storytelling in the last half of volume 3, always spoke more to me personally… I’ll go ahead and fix it.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:37:09 +0000

For anyone looking for more information on how the publication of Phoenix in English came about, along with details on early prototype publications of Karma and the collaboration with Tezuka Production, please check out my in-depth interview from 2008 with Fred Schodt:
http://electricantzine.com/ea1-fred.html

By: Daryl Surat

Daryl Surat — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:49:43 +0000

As Jason just noted, Phoenix Volume 4 (“Karma,” the one about the sculptors set in ancient Japan) is commonly agreed upon as the best of Tezuka’s work available in English. Volume 5 (“Resurrection,” the sci-fi one about the guy whose brain is operated on) is good as well, but I’ve never really heard it frequently brought up as a contender for “the best.” I was always partial to the once again out of print Phoenix Volume 2 (“Future”) since that was the first one I ever read (and despite being Volume 2, the first Viz put out). The original edition of “Future” was in a larger format than the rest with nothing to denote it was “Volume 2″ since presumably its success or failure would determine whether the rest of Phoenix would get released. I bought it on a whim when I saw it in the local comicbook shop back when I used to bother even going to comicbook shops.

Interesting that you note Swallowing the Earth as the first outright bad Tezuka comic to get released in English. I’ve still not read beyond the foreword by super translator, Tezuka expert, and Revolver Ocelot lookalike Fred Schodt, which points out that Swallowing the Earth was originally a satire. Presumably, many of the satirical elements have since come true since publication and thus would no longer be seen as such if one were to just read the thing. With that kind of disclaimer, I’m expecting something along the lines of Network.

By: Jason Azzopardi

Jason Azzopardi — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:37:45 +0000

Hello everyone. Chris’ pal, Jason, here. It’s actually the fouth volume of PHOENIX that I think is the best thing I’ve read by him – the masterful and heartbreaking “KARMA”.

Have a great new year, gang.

– Jay

By: Jake Forbes

Jake Forbes — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:59:01 +0000

Such pretty spine art! Makes me sad I never completed my set. Maybe it’s not too late to amend that.

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:13:19 +0000

Excellent post. Picked up the first volume of Buddha last weekend… really looking forward to reading it.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:54:06 +0000

Great post, Chris! Good points all around on the importance of this title.

Also, I just have to say it, I hated Yukiko’s Spinach (both art & story).

By: Matthew Murray

Matthew Murray — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:36:46 +0000

Crime and Punishment and Princess Knight were both publisehd by Kondansha in bilingual editions in Japan weren’t they? I had a friend who had the first Princess Knight volume, and it was neat to read that. Too bad they’re out of print.

I guess there might also be singaporean english translations of some of his stuff? I know there’s some stuff in Singapore you can’t get anywhere else in English (Doraemon).

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:09:56 +0000

Darnit, knew I was forgetting one. Thanks Mr. Murray.

I know there was also that super-rare translation of Crime & Punishment too, but… flow and all. Yeah, I’ll ammend that at some point.

By: THE BEAT » Blog Archive » Kibbles ‘n’ Bits 1/6/10

THE BEAT » Blog Archive » Kibbles ‘n’ Bits 1/6/10 — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:05:48 +0000

[...] five takes on Tezuka with BUDDHA: Buddha cemented the name of Tezuka in the minds of the denizens of the North American comics [...]

By: Milestones, retrospectives, and critiques « MangaBlog

Milestones, retrospectives, and critiques « MangaBlog — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:10:14 +0000

[...] InuYasha as two of the 10 manga that changed comics? Read it and see! Then check out his column on Tezuka’s Buddha. Meanwhile, David Welsh reflects on some other manga milestones at Precocious [...]

By: Matthew Murray

Matthew Murray — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:15:48 +0000

There were also a couple of volumes of Black Jack that Viz released in the ’90s. Those were my first exposure to Tezuka.