Black Jack

Although he is best known internationally for creating "Astro Boy," Osamu Tezuka's most popular work for adults in Japan is "Black Jack," a series of short stand-alone stories from the 1970s, documenting the renegade antics of the unconventional title doctor whose mercenary facade masks a wise, compassionate heart.

Denied a license due to his risk-taking tendencies, Black Jack is a symbol of the nail that won't be hammered down. With his distinctive shock of white hair, the doctor's unorthodox methods attract both the desperate and the wealthy, giving Tezuka the chance to explore humanity's many facets, by looking at all walks of life, from single mothers to those crossing gender boundaries. He also delves into metaphysical considerations on what money cannot buy.

Tezuka, the "god of manga," graduated with a degree in medicine from Osaka University before deciding to devote his life to comics The realistic surgery scenes Tezuka draws for his fantastical doctor in "Black Jack" and his unflinching look at society will keep readers believing he made the right career change.

As one of Tezuka's last works before his death at 60 due to stomach cancer, "Black Jack" highlights a mature artist at the height of his thematic powers.

Vertical, a longtime publisher of "Black Jack" in English, now offer the series as e-books, hoping to give a wider global audience access to Tezuka's beloved philosophizing gadfly.

Read archived reviews of Japanese classics at jtimes.jp/essential.