REVIEW: Black Jack, published by Vertical, Inc. (digital)

[Vertical Inc]

REVIEW: Black Jack, published by Vertical, Inc. (digital)

satalderihannsu:

I did finally cave and buy Vertical, Inc.’s (near) perfect editions of Black Jack. I’m about halfway through the 17 volumes, and I am overwhelmed by how splendid these are. I did buy them digitally because I don’t have the $300-500 to spend to track them down. My first Kindle graphic novels!

However, I’m really pleased with how Kindle’s app works with the format. I can view a single page, two facing pages at once, or one third of a page (how I mostly read it). I will often zoom out to get a lay of the page, but Tezuka’s layouts are a lot more classic overall (duh). This means that most stories primarily are told with sequential boxes, rather than the modern preference for fractured, extreme dynamic, or no frames. The look of these editions is wonderfully crisp and clean. I have the first three volumes as paperback editions, so I can attest that the two are good mirrors of each other.

There are two best parts of these editions: that they are modeled on the most authoritative editions, edited by Tezuka himself; and they have phenomenal translations. Cultural and historical notes abound, as well as notes on context within Japanese comics and Tezuka’s own conventions. The translation assumes the reader might have a clue, maybe even two, and uses adult language (words both dirty and big) without feeling the need to reduce or retool for the English-speaking audience.

Finally reading a Tezuka manga has been a treat and a half. I’m looking forward to the remaining volumes, but wishing they would never end.

Now if I could just find a translation for Young Black Jack!