In the Astro Boy story “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” available in the third volume of Dark Horse’s edition of the Astro Boy manga, a power-hungry sultan creates a robot named Pluto and gives him instructions to destroy seven other powerful robots that could challenge Pluto’s claim to the title of King of the Robots. Pluto dutifully carries out his orders but bears no personal … [Read more...] about Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka 1 by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka: A+
Astro Boy 3 by Osamu Tezuka: A-
From the back cover: A timeless comics and animation classic, Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy is still going strong half a century after its creation, winning over readers of all ages with its combination of action, wit, and humanity. In the novel-length "The Greatest Robot on Earth," a wealthy sultan creates a giant robot to become the ruler of all other robots on Earth. But in order … [Read more...] about Astro Boy 3 by Osamu Tezuka: A-
Astro Boy 2 by Osamu Tezuka: B
Book description: As Mickey Mouse is to American animation, so to anime and manga is Astro Boy, the quintessential creation of Osama Tezuka, one of the world’s revered giants of comics and animation. In this volume, Astro Boy comes to the aid of Gravia’s robot president to prevent his overthrow at the hands of a secret anti-robot society; a robot magician is cloned as a setup … [Read more...] about Astro Boy 2 by Osamu Tezuka: B
Astro Boy 1 by Osamu Tezuka: B
From the back cover: Created by the late Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy was the first manga series to be adapted to animation and became a worldwide phenomenon, making Astro Boy the Mickey Mouse of anime—a jet-powered, super-strong, evil-robot-bashing, alien-invasion-smashing Mickey Mouse, that is! Exciting, whimsical, and touching, Astro Boy hearkens back to the classic era of comics … [Read more...] about Astro Boy 1 by Osamu Tezuka: B
The Quest for the Missing Girl by Jiro Taniguchi: A-
When asked whether I'd like to contribute a guest post to Comics Should Be Good, I said, "I'd be delighted!" In fact, I'm actually going to be doing an occasional feature for them called Blue Moon Reviews, so please check it out! Here's my first review for them! Thanks again to Danielle Leigh and Brian Cronin for the opportunity. … [Read more...] about The Quest for the Missing Girl by Jiro Taniguchi: A-