Synopses & Reviews
Osamu Tezuka's vaunted storytelling genius, consummate skill at visual expression, and warm humanity blossom fully in his eight-volume epic of Siddhartha's life and times. Tezuka evidences his profound grasp of the subject by contextualizing the Buddha's ideas; the emphasis is on movement, action, emotion, and conflict as the prince Siddhartha runs away from home, travels across India, and questions Hindu practices such as ascetic self-mutilation and caste oppression. Rather than recommend resignation and impassivity, Tezuka's Buddha predicates enlightenment upon recognizing the interconnectedness of life, having compassion for the suffering, and ordering one's life sensibly. Philosophical segments are threaded into interpersonal situations with ground-breaking visual dynamism by an artist who makes sure never to lose his readers attention.
Tezuka himself was a humanist rather than a Buddhist, and his magnum opus is not an attempt at propaganda. Hermann Hesse's novel or Bertolucci's film is comparable in this regard; in fact, Tezuka's approach is slightly irreverent in that it incorporates something that Western commentators often eschew, namely, humor.
Review
"Tezuka... manages to cover all manner of emotion and story with wit and pulp instincts that make these mammoth volumes page-turners." Washington Post
Review
"In handsome volumes designed by Chip Kidd, the Vertical books present Tezuka at his best." National Post
Review
"Buddha is a work of exceptional artistic beauty; Tezuka was at the top of his game here, balancing stylized character concepts against finely detailed backdrops." Bookslut
Review
"Buddha stands as the opus of Japan's greatest cartoonist, and a high watermark for the medium. Tremendously inspiring, overwhelming, breathtaking, etc. etc... I wish it could go on forever." Craig Thompson, author of Blankets
Review
"Osamu Tezuka invented a whole new grammar of comics storytelling and his place in the history of Japanese comics is about as central as Siddhartha's place in the history of Buddhism." Art Spiegelman, author of Maus
Synopsis
Osamu Tezukas vaunted storytelling genius, consummate skill at visual expression, and warm humanity blossom fully in his eight-volume epic of Siddharthas life and times. Tezuka evidences his profound grasp of the subject by contextualizing the Buddhas ideas; the emphasis is on movement, action, emotion, and conflict as the prince Siddhartha runs away from home, travels across India, and questions Hindu practices such as ascetic self-mutilation and caste oppression. Rather than recommend resignation and impassivity, Tezukas Buddha predicates enlightenment upon recognizing the interconnectedness of life, having compassion for the suffering, and ordering ones life sensibly. Philosophical segments are threaded into interpersonal situations with ground-breaking visual dynamism by an artist who makes sure never to lose his readers attention.
Tezuka himself was a humanist rather than a Buddhist, and his magnum opus is not an attempt at propaganda. Hermann Hesses novel or Bertoluccis film is comparable in this regard; in fact, Tezukas approach is slightly irreverent in that it incorporates something that Western commentators often eschew, namely, humor.
About the Author
Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) is the godfather of Japanese manga comics. A genuine intellectual, deeply familiar with Western culture from the Bible to Goethe to Hollywood, Tezuka originally intended to become a doctor and received an M.D. Had he not turned to the belittled art of manga storytelling, the medium may never have acquired its capacity for seriousness and depth. Though many have followed his example, it is still Tezuka who draws the deepest awe with his sweeping vision, deftly intertwined plots, persuasive characters, feel for the workings of power, and above all, an indefatigable commitment to human dignity and the sanctity of life.