Many readers consider
Osamu Tezuka, creator of ASTRO BOY, to be the "godfather of manga," and because Tezuka's bibliography exemplifies the awe-inspiring diversity that is Japanese comics, this must be true. One of his later works is a imaginative retelling of the life of Buddha, BUDDA DAI IKKAN KAPIRAVASUTU. New manga publisher
Vertical, Inc. (vertical-inc.com) plans to publish the story in eight huge volumes over the next year.
Disney films are said to have had an influence on Tezuka's work as it also had on many manga and anime creators, and that influence shows both in Tezuka's script and art. BUDDHA VOL. 1: KAPILAVASTU, 400-page tome, mixes magical realism with pure magic and the genre elements of action/adventure with straight drama.
The story is epic in scope, but Tezuka isn't afraid to liberally sprinkle his story with humor, farce, and high comedy. In this opening volume, the "Blessed One" is born, and Tezuka ties the life of the Buddha with several of his charming original characters including the slave caste Chapra and his mother Maya, the pariah Tatta, a fat general, and a tragic young monk. Like classic Disney animated features, Buddha is a riveting drama that is as serious as it is sentimental and humorous. Tezuka, obviously, was a strong writer as evident in his solid plot structure and engaging characters.
Like a lot of manga art, Tezuka's work is a mixture of extreme naturalism and the wild cartooning of the human figure. Buddha has landscapes that are museum quality pen and ink renderings right next to caricatures that recall Walt Disney, Carl Barks, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones. This is so like Disney animation, which drowns viewers in the realist and neo-classical drawings of backgrounds and sets. Disney, however, like Tezuka, uses a diverse cast of actors that including everything from humans and mythological characters to human-like animals and machines.
Buddha Vol. 1 is simply excellent storytelling and one of the best comics of the year. It is not only great manga, but also a fine graphic narrative. It is art, entertainment, storytelling, and it has a great heart that tries to teach the readers something about love and life.
GRADE A
