Story and Art by Tezuka Osamu
Adaptation by Oniki Yuji Copyright © 1986 Tezuka Productions

Osamu Tezuka's patchwork Doctor is back. BlackJack is an unlicensed Doctor whom people turn to in times of extreme crisis. Since he is unlicensed, the procedures he performs are always illegal; as a result, he tends to charge very steep fees for these operations. But that doesn't seem to stop people from beating a path to his door.
In the first story here, a high-ranking Uran Union military official brings his son to BlackJack to request treatment. However, he brings his son and his wife in the nation's still highly classified VTOL jet. As a result, they are traitors. But it's still too late for the little boy, Andrei. His condition is too far advanced and BlackJack refuses to operate.
After he turns the family away, BlackJack stays up all night trying to find a solution. He finally finds a temporary—:and highly unorthodox—one to allow the boy's hear to heal until he is well enough to undergo complete surgery.
The second story is a bit more unusual. BlackJack himself is in an automobile accident and is operated on at the local hospital. The attending surgeon recognizes BlackJack and, because of his hatred for him, threatens to "slip" with the scalpel and end BlackJack's days as a surgeon. And the woman who is nursing him back to health, also a doctor, is the first surgeon's sister. To make matters even worse, she begins to fall in love with BlackJack.
While these stories are entertaining, they are not overly complicated. Each is independent of the other. The art looks very dated, but that's not surprising since it's done by one of the pioneers of the manga field. However, his use of black and white is very striking and although the art is very simplistic, there is still a lot of power packed into the art.
Much of BlackJack is devoted to pseudo-scientific explanations of surgical procedures and medical conditions, which some readers may find less than appealing. However, this information is always essential to the plot, and it is much more enjoyable to have the author at least try to come up with a reasonable solution to the conditions rather than just saying "..and BlackJack operated and it was a success."
This particular issue doesn't divulge anything about BlackJack's background or his relationship with Pinocco, but it is a fun read. Fans of older manga stories, like GALAXY EXPRESS 999 and CHOJIN LOCKE. will feel right at home reading BLACKJACK. Newer readers may find this title a bit harder to enjoy that some of the more current offerings, but it may catch some people by surprise.

Black Jack
Published by Viz Communications
Monthly issue
40 black & white pages
Availabile now
$3.25