Coffee Table Book Helen McCarthy (foreword by Katsuhiro Otomo Abrams ComicArts (NA/UK)Oct. 1, 2009 (NA/UK)

The inside cover of The Art of Osamu Tezuka depicts the schematics of famous manga character Astro Boy, with notes pointing out each of the functions of his robotic body. It is fitting, then, that the following 260 pages of Helen McCarthy's new coffee table-style book represent a "schematic" of the life of Osamu Tezuka, easily the most influential artist in anime and manga history.

"Osamu Tezuka is not the founder of Japanese animation," reminds Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Domu) in the book's foreword, but he most certainly was the single greatest influence on its evolution. The manga artist-turned animator created countless unforgettable characters (including the titular characters of Astro Boy and Black Jack) and revolutionized the post-war animation industry. Thus, for fans looking to the past for evidence of where anime evolved from, all roads lead to Tezuka. The Art of Osamu Tezuka is at once a celebration and an analysis of this star-studded career, debunking myths about the artist's influence while emphasizing the all-important changes that he did make to Japan's anime and manga culture.

The first chapter depicts Tezuka's young life before his debut as a major comic artist, beginning (delightfully) with a photograph of the boy at only one year old. This unique window into Tezuka's early life shows fascinating insight into later works in his career, though McCarthy's assumptions regarding childhood influences on his art are certainly debatable. Most interesting of all, though, are the doodles from Tezuka's elementary school days, which include some characters (like Hyōtan-tsugi) who appear frequently in his adult works.