Price: $14.95 

Age range: 14+

Few even fleeting manga fans cannot paint an image of Astro Boy in thier head. Godfather of Manga, Osamu Tezuka's iconic figure was introduced to American audiences in the early 1960s.

However, I am one of those who was more aware of Astro Boy the image than the story. This is the first Astro Boy release by Dark Horse since 2004, and the timing couldn't be better. This 423-page giant comes at a time when Tezuka is seeing a lot of releases in English, most noticibly the recent release of Black Jack.

With an introduction by Frederik L. Schodt, the translator and manga guru, and other extras this makes for a big novel-sized book that will make new readers instant fans as well as educated Astro Boy experts (you might start calling it "Mighty Atom").

The manga opens with a future history lesson hosted by none other than Osamu Tezuka himself. We then get into Astro Boy's sad creation story that is very much bittersweet Tezuka. Having a manga Tezuka introduce the stories with background information reminds at least this reader of Walt hosting "The Wonderful World of Disney". (OK, did I just date myself?)

The six well-sized stories take Astro Boy on variety of adventures, from dealing with a robot dog to travelling to the moon to fight a variety of baddies. Throughout the book, Tezuka never stops examining themes of humanity and technology.

If you are like me, and have been loving the deeply entertaining and thought-provoking Tezuka releases over the last couple years, you will be pleased to find that although Astro Boy isn't as heavy as, say MW, it is no less deep.

9.5