Black Jack is an unlicensed surgeon, some say the world's best. But he doesn't have a license because he'd rather not have to deal with the bureacracy of hospitals, and also so they won't have something to hold over his head... the revocation of such a license.
Here are 14 new cases for Black Jack, gathered into volume form. In "False Image", Black Jack attends a reunion of his old schoolmates under his real name, Kuro'o Hazama. But their favorite teacher isn't at the reunion, and everyone really wants to see him again. He treated them as people and made learning fun, but left the school after breaking into the Principal's safe, some say to expose the Principal's dirty dealings. It will be up to Black Jack to find the teacher and convince him to meet the students whose lives he changed.
In "The Scream", there is a high-school girl whose voice is so beautiful, everyone loves it. But when she develops a vocal polyp, Black Jack operates. But can he keep her from using her voice once again while she heals, or will she undo all his careful work?
In "Drifter in a Ghost Town", Black Jack is stranded in a town with a Drifter who is dying of a septic arm wound. But the Drifter doesn't want to be saved. Can Black Jack convince him to live and get well?
In "Pinoko Love Story", Pinoko asks Black Jack for help writing love letters. He's convinced it is to a boy in her school. But when the boy falls deathly ill, Black Jack is the only one who can save him.
In "The Sewer Way", Black Jack is called on to save the Leader of a Gang who tried to blow up a building where a rival gang hung out. But he was trapped under beams too heavy to move in the sewers where he was planting the bomb. Can He convince the gang to get the Police to save their leader's life, or will they cut and run?
"The Sea Smells of Romance" brings a seaman to Black Jack's Door. He wants a tattoo removed so that he can propose to the woman he loves, Black Jack's old love, Kisaragi! Will Black Jack agree to the operation?
In "Tetsu of the Yamanote Line", an old pickpocket who works on the Yamanote train line steals a great sum of money from a gangster, but is found out and his fingers sliced off by the gang. Black Jack must re-attatch the fingers, and the man who wants him to do so is a police inspector, who wants to nab the thief for theft!
In "Titles", Black Jack is asked by a visiting Prince to show him his operating skills. The Japanese minsters set it up, but when Black Jack shows up, the operating surgeon expects him to assist only. When Black Jack storms out, will the Prince ever get to see him operate?
"Lost and Found" finds a father who is more than usually absent minded raising money for his wife's operation with Black Jack. But when he loses the check on the train, will there ever be any way for Black Jack to save her life?
In "Burned Doll" a Yakuza man and his son are injured in an explosion. Black Jack proposes to use the man's skin to save his son's life, but the man's Yakuza enemies don't want either of them to live, and aren't above threatening Black Jack to get him to stop operating!
In "The Heart of a Giant", there is a young man who only wants to raise Fish, but his father wants to sell him to a Sumo stable. The problem is that the man is suffering from Gigantism, and his heart won't withstand the rigors of Sumo Wrestling. Can Black Jack make the father see, or will the father's fascination with money make it all end in tragedy?
In "Gas", Pinoko takes a pill she thinks is cold medicine, but which is actually a deadly poison. Can Black Jack save her in time?
A man wants a prominent physician to save his daughter's life in "From Afar", but he's poor and the surgeon doesn't think saving her is worth it. But when a rich foreigner's daughter comes down with the same ailment, the surgeon makes plans to operate and save her, knowing he is the only one who can do it and he'll be famous. But Black Jack plans to teach the arrogant surgeon a lesson by operating on the poor man's child at the same time the surgeon does his operation.
"Thieving Dog", the last story in the book, begins when Pinoko brings home an injured dog who seems to like to steal things. The question is, is there a reason behind his thefts?
Osamu Tezuka definitely had a sense of humor, and it's very much on display in this particular collection of stories. Black Jack and other characters in the story often break the fourth wall to comment, such as "You have to find an answer soon, there's only eight pages left in this story!", or by basing characters in the story on caricatures of fellow manga artists, but the stories remain true to the heart, teaching and forcing both Black Jack and himself to see beyond their preconceptions.
Black Jack remains an interesting character. He's unlicensed, but only because he wants to be, and he's not above lying to or tricking his patients in order to get them to fight for their health or esteem what he's done for them. In part, I think that's why he charges so highly. He wants his patients to feel that what they got is valuable, not something they can just shake off and forget.
It's a very unusual attitude, and an unusual book, not to mention a singular hero. Black Jack isn't perfect, or even always right, but he's utterly fascinating to read about, and I enjoy these stories very much. Highly recommended.
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