Just recently, Naoki Urasawa (manga author of 20th Century Boys, Pluto, and Monster) has released a comic that he created with another writer, Hokusei Katsushika. The title of the series, Master Keaton, is about a former military man now turned insurance officer/archaeologist/ lecturer. It's similar to Indian Jones, except rather than the story being about a reckless American, it's about an eccentric Japanese/English man with a knack for stealing random items, missing his lectures, and traveling everywhere from Ancient Roman ruins, Greece, and other dangerous places.
While not my favorite work by Urasawa, it's interesting seeing how the main character, Keaton, manages to get himself out of terrifying conditions (from being tracked by an assassin, to be left out in the desert to die). It's an escapism to me, while also being knowledgable. In fact, I learned a whole lot about how to survive in the desert through this book. Part of me wonders how much of it is real, but knowing Urasawa, he's bound to have done his research.
And I think that comics like this--that combine both a great story and true facts--should be made more aware. Not shrugged off because it's some kind of comic.
No comments:
Post a Comment