Starred Review Europol Detective Gesicht begins to suspect a terrible relationship between several ritualistic murders. Soon he is on a desperate quest to find an unknown force that is systematically trying to wipe out the seven most powerful robots in the world cluding Gesicht himself. In a tribute to Osamu Tezuka's (the "God of Manga") classic Astro Boy, Urasawa takes one of Tezuka's story arcs and reimagines it as a noir detective story. Along the way, he brings in themes of racism, war, and what it means to be human. The story subtly ramps up the danger, occasionally veering off into side stories to flesh out the world of Detective Gesicht and the other robots. Nothing is overdone, and readers will discover new elements to the story with each reading. Urasawa's darkly realistic, gritty style of art imbues each character and setting with a weighty vitality, and his careful pacing and deft use of panels show that he is truly a master of his craft. It's no wonder that Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz has called Urasawa a "national treasure."

Any pairing of two masterminds can elicit murmurs of approval—or of apprehension. But all readers can rest assured that in this case, the pairing of seinen manga suspense master Urasawa and legendary cartoonist Tezuka is a very, very good thing. In <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Pluto, Urasawa takes Tezuka's Pinocchio-inspired <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Astroboy and reimagines it as a futuristic thriller. Touching on many of the themes in Tezuka's story of a robot boy—the overlap of man and machine, the capacity for artificial intelligence to feel emotion, the true meaning of humanity—<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Pluto offers adult graphic novel readers (and fans of Urasawa's <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Monster) classic, all-ages Tezuka themes in a mature package. Volume one opens with the death (or murder) of the beloved robot hero, Mont Blanc. Merging current-day life with futuristic projections, Urasawa and longtime editor/producer Nagasaki develop a world where robots live among humans, sometimes living as humans—marrying, having children, taking jobs. Hardworking Detective Gesicht is one of those robots. As he slowly unravels the mystery of the death of Mont Blanc—and subsequent, related murders—he uncovers the disturbing news that he will be next. The creators subtly and seamlessly set up Gesicht's world, while digging deep to reveal the strange dichotomy of life and living among artificial beings. For anyone who doesn't believe that there's any good mature manga in the U.S., <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Pluto is required reading. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)