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Premium Black Jack Merch Donates Portion of Sales to Doctors Without Borders

Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack series is selling limited-edition art prints to commemorate the creator's 75th anniversary as a manga artist. Only 350 prints will be sold, and 3% of sales will be donated to the non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders.

The drawing is of a cover of a 1977 issue of Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine. Tezuka's brushstroke, signature, and colors will also be reproduced in high detail with a technique known as Piezography. PREMICO's online shop began selling the reproductions on January 4, the same date as Osamu Tezuka's debut as a manga artist. They cost 164,780 yen (approximately US$1,513) apiece.

Tezuka's iconic "Character Great March" drawing also got a high-quality reproduction last year to commemorate Tezuka's 75th anniversary as a manga artist.

Tezuka's original Black Jack manga centers on a brilliant maverick doctor who practices without a license. Tezuka published the manga in Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine from 1973 to 1984. The official Osamu Tezuka website describes the manga:

This is a medical drama in which an unlicensed but gifted surgeon, Black Jack, is the main character. Endowed with excellent surgical technique, Black Jack always miraculously saves seriously ill patients and those on the verge of death. But he always claims an outrageous price for his surgery, which is why his presence is rejected in medical circles.

Black Jack lives quietly in a clinic out in the deserted wilderness with his assistant, Pinoko, whose life he had saved. Patients whom other doctors have given up on come to see him every today; he represents their very last hope.

The manga has inspired multiple anime adaptations, as well as spinoffs from other creators. The manga has also inspired several Japanese live-action adaptations, including a film in 1977, a series in 1981, a video in 1996, a special in 2000, and another special in 2011.

Source: Comic Natalie