Known as the "Walt Disney of Japan" it is no surprise that Tezuka Osamu is still the best-known manga creator to Western fans. Current scholarship has uncovered the profound complexity and ambiguity not only of his work but of the man, the artist, and his life--dismantling his position as the god of manga. Contributors to this volume analyze Tezuka and his complicated approaches toward life and nonlife on earth, as well as his effect on the lives of other manga artists.