jekutree's review against another edition
4.0
I wish more of Tatsumi’s book length Manga were in English, this was great and it’s obvious he excels at longer form storytelling than just his shorts.
andymoon's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the rough art with lots of sound effects, but the noir-style murder mystery plot is too simplistic to consider this work amazing enough.
robin_dh's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
A reprint of an early manga. The art is not the same as modern books but it is fine. The story is a bit to simple, a bit too obvious. Basically it has a lot of threat of violence. And running in the snow. It didn't do a whole lot for me but it was definitely not bad.
al_capwned's review against another edition
4.0
Although there is nothing special about this story, I found it to be quite an interesting and fun read. It must have been really something during its time of publishing.
rachel_b_824's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mountsleepyhead's review
3.0
How FUN. "Black Blizzard" is mentioned by Tatsumi in his memoir "A Drifting Life," and getting to read one of his stories from that era is a blast. Sure, the story itself is merely a pulpy, hard boiled mystery story but seeing the way Tatsumi's work was being influenced by the cinema of the time is fantastic.
aughadan's review
4.0
Better than I expected. The artwork is rougher than Tatsumi's later work, to be sure, but it was fine. The story kept a good, steady pace and it was a fun little yarn. Yes, not what I'd recommend to someone starting out with Tatsumi, but worth a read down the road.
rosseroo's review
3.0
This gorgeously produced reprint of a 1956 pulp story by Japanese legend Tatsumi is a diverting enough 20-minute read, but doesn't contain a whole lot of depth. You learn why at the end of the book, where a brief interview with the author reveals that he wrote and illustrated it in three weeks when he was 21. Pretty impressive, but as a result the art and story definitely feel rushed. The story is a kind of hoary one that Tatsumi says was inspired by a story he read in a pulp fiction magazine. You know you're in for something minor when the author admits to being embarrassed by its republication some 50 years later.
The story revolves around two criminals, who are being transported to jail in a train that derails, allowing them to escape. One is a young pianist convicted of murder, but uncertain of whether he actually did it, the other is an older man, convicted of murder for the second or third time and headed for a life sentence. Unfortunately, they are handcuffed together and there's a blizzard, so they have to survive the elements while evading the police dragnet. Looming over them both is the issue of whether they will be able to eventually split up without someone losing a hand.
It seems the pianist became involved with a girl from a circus, and encouraged her to pursue her musical dreams. However, her father discouraged her, and when he turns up dead, the pianist is arrested and convicted. The art telegraphs the groaner of a plot twist that is revealed at the end, and the whole thing ends up feeling kind of cheap. So, although the atmospheric elements of the storm are fairly evocative and cinematic, the story itself comes across as third-rate film noir. Due to the rapid production schedule, there's not much subtlety in the artwork. On the whole, if you're interested in graphic fiction, it's probably worth the very brief time it takes to read, but don't go out of your way to track it down.
The story revolves around two criminals, who are being transported to jail in a train that derails, allowing them to escape. One is a young pianist convicted of murder, but uncertain of whether he actually did it, the other is an older man, convicted of murder for the second or third time and headed for a life sentence. Unfortunately, they are handcuffed together and there's a blizzard, so they have to survive the elements while evading the police dragnet. Looming over them both is the issue of whether they will be able to eventually split up without someone losing a hand.
It seems the pianist became involved with a girl from a circus, and encouraged her to pursue her musical dreams. However, her father discouraged her, and when he turns up dead, the pianist is arrested and convicted. The art telegraphs the groaner of a plot twist that is revealed at the end, and the whole thing ends up feeling kind of cheap. So, although the atmospheric elements of the storm are fairly evocative and cinematic, the story itself comes across as third-rate film noir. Due to the rapid production schedule, there's not much subtlety in the artwork. On the whole, if you're interested in graphic fiction, it's probably worth the very brief time it takes to read, but don't go out of your way to track it down.
xterminal's review
4.0
Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Black Blizzard (Drawn and Quarterly, 2010)
Primitive, though solid, early (1956) tale from Tatsumi, who in the late sixties and early seventies would become one of Japan's most influential manga artists (think of him as a Japanese version of Charles Bukowski, both in subject matter and current influence, and you will have a good idea of Tatsumi's place in Japanese society). It's not nearly as good as the work he would do a decade or so later—it's quite derivative of any number of criminals-on-the-run movies, and feels much more blocky than his later work, which can be found in translation in such collections as Abandon the Old in Tokyo—but it's an interesting book in that there are glimpses of what was to come in Tatsumi's style even then. Start with some of the recent re-releases of his work in anthology form before coming to this one. *** ½
Primitive, though solid, early (1956) tale from Tatsumi, who in the late sixties and early seventies would become one of Japan's most influential manga artists (think of him as a Japanese version of Charles Bukowski, both in subject matter and current influence, and you will have a good idea of Tatsumi's place in Japanese society). It's not nearly as good as the work he would do a decade or so later—it's quite derivative of any number of criminals-on-the-run movies, and feels much more blocky than his later work, which can be found in translation in such collections as Abandon the Old in Tokyo—but it's an interesting book in that there are glimpses of what was to come in Tatsumi's style even then. Start with some of the recent re-releases of his work in anthology form before coming to this one. *** ½