On the occasion of Tezuka's 90th birthday, Delcourt offers in luxury editions outstanding works of this essential reference of manga. JustFocus has chosen to start by introducing you to its dark side with Barbara.
Tezuka realistic side
Osamu Tezuka is sometimes known as a Hercules of drawing with 170,000 plates and 700 titles. But it is not the number that makes his genius but the quality of his different series. Specialists often distinguish two periods in the career of the cartoonist and screenwriter – there would have been a positive period until the 70s, then darker. The life of Buddha is a positive ode for coexistence between humans but also with animals. Barbara is much darker and this corresponds to the evolution of Japan – after the joy of having survived the nuclear bomb, the mood changes with a bitterness that the leaders do not change. Published by episode in the adult magazine Big Comics in 73-74, Barbara is inspired by the Tales of Hoffmann. 
Barbara, a girl to save?
It all begins in a Tokyo station, in the middle of the cold faces of passers-by, a man whose face is not seen collects a lost girl. Barbara is an alcoholic hippie who is used to selling her body to survive. But we are far from humanitarianism. The savior is also a very complex narrator. Yosuke Mikura is a successful and respected writer, but is gradually discovered to have a sexual perversion. He is a disillusioned artist – no more political struggle is valid so all that remains is the perverse satisfaction of the senses. He confuses his fantasies with reality – for example by falling in love with a boutique mannequin. This author is an upstart of culture. We think of Marc Levy in reality and Bel ami in fiction. We follow a toxic relationship – Barbara benefits from Mikura's wealth but at what cost? He exploits it and hits it. At the end of many chapters, Barbara flees this sadist but returns for lack of money, while he is bored without her. Tezuka takes advantage of the character of Mizuka to talk about art. In several chapters, he questions the relationship between art and politics. Further on, he sees the writer as a visionary who foresees his future. We discover the work but also the worldly life of a writer. We discover the role of a publisher, the circulation and the sales techniques.
A draftsman always at the top
Tezuka composes complex but easily readable pages. Most often, the style is simple and round but sometimes boxes are copies of works, such as engravings. One can be surprised by this deeply dark tone, contrasting with the simple and even so angelic drawing of the heroine. The designer incorporates visual finds – in one part, the faces of the gossips are summed up in lips. A man with long thick black hair and a black background acts like a vampire. These surreal touches are explained because everything is seen through the eyes of the author. The drawing reflects Mizuka's delusions – buildings rounded off by the writer's drunken vision. He thinks he sees women when they are a model or a dog. Barbara, according to the boxes, looks like an innocent lost child but becomes a woman by wearing a sexy outfit. Some elements are quite explicit like a party that could have inspired Eye Wide Shut. 
With Barbara, black is black…
The main characters are far from sympathetic. Tezuka strangely composes a portrait of the writer when he is one. Barbara self-destructs in alcohol and has a vulgar attitude – she uses the comic magazine to blow out her breasts… and below. We gradually discover Barbara's equally murky past and her various encounters. Each chapter brings in unbalanced places and people – a cult, an incestuous couple, a marriage through a black mass… Mikura dives and commits murders – on an animal and then on a man by accident. Beyond that, one story per chapter, a continuous thread gradually composes a story. Initially, Mikura uses Barbara for a novel where she becomes Marie Marijuana, but she takes up more and more space. She advises him in her novels and the author can no longer do without her. She finds a way for him to avoid any public performances and thus focus on writing. Mikura falls into madness and it is the tramp who saves him from public dishonor. It seems to penetrate the author's thought bubbles. An exiled African writer reveals that Barbara is a muse. She left several years ago and since then he can no longer write. Magic is taking on a growing role. This volume is clearly nota reading for all but this hyper realistic and fantastic story by the narrative and the drawing is a masterpiece. Having read The Life of Buddha before Barbara, the reader is struck by such a contrast. It's amazing to be so naïve sometimes and so cynical elsewhere. Tezuka is both René Goscinny and George Bataille in tones while dealing with all the stereotypes of the writer.
