Adolf, Volume 1: A Tale of the Twentieth Century

mind-blowingly amazing. how come there's no bbc-like tv miniseries based on this manga? i was stunned by the way tezuka's round, disney-like, even childish drawing style fits so well with the story, counterweighing the crude madness and violence of it all. adolf has some of the best panels i've seen in any comic, ever. the layouts, the pacing... unsurprisingly, everything in adolf shouts 'masterwork'.

This is one of the best series I have read. The title refers to three Adolfs - two German boys growing up in Japan and Adolf Hitler, who is a minor character. The two boys, one the son of a German Jewish baker in Tokyo and the other the son of a German diplomat and his Japanese wife, become fast friends despite the fact that the diplomat father prohibits the friendship when he learns of it. Eventually the diplomat's son is sent back to Germany and is indoctrinated to become a Nazi, while the baker's son remains in Japan and joins a neighborhood defense force. There is another strand going through the entire series that deals with the anti-war movement in Japan. I read the first book in one sitting and immediately ordered the rest of show more them and I don't usually read graphic novels. Riveting show less

Osamu Tezuka is considered the "God of Manga" in Japan. His Adolf graphic novel series is considered to be one of his best works.

From the reading the first volume, I would have to agree. The story begins during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin where a prominent Japanese journalist, Sohei Toge, is covering the events. From there it takes off in a whirlwind of intrigue when Toge's brother is murdered by the Nazis because of what he knows. It is this information that will tie three men together, all who are named Adolf, including the leader of the Nazi Party.

Of course, when things get really interesting, the volume comes to an end. But not to fear, it is followed by Adolf: An Exile In Japan, Adolf: The Half-Aryan, Adolf: Days of Infamy, and show more Adolf: 1945 and All That Remains.

Experiments in Reading show less

Follows three people named Adolf (a half-German boy living in Japan, his Jewish best friend, and Hitler), plus some other characters and a very important set of documents.

5 volumes, by Osamu Tezuka, so right off you know it's good.

"Adolf ha sido considerada la obra de madurez de Osamu Tezuka, el padre del cómic y el dibujo animado japonés"
Jaume Vidal en El País.