I.L is a 350-page, mature-theme/adult graphic novel by the one and only Tezuka Osamu. Originally serialized in Big Comics from August 1969 to March 1970, it is being published here in English for the first time (!) in this handy, budget-priced softcover format.
It is composed of a series of 14 short comics (which are divided into two parts for reasons that aren't immediately obvious) of roughly equal length – each running 16 - 23 pages – all linked by the central figure of I.L, a sort of vampire/actress/robot(?) – decidedly female – produced/procured by one Count Alucard (you figure it out) and then more-or-less put in the service of failed movie director, Daisaku Imari, who has lost his connection with film audiences and/or movie producers in the wake of a shift in tastes that has arisen in the wake of the moon landing, enabling him to put his directing skills to use in novel – and perhaps more profound – ways in these magical manga meditations.
I.L is very much a work firmly rooted in its historical moment. Each story focuses on various facets of the sexual/cultural revolution of the late 1960s, featuring both wide-angle and close-up looks at a wide variety of social shifts and conflicts that emerged during this period, in a diversity of areas such as politics, relationships, family structure, power dynamics, feminism, capitalism vs communism, technology vs nature, pro-war vs. anti-war, cross dressing, lesbiansim, gender reassignment, student demonstrations, and more – all of which are approached through the lens of role playing. So, in addition to providing insight-packed entertainments, the stories also offer up a psychological snapshot of this historical moment.
And, in keeping with the advent of the sexual revolution which was blasting off at that time, there is a sexual element to each and every story, and it's clear that Tezuka let his id off the leash here (the cover blurb has "'From the start, I just let myself be completely swept away in my imagination.' Tezuka on I.L")"
From a narrative point of view, most of the stories involve some sort of Tezuka Twist™ "surprise" ending (that is often telegraphed to attentive readers). On the other hand, as is so often the case with the insanely overworked Tezuka, you can sometimes feel him making it up as he goes along, which can make for some serendipitous free-associating stream-of-consciousness moments and strange contiguities (starting literally on the first page). So: plenty of unexpected twists and turns along the way.
Evidently, Tezuka intended the title of the series to be I'll – as in I Will – but bungled typography at the outset led him to settle on I.L as the title, and to then also make it the protagonist's name.
No matter how you slice it, I.L makes for some great comics/manga reading. Enjoy!
