Pluto

Believe it or not, the little boy on the banner is none else than Astro, the little robot.

Pluto is Naoki Urasawa's last work, Urasawa being the acclaimed author of Monster (not read yet) and 20th Century Boys (master piece). The story is ordinary: a policeman is inquiring on several homicides with no visible link between the victims but of course, as the story goes on, we get to discover its ins and outs.

Classical story story then but it nevertheless stands apart from the rest for the universe in which it takes place. Indeed, the inquiry is setting itself in a future time where human beings and robots coexist. Robots are various, more or less advanced, from the food processor to the police robot (like Gesicht, the main character) obeying to Asimov's laws.

A universe which reminds us the one of Tezuka's Astro Boy and, as a matter of fact, it is that very same universe. With the authorization of the author's children, Urasawa placed his plot in Tezuka's universe in order to develop a story from the master, but from another point of view; which explains then the presence of an Urasawa version of Astro as a secondary character for the story. Being one of the seven most powerful robots on Earth makes Astro one of the enigmatic killer's targets.

As usual the draw is clear and worked, and the storytelling (Urasawa's great force) is once again perfectly mastered.

The 8 volumes have been translated in several language and can be found in English. I invite you to check the other translations if you need one. I know that for now only the 4 first ones have been translated in French.

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