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Tormenta nera
Nel 1956, un giovane Yoshihiro Tatsumi, mangaka che lavorava per le riviste di fumetti a noleggio pubblicate nella Osaka della ricostruzione, decide che è tempo di raccontare storie più adulte. Appena ventunenne, consegna all'editore Tormenta nera, un thriller psicologico incredibilmente moderno e maturo per i suoi tempi. Quasi sessant'anni dopo, BAO Publishing lo offre al pubblico italiano in un'edizione moderna, ma che sa di antico: bordi delle pagine gialli, stampa dei sedicesimi a colori alternati, primo sedicesimo a colori. In appendice, un'intervista con il maestro Tatsumi.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
2 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Yoshihiro Tatsumi
49 books301 followersYoshihiro Tatsumi (辰巳 ヨシヒロ Tatsumi Yoshihiro, June 10, 1935 in Tennōji-ku, Osaka) was a Japanese manga artist who was widely credited with starting the gekiga style of alternative comics in Japan, having allegedly coined the term in 1957.
His work has been translated into many languages, and Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly have embarked on a project to publish an annual compendium of his works focusing each on the highlights of one year of his work (beginning with 1969), edited by American cartoonist Adrian Tomine. This is one event in a seemingly coincidental rise to worldwide popularity that Tomine relates to in his introduction to the first volume of the aforementioned series. Tatsumi received the Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 1972. In 2009, he was awarded the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for his autobiography, A Drifting Life. The same work garnered him multiple Eisner awards (Best Reality-Based Work and Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia) in 2010 and the regards sur le monde award in Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2012.
A full-length animated feature on the life and short stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi was released in 2011. The film, Tatsumi, is directed by Eric Khoo.
Source: Wikipedia
His work has been translated into many languages, and Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly have embarked on a project to publish an annual compendium of his works focusing each on the highlights of one year of his work (beginning with 1969), edited by American cartoonist Adrian Tomine. This is one event in a seemingly coincidental rise to worldwide popularity that Tomine relates to in his introduction to the first volume of the aforementioned series. Tatsumi received the Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 1972. In 2009, he was awarded the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for his autobiography, A Drifting Life. The same work garnered him multiple Eisner awards (Best Reality-Based Work and Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia) in 2010 and the regards sur le monde award in Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2012.
A full-length animated feature on the life and short stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi was released in 2011. The film, Tatsumi, is directed by Eric Khoo.
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
August 24, 2024
Yoshihiro Tatsumi's first work shows us the beginning of a true genius of manga. This should really be made into a movie: two convicts handcuffed together escape after a train crashes (very much like The Fugitive TV series). My friends who are into manga tell me it is a classic and is considered by many to be the first gekiga (manga for adults).
May 17, 2018
Heard the name Yoshihiro Tatsumi from 'Comics: Global History' and could finish this small graphic novel in just one day. Tatsumi is considered as one of the pioneers of Manga and Black Blizzard was his first work, originally published in 1956 when he was only 21 ! considering his age and time when it came out, this is a gem and stands the test of time. Noir-like and cinematic, the fast paced story and illustration are simplistic but engaging at the same time.
January 13, 2024
Not a big fan of the mirrored panels on manga translations, but I'm still glad Adrian Tomine brought this book to Drawn & Quartely's attention. Black Blizzard is a short and intense reading. Tatsumi would later on departure from this melodramatic style to embrace a more grounded and realistic approach, nonetheless Black Blizzard is a thrilling exercise in noir story-telling. Its dynamic pacing and simple, but effective visuals are charming even in its most predictable moments.
November 30, 2017
After reading the happy ending there's a photo of a young Tatsumi, drawing his manga very intently. The perfect way to end this title.
If you've never read gekiga before, this is the best place to start!
If you've never read gekiga before, this is the best place to start!
August 21, 2010
Early Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Interesting work at this stage, but eventually by the 1960's he was the Fritz Lang of the Manga world. Essential title to own for those who are obsessed - but this is by no means his masterpiece. The later works are and quite disturbing.
March 10, 2020
3.5 Stars
Quiet predictable from the starting, but with some twists, a good fast small read. Art work is something different from other mangas I have read earlier.
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Quiet predictable from the starting, but with some twists, a good fast small read. Art work is something different from other mangas I have read earlier.
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January 15, 2023
Lots of fun! Tatsumi's work later on was better, but this is a well-written little noir story. Interesting to see him forming his artist DNA, as breezy as his later work and full of the same nihilistic view of post-war Japan.
September 19, 2011
Two men arrested for different crimes are being transported across country by a train, handcuffed to each other. A rock slide crashes boulders onto the tracks causing the train to derail onto its side and the two men take this chance to make their escape. Will they make it?
This is a short comic Tatsumi wrote and drew in 1956 at the age of 21. You can see the storytelling and drawing aren't up to the kind you see in "A Drifting Life" and "The Push Man" but it's still a well told tale. The pace is very fast and it feels very cinematic with lots of panels without dialogue, the characters always moving onward.
It's a noirish Hitchcockian-type story with a murder mystery and a love story at it's heart. A great comic and a fascinating glimpse into the kind of work such a master of the medium was producing at such a young age. Well done Drawn & Quarterly for putting out a great, lost book - found again!
This is a short comic Tatsumi wrote and drew in 1956 at the age of 21. You can see the storytelling and drawing aren't up to the kind you see in "A Drifting Life" and "The Push Man" but it's still a well told tale. The pace is very fast and it feels very cinematic with lots of panels without dialogue, the characters always moving onward.
It's a noirish Hitchcockian-type story with a murder mystery and a love story at it's heart. A great comic and a fascinating glimpse into the kind of work such a master of the medium was producing at such a young age. Well done Drawn & Quarterly for putting out a great, lost book - found again!
February 9, 2011
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
October 28, 2017
The story is uninteresting and severely predictable. There's a "twist ending" but it's so yawwwnn-inducing it's not even worth discussing.
So then, why the 4 stars? Two reasons, this is an old text. Things were different back then. This was written during a time when people would actually go to bookstores and rent books (rather than buy them). To be successful and to sustain yourself, you had to write (what essentially, in that time, was deemed) commercial literature. If your books didn't sell (or were not rented) you were out of a job. For this reason, I understand the not wanting to take too many risks with a story that might alienate your target audience. Here is the second reason: all of this, the inking, the layout, the lettering (basically, stuff that these days generally takes a team of 4-10 people) Tatsumi did all by himself. And he did this in 20 days! Think about this for a moment. I know a few novellas that took their authors years to write! And this one-man operation created an entire comic, in under a month! Unbelievable. That's why, 4 stars. Also, I hear his later stuff is oh so good. So for that reason too, four stars!
So then, why the 4 stars? Two reasons, this is an old text. Things were different back then. This was written during a time when people would actually go to bookstores and rent books (rather than buy them). To be successful and to sustain yourself, you had to write (what essentially, in that time, was deemed) commercial literature. If your books didn't sell (or were not rented) you were out of a job. For this reason, I understand the not wanting to take too many risks with a story that might alienate your target audience. Here is the second reason: all of this, the inking, the layout, the lettering (basically, stuff that these days generally takes a team of 4-10 people) Tatsumi did all by himself. And he did this in 20 days! Think about this for a moment. I know a few novellas that took their authors years to write! And this one-man operation created an entire comic, in under a month! Unbelievable. That's why, 4 stars. Also, I hear his later stuff is oh so good. So for that reason too, four stars!
October 8, 2021
This was such a fun time capsule back to 1956. He may have only been 21 but Tatsumi was already a formidable storyteller!
It’s more simplistic a style than what we see from him in other D&Q collections but it’s to be expected, he drew the 126 pages in 20 days! And it still looks great!!
While I had figured out where the story was going midway through, I was still enchanted throughout. It was nice to see the godfather of alternative manga who would go on to find success mirroring post-war Japan’s bleakness with a more hopeful and kind-hearted offering.
Lastly, while this is old (it’s even older than my dad!), it read very well. Better than 50s-60s and most 70s western comics. Manga, like Euro books never required walls of text for exposition, the visual storytelling was too good to require that.
It’s more simplistic a style than what we see from him in other D&Q collections but it’s to be expected, he drew the 126 pages in 20 days! And it still looks great!!
While I had figured out where the story was going midway through, I was still enchanted throughout. It was nice to see the godfather of alternative manga who would go on to find success mirroring post-war Japan’s bleakness with a more hopeful and kind-hearted offering.
Lastly, while this is old (it’s even older than my dad!), it read very well. Better than 50s-60s and most 70s western comics. Manga, like Euro books never required walls of text for exposition, the visual storytelling was too good to require that.
May 19, 2021
An early work from Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Not just early in his career, but early in the history of manga.
Two prisoners, handcuffed to each other, escape from a crashed train. The protagonist, Susumu, has confessed to killing a man, even though he can't believe it himself. He tells the man he's with, a career crminal, his story. It has the elements of a love story, though love is never mentioned, and then one act of drunken pique.
The book is dated, but not painfully so. It's more like a simple, short novel, with a story that seems familiar.
Two prisoners, handcuffed to each other, escape from a crashed train. The protagonist, Susumu, has confessed to killing a man, even though he can't believe it himself. He tells the man he's with, a career crminal, his story. It has the elements of a love story, though love is never mentioned, and then one act of drunken pique.
The book is dated, but not painfully so. It's more like a simple, short novel, with a story that seems familiar.
December 24, 2025
a little too melodramatic for my taste but the beginning panels and the fleeing into the mountain scene was really nice
November 7, 2011
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.
April 17, 2010
Even at 144-pages, Black Blizzard doesn't have the emotional wallop of Tatsumi's later short stories. But it's a tribute to his emerging talent that he could tell a tangled story of murder, love, and secret identities in such a straightforward manner. The artwork, which may at first seem crude (it isn't), actually suits the narrative nicely. All in all, this is an ambitious work by a talented young artist, and a rare piece of Japanese cartooning history.
April 6, 2015
1956 noirish early (21 yrs old!) Tatsumi classic manga, now available in English.. Created, he says, in maybe 20 hours and you can see that in the art...but cool to have read, with an intro and interview with the author by Adrian Tomine....
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March 25, 2023its good considering the time it was made
April 10, 2019
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.
January 26, 2019
3.5 Stars!
As a medium graphic novels date a lot quicker and easier than conventional prose does, and it seems almost unfair to compare or apply the same standards as graphic artists enjoy today, bearing in mind that this was written back in 1956, so it is very much a product of its time, with all of the dated baggage that comes along with that.
But even though this is more than 60 years old, there is still plenty of evidence of Tatsumi’s talents, the man who would go onto write the epic “A Drifting Life”. Looking at some of the other better known graphic artists working around the world at the time, Herge in Europe, Kirby, Eisner and Lee in The States, Tatsumi more than holds his own with any of them.
This is a clever little story, with a deep twist which you don’t see coming at all, the art work is spare yet effective and maybe a little rough around the edges, but overall this illustrates the man’s talents nicely.
March 13, 2019
Tatsumi wrote 'Black Blizzard' when he was 21. That gave me a pit in my stomach akin to the day I found out how young....Mozart was his entire career. This book is a Twilight zone, Strangers on a Train, tied up with a ribbon quick but deep thriller with a moral and a twist ending. It's gripping, easy to follow and thrilling. The main conflict is a man, framed for a murder, escapes a train to prison handcuffed to a true murderer and the two men have to decide WHOSE hand to saw off to ensure both of their freedom (so they do not get caught, handcuffed together). The murderer is a gambler, a card counter and wants both of his hands and the framed man is a pianist and, needless to say, is desperate to keep both of his. I will not spoil the ending for you (and there is more to the story) - Read it to find out.
June 28, 2021
For Manga, my experience with older works has been limited to Osamu Tezuka, so it was interesting to read this book from 1956 by Yoshihiro Tatsumi.
In the supplemental material, Tatsumi mentions that he produced the entire work in just 20 days and it shows. The art feels very basic and inconsistent, but the overall layout is fine and easy to follow.
The story is a very Film Noir plot, but it doesn't go as bleak as other hardboiled crime stories do.
I can't really recommend the book except for someone interested in expanding their knowledge of 1950s manga.
In the supplemental material, Tatsumi mentions that he produced the entire work in just 20 days and it shows. The art feels very basic and inconsistent, but the overall layout is fine and easy to follow.
The story is a very Film Noir plot, but it doesn't go as bleak as other hardboiled crime stories do.
I can't really recommend the book except for someone interested in expanding their knowledge of 1950s manga.
November 17, 2022
It's a simple story, but the intense visuals make it a striking and exciting read. This Manga is ofted cited as the beginning of the gekiga movement in the late 50's in Japan, though other stories would come to embody its ethos much better. There is apparently more to the story of its creation than legend (primarily maintained until more recently by Tatsumi). This excellent article by Ryan Holmberg in Comics Journal fleshes it out fantastically: https://www.tcj.com/tatsumi-yoshihiro...
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November 11, 2023The third book I've read by Tatsumi. All of his books are very quick readable comics. He knew how to capture action and really understood how comics worked. How many words to put in a panel to keep someone reading, when to fill the space and when to let it be sparse. This was a good noir-ish story. Two criminals escape a train wreck and are handcuffed together. They must decide whose hand they are going to cut off. Partially told in flashbacks. I won't say more. It's good.
October 15, 2017
The concepts are great but I think I was--perhaps mistakenly--expecting the dialogue to be a bit more sophisticated? Still, this was a significant manga for the time and it led to more complex and subtle storytelling in the late 50s and early 60s. The art isn't wonderful, Tatsumi got better as he got older certainly, but it's clear enough what's happening and who the characters are.
September 7, 2021
A very early and somewhat lesser work by Tatsumi who would go on to make some much bleaker work in the Gekiga style that he established. This crime-thriller has a pretty basic premise with a few fun twists but while the style is charming, it's feels more dated than the later works. But for work that was first published 65 years ago, it still holds up quite well.
September 23, 2022
Gekiga türünun yaratıcısı kabul edilen Yoshihiro Tatsumi'nin 1956'da çıkan ve türün ilk örneklerinden kabul edilen mangası kısa ve güzel bir hikaye anlatıyor.Çizimleri biraz aceleye gelmiş kendisi de 1 ayda çizdiğini ifade ediyor zaten fakat ona rağmen çok etkileyici.Hele ki Monte Kristo Kontu'nu seviyorsanız.
December 8, 2022
I love how fast paced the story is. There's not a wasted panel with Tatsumi's efficient cartooning, and that really was my favorite thing about this. The story isn't anything groundbreaking, but Tatsumi's captivating storytelling is on full display and he really makes this work so well. This works as a great introduction to one of the greatest gekiga creators.
January 11, 2025
2.5/5
Black Blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi is probably the first Seinen manga ever drawn. Pretty slow read and it kinda feels weird how it's just one continuous story, instead of being split up into chapters. Still a pretty interesting read, as it feels like I was reading the beginning of Seinen.
Black Blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi is probably the first Seinen manga ever drawn. Pretty slow read and it kinda feels weird how it's just one continuous story, instead of being split up into chapters. Still a pretty interesting read, as it feels like I was reading the beginning of Seinen.
December 13, 2017
A great, fast-paced thriller! A very quick and enjoyable read. Even if you don't usually look for something like this in a manga, give it a try! There's romance, secrets and lies, convicts escaping a train crash into a wild storm, the whole nine yards!
December 7, 2019
bagaimana aku sampai membaca ini.. aku tak tahu.. tapi siapapun yang suka karya Yoshihiro Tatsumi, ini merupakan his early work.. in his 21st.. kenapa kamu harus membacanya jika kamu bisa membacanya? I don't think read this book is a choice.. Just read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews