Phoenix Vol. 9

Strange Beings/Life is one of the final volumes in Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix saga, a series spanning over 3000 years of history, alternating stories set in the past and the future. The two stories in this book at a glance seem united only by the inclusion of the being known as the Phoenix, but a closer investigation proves otherwise. Strange Beings/Life shows Tezuka not only creating an uncanny prediction of the 21st century, but a larger statement on the nature of humanity in general, one that connects both of these stories together quite neatly. Some things, be it in our distant past or near future, apparently never change.