Dragon Ball Z #1-10

Dragon Ball Z #1-10

Originally released in 1988

Written by Akira Toriyama

Art by Akira Toriyama

It was announced this morning that Akira Toriyama, the writer and artist behind Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, passed away.  So far, I've stuck with Marvel and DC comics, but I felt like I needed to post some kind of response - Toriyama's work, particularly with Dragon Ball, meant a great deal to me, as I'm not sure if I would have made friends in elementary school without it, and it's brought me countless hours of joy in the years since thanks to Dragon Ball itself and games like Dragon Quest or Chrono Trigger, where he was responsible for the character designs.  It's hard to put into words how much Akira Toriyama meant to and inspired several generations of people around the world, but he's one of the greatest manga authors of all time (at least, in my opinion), and he will be missed.

I might throw a Shonen Jump manga in every now and then to mix it up (maybe make it a regular thing, like "Shonen Jump Sundays"), but I felt like I had to start with Dragon Ball.  The series was split into two different titles for the English release, Dragon Ball (the more comedic first 200 chapters or so, which gradually take a more serious action-focused turn as it goes on) and Dragon Ball Z (where Goku, the main character, is an adult and a father).  Despite this being almost 200 chapters into a series, Dragon Ball Z was the starting point for a lot of fans, and tends to be the most popular and well-known part of the franchise. (it's worth noting that manga panels are read right-to-left, as opposed to American comics which are read left-to-right - it takes a bit to get used to)

Toriyama's stories are straightforward ones, and by his own admission, he tended to make them up as he went along, to the point where even he wasn't sure at times who was going to win a given fight.  However, despite (or maybe because of) being a comedy author first and foremost, his art flows smoothly from one panel to the next, almost instructing the reader where to put their eyes in some cases.

Take this page - when reading right to left, we start with Goku in the foreground, who is looking up at Raditz (an alien invader who, as we find out soon after this, is Goku's brother).  Once our eyes are on Raditz, the next panel has him flying downwards, drawing our eyes down to the point where he lands.  It's not like this in every page, but when it works, it causes everything to flow together so smoothly.

Reading this weekly back in the eighties must have been a shock - throughout Dragon Ball, we'd seen Goku (a naïve kid who looks no more than ten, even as he gets older) go through various trials and tribulations to get stronger, making friends and foes along the way.  After years of trying (and a time-skip that ages him into an adult), he finally wins the Strongest Under the Heavens tournament, something that he's wanted to do since the very early days of the manga, and gets married in the process. (though this is due to a misunderstanding - Goku thinks that marriage is a kind of food)  Then, in the span of about a volume, Toriyama drops bombshell after bombshell on the reader.  Goku has a kid!  Goku has a brother!  Goku's an alien (a Saiyan, specifically)!  Goku's brother is evil!  Goku teams up with Piccolo! (the previous villain of the series and self-described "Demon King")

Goku teaming up with Piccolo continues a series-long trend of Goku and company redeeming former villains.  What starts out as Piccolo simply wanting to survive (he can't take over the world if the Saiyans destroy the world or kill him) turns into him becoming an unlikely ally to the heroes.  Another trend that this arc kickstarts is the idea of Gohan surpassing Goku, something which comes to a head much further down the line. (though the series ultimately goes back and forth on it - unlike his father, who loves fighting, Gohan prefers his studies and only fights when he absolutely has to)

It becomes clear that, despite being the two strongest people on Earth (not counting Gohan when he gets mad), Goku and Piccolo can barely keep up with Raditz, and it takes a desperate act to put the Saiyan warrior down for good.  He leaves the survivors with parting words that set up the next part of the storyline - now that he's been beaten, his two fellow surviving Saiyans will come to Earth to investigate, and both of them are more powerful than he is!  It's here that we're introduced to two other Saiyans, including one character who's very familiar to anyone who's even heard of Dragon Ball: Nappa!  Oh, and Vegeta's here too.

These chapters covered the first volume of Dragon Ball Z that was released in English, but they just flew by. (the fact that I was so familiar with them might have helped - between the anime, manga, and various video game adaptations, these events are well-trodden ground for me)  Re-reading this reminded me how much fun this series is - it's not the deepest series, but there's a simple joy in watching or reading about Goku and his friends that continues to this day.