Inspired by the great Osamu Tezuka’s characters, the second volume of Team Phoenix was more intriguing to me than the first volume. It ramps up on the action, adventure, and world building. The characters were also much clearer and easier to relate to, partly because we’ve already gotten to know them in the first volume and their motivations have become a bit clearer. This volume does start strangely, but it was actually intriguing in a way. As things get going, we can see the team starting to work together as a group.

The setting’s fleshed out more and there’s more elements like robotic and organic parasites, sentient energy, and much more! There’s also more nuance to some of the motives and the story!

The artwork has stepped up from volume 1, with some full page spreads impressing me throughout, especially the last few pages that had a HUGE twist! Now I await the next volume to see what is ahead for our group!

It's an interesting second volume, but didn't give me all the awesome vibes I got from the first one.
Somehow, even if I couldn't see the twist of this volume, I didn't got excited as I read it (and it's a good twist). I'll read the third volume because my curiosity will kill me if I don't.

Special Thanks To UDON Entertainment and NetGalley for the ARC.

When we left our heroes in the last volume, Sapphire and her Space Pirates boarded a mysterious space vessel, but unbeknownst to them, the vessel was overrun with a mysterious parasitic infection. As a panic breaks out, it is up to cyber-surgeon Black Jack to stop this infection and save the crew with his unmatched scalpel skills. Can the heroes of Team Phoenix pull together a strategy to rescue the so-called Patient Alpha from the space citadel?

If you were looking for a Sci-Fi Space Mystery filled with drama and suspense, then look no further, Team Phoenix Volume Two has answered the call! Black Jack arrives on the mysterious spaceship, Project Phoenix, which has been taken over by a techno-organic parasite. Aside from using the works of Osamu Tezuka uniquely, Team Phoenix’s Second Volume is a step up from the previous volume. This is not a bad thing because like Television Pilots, sometimes it takes a couple of episodes (or in this case, a certain amount of chapters) for the story to get interesting, which in this case brings medical suspense into a futuristic universe filled with robots, humans, and anthropomorphic creatures. Kenny Ruiz continues to honor Osamu Tezuka’s work and legacy with a great script accompanied by wonderful artwork.

As I have mentioned before beginning this review, you might need to reread the first volume to help you keep up to speed with the story, it’s not the kind of story that you can jump in and get an understanding of what’s going on. There are certain moments when the story gets muddled with way too many characters that look too similar in certain situations in each chapter. I had to catch my breath and pay closer attention to each panel, which led to the greatest heist in the galaxy, Patient Alpha. Now, it doesn’t take much to figure out who this is, but the bigger mystery is what brought him to this tragic state.

While getting lost in the admiration of the universe of what Ruiz is building, the artwork was stellar. Tezuka’s iconic characters keep their charm while being given a modern touch and how they interact with each other. The scenes with Black Jack using his surgical skills made me yearn to read more of his stories, finding myself once again a fan who is familiar with these characters, their legacies, and how important it was to do research first. The action sequences were drawn with great detail, accompanied by clean linework and well-drawn expressions. Team Phoenix finds themselves in a war with Astro Boy’s greatest rival, Atlas.

We're back with Sapphire and her space pirates just in time to see dodgy cyber-surgeon Black Jack to the rescue. But he's not just saving them to be nice, he wants their help in a heist that will need everyone at their best and have a major impact on the war with the Robot Alliance.

I confess to still not being sure if I'm enjoying it for itself or because I love seeing all of Tezuka's characters, but the story is definitely getting interesting.

This is not a series where you can jump in anywhere and understand what's going on. I did a quick reread of volume 1 to prepare, and I was still a little confused. There is so much going on with so many characters that look similar in major roles that I had moments of being completely lost. This is pretty much the only downside to this book because it's otherwise an entertaining and ever-expanding story.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for the fun yet confusing read!

Kenny Ruiz is writing the next Star Wars manga coming in the fall.

And it just so happened that I was able to pick the first 2 volumes of this book up for free on Netgalley.

So, just to check out his style, I thought I'd give this a read.

I enjoyed the art style and characterisation, and I can see why he was chosen to write a Star Wars manga. I was already excited, now even more so.

This has made me want an English translation of Tezuka's Midnight can driver series! And is kicking me to finally read my copies of Dororo and Ambassador Magma. Also, so happy to see Black Jack, makes me want to reread my volumes!

Tezuka geekery aside, this volume gets the team proper together and launches into events that form the story of the next three volumes. We also get more insight into Uran and Atlas in this volume, and why Uran has thrown in her lot with him.

Basically, if you're not on board with the series at this point I don't think this or any of the next volumes will change your mind there, but if you're a Tezuka fan or appreciate space opera give it a go.