Questions for Tezuka

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading The Mysterious Underground Men. I found that, compared to those in the other comics we read, Tezuka’s characters were more likable and his plot was more interesting. John, Uncle Bill, and Mimio were all new to me, so meeting them for the first time had me eager to see where their stories would go. Also, I didn’t expect this to be a story about evil termites, as the title led me to believe that there would be some sort of underground human race involved. It was refreshing to read something completely unfamiliar. Because I didn’t know how the story was going to develop or end, each page turn had me guessing.

We talked a lot in class about pages 8 and 9. Something I noticed was that between these two panels, an unknown amount of time passes. By the time we see John again after his father has died, he has already planned out and built his trans-earth train, a project that could have taken anywhere from days to weeks to months to years. Although it probably has to affect on the actual story, I wonder how much time Tezuka meant to pass here.

I also find it interesting that a rabbit had to go through scientific experiments in order to become smart and humanlike (or maybe to become an actual human?), while the termites of the underground world just evolved. They became as smart as the humans, but had no human help to become that way. Termites are pests and rabbits are pets, so why are the termites more naturally capable of intelligence than the rabbit? If Tezuka were here in class with us, I would ask him about how he came up with this story, and why he chose to make the little details to be they way they are.