Even though Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy is a cultural icon, I feel like the story is not talked about enough. People might say "it appeals to kids" "its for kids" which is true mostly for the anime, but the manga tackles some very tough material. Let me set the picture for you, in the 1950's an artist whom his mother's family had a long history with the military. Naturally you would want to speak about war issues if you are in the middle of World War II so years later you make Tetsuwan Atom, it garners massive attention and easily becomes your most popular work. It'spopular because of kid's audiences and is kinda forgotten for its dark story. Would you really like that? Honestly Atom is one of the best manga I've ever read which is a good example of old doesn't mean bad. Early early manga usually connect to World War II like Cyborg 009, Most Go Nagai works, etc which makes a interesting connection between WWII and the rise of anime. Give it a shot, the art will grow on you and if your not into it, probably try Pluto by Urasawa (Monster author) which is a lot more adult appealing then Tetsuwan Atom.