Part 1 takes place in Victorian England (I can't remember the exact year) begins with Jonathan Joestar (Jojo) and his rivalry with his adopted brother Dio Brando, Jonathan studies a stone mask used by people thousands of years ago in rituals and discovers it reacts to blood (spikes come out of it and bore into the person's head if it is being worn). Dio finds his notes and uses the mask on himself, turning himself into a vampire (not the western concept entirely, there are some differences). Jonathan finds a man named William Zeppeli, who instructs him in the art of Hamon (also known as the Ripple) which harnesses an energy similar to the sun (which destroys vampires). The penultimate event of this part is a climactic battle between Jonathan and Dio.
Part 2 takes place in the 1930's and is similar, but focuses on Jonathan's grandson Joseph (Josef) Joestar (Jojo) and to a smaller extent William Zeppeli's grandson Caesar Zeppeli and their fight against vampires collectively known as the pillar men. They too are instructed art of Hamon to fight the pillar men. This part culminates in a fight between Joseph and Cars (one of the pillar men) after achieving "perfection".
Part 3 takes place in 1989 and focuses on several men, most notably a returning Joseph Joestar and his grandson Jotaro Kujo (Jojo) and their battle against a returning Dio Brando. This part is where the series takes a swerve as the focus draws away from Hamon (it is there but only in use sporadically by Joseph) and is placed on manifestations of psychic power called Stands. This part ends with a dramatic battle between Jotaro and Dio.
Part 4 takes place in 1999 and focuses on Josuke Higashikata (combo-breaker), the illegitimate son of Joseph, and a few friends in their quest to find a serial killer (Yoshikage Kira) who killed a friend of theirs. This part ends with the expected battle between Josuke and Kira (although it ends quite anticlimactically). Part 4 also has the distinction of not taking place in a really location. Many have speculated that it is supposed to represent Sendai (the birthplace of the mangaka; which was near the epicenter of the terrible earthquake that hit Japan earlier this year). We also learn in this part that Stands are manifested when a chosen person is struck with a special arrow.
Part 5 takes place in 2001 and focuses on Giorno Giovanna, the son of Dio Brando and his attempts to become, as he puts it, a "gangstar." Once again there is a group of people (this time it is literally a gang) with him and the part revolves around their attempts at killing the head of the mafia. This part gets quickly crazy and we learn that the arrows have another function. The part ends in a strange (albeit awesome) manner, during the fight between Giorno and Diavolo.
Part 6 takes place in 2012 and focuses on Jolyne Kujo the daugther of Jotaro, who is incarcerated for a crime she didn't truly commit. She must rescue her father (not physically) who was incapacitated within the jail from Enrico Pucci. The part ends in a truly bizarre manner after the final battle.
Part 7 returns to the 19th century (however in an alternate timeline) and focuses around Johnny Joestar and to a seemingly larger extent, Gyro Zeppeli. This part revolves around a horseback race from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and the events that occur during the race. I really cannot say much here as I have yet to finish part 7 (there are about 10 chapters yet to be scanlated), however the 84 chapters I have read so far are amazing.
Part 8...Well I have no idea. There are a few chapters out (and fewer scanlated) but I am not reading them until I finish part 7.
So there is a brief synopsis of each part. Truly this is a one of a kind series. Bizarre describes the series very well. If you look close enough (or just read the names) you will likely notice a lot of music references (Jojo is a reference to the Beatles song Get Back) The series however has not been released everywhere, in fact in the United States, only part 3 has been released, so if you want to read it you will likely have to find scanlations online (be it on a site or through direct download or IRC) unless you can read Japanese or live in a country where it has been released.
Part 3 was also made into an OVA (an admittedly terrible OVA). There isn't too much in terms of differences between the OVA and the manga except that the OVA skips over a lot of things.
Part 3 also got it's own fighting game (which is quite good). Some of you may have already seen some of it if you are familiar with the Za Warudo/WRYYYYY meme.
There are a few other things that have been made: a Part 5 video game which I don't know anything about and a part 1 movie that I know nothing about except the fact that it is impossible to find footage of it (barring trailers). Also (just like many animes; or in this case an OVA) there is an Abridged series of the OVA (created by AntfishTAS on youtube) which in my opinion is better than the OVA.
So this is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. If you have time and like action mangas I definitely recommend you pick this series up. All parts together total about 900 or so chapters but it goes by very quickly. This is by far one of my favorite manga series, it is a great mix of action, dialogue and improbable situations. It is very likely that this series will blow your mind. I don't know how I could have gone this long without mentioning it but the artwork of the mangaka and specifically the poses the characters make is absolutely amazing. So let me end with an obligatory reference.
Oh look, my favorite manga series by one of my favorite illustrators! You MAY have spoiled a few little things to potential readers though, so be careful for that (;
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