Andrez Bergen's Blog, page 3

Mini Update

As you can probably tell from my use here of the great Jack Kirby‘s work (nicked from a panel in The Eternals #14 (Aug. 1977), inked by Mike Royer, I’ve had my head pretty much buried in comics over the past few weeks.

Aside from catching up on Cassanova by writer Matt Fraction and artists Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon, and a re-reading of writer Mark Millar and artist Sean Murphy‘s Chrononauts, I also finished off the last issue in Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips‘ superb The Fade In, then went back four decades to a 500-page collected edition of Savage Sword of Conan by writer Roy Thomas – with artists including Barry (Windsor) Smith and John Buscema.

At the same time, I’ve been tweaking scripts for the Magpie series I’m doing with artist Frantz Kantor (now scripting episode 4, with episode 2 art in the bag), and collaborating closely with artist/co-writer Graeme Jackson on #1 of our upcoming Crash Soirée.

Next cab off the rank is finishing up Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat #2, while I’m talking with artist Drezz Rodriguez, who I worked with on Black/White, about doing a yarn together.

Trista & Holt #13 comes out in March, and we’ll be doing a tweaked/developed run of that title via Project-Nerd Publishing in the U.S. from summer over there.

Meanwhile, the books keeping me going on the side have been George MacDonald Fraser‘s Flashman run, a re-read of The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain, the shorts in Killer in the Rain by Raymond Chandler, and George McAlpine‘s Woman with a Blue Pencil.

No news yet on my own next novel, but stay tuned.

Otherwise, Magpie episode #1 is now out in Australia, inside the pages of Oi Oi Oi! #7, and can be found at most newsagents round the country. The feedback thus far has been fantastic; hats off to all the people who purchased the baptismal issue and let us know how they felt.

As a tease, I wrote this silly piece – 5 Dos and Don’ts for Budding Superheroes, for Scenestr mag in Queensland.

And Frantz did this incredible teaser video clip.

Meanwhile, my solo effort Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat #1 scored this luv’ly review yesterday from Josh McCullough @ We the Nerdy:

“Revisiting Bergen’s earliest work in retrospective also makes for a fun experience. There’s little teases to stuff that will go on to be central to his later works, however they never distract from the main story. Being the inception for Bergen’s insane spiralling world, this is one of his more simplistic tales, however that is not in any regard a criticism. There’s still that highly creative sci-fi edge to the story, it is probably the most accessible entry point into Bergen’s work though, which makes it very easy to recommend. If there’s ever been a time to jump into this world it’s now, an interesting premise and fascinating world are laid out and I can’t wait to see where it goes.”

Zeb Larson‘s verdict @ Flickering Myth was, “Melbourne is its own character in these stories: a once-charming and eccentric hipster city now turned into a hellhole that’s part Asphalt Jungle and part Midgar from Final Fantasy VII. The film-noir vibe in Bergen’s work should jump out at you pretty clearly, with a misanthropic narrator, crime-ridden city, and dark, rainy atmosphere. It’s a perfect kind of place to find a mystery.”

Last week, Jason Bennett @ Popculthq said:

“The entire time while reading, flashes of Blade Runner and Sin City popped in my end. It felt like an exciting mash-up told through a flowing and intriguing story. If while reading a book or a comic book and you feel yourself heavily immersed within the pages and story, then you know you’ve created something extraordinary… The art found in these pages are reminiscent of his work in Trista & Holt, which garnered him great accolades — Andrez Bergen has outdone himself with his creation, his writing, and his artwork. 4.5 out of 5.”

And, finally, Chris Galvin over at ComicsVerse put it that, “Bergen uses a collage/digitally-manipulated photomontage style that challenges your perception of how comics should read on every page.”

…which is sensational stuff to read, not only because it grants a minor-league swelled-head (I picked the best parts, above!) but thanks to some inspired constructive criticism of the issue as a whole – which helps me as I plan out the next one.

Anyway, I said I’d keep this brief, and I’m going to be true to my word. Likely I’m the only one reading my nonsense anyway, but there you go.

 

 

 

 

Comics galore!

You know, I wasn’t going to stick an exclamation mark on the end of the title to this entry, but it just seemed so right – especially when you look at virtually every single word balloon in 1960s comic books, and their predecessors’.

Funnily enough, I dispense with ’em mostly in the comic book scripts I write – it can look cheesy, I agree – but the odd use can be fun.

Anyway, punctuation aside, next week sees the publication and release of episode one of Magpie, the quarterly eight-page comic I’m doing with artist Frantz Kantor. Also somewhat quirkily, given how much Frantz toys with the digital medium, it will be in print only (no digital version).

The artwork here is something I hacked together for fun today (so I’m an old Street Fighter video game fan), using a small frame from page one – which demonstrates the depth of detail as well as hilarity in Frantz’s art.

Magpie will be coming out inside the covers of nationally syndicated Australian ‘zine Oi Oi Oi! (here’s the cover, by Alisha Jade; it’s #7).

In Australia you can get it at any newsagency worth its salt (yeah, yeah, I over-use that phrase in postings, but I keep thinking sumo), or alternatively order online directly from Comicoz.

We’ve been scoring some very sweet reviews, including this one from the cool cats at Black Ship Books:

“At its heart, Magpie #1 is a witty observation about the rise of narcissism in the modern world. Frantz Kantor’s artwork is exuberant and stunning… Andrez Bergen crafts a beautifully paced yarn in the tradition of Will Eisner’s The Spirit. He manages the impressive task of introducing a character, establishing a vivid world and concluding a story in one third of the pages utilized by your average comic.”

Mark Dickson at The Green Gorcrow said: “Kantor’s aesthetic continues to sell the feeling that you’re in a world where normal logic no longer applies… I was very surprised by the last two pages in this chapter; it took me until then to realise that something significant was missing from the first part of the story. As it wrapped up, and the reveal fell into place, it showed off an effective way to utilise the format: keeping each story self-contained and focusing on one villain uses the ongoing nature to flash into significant moments in the main character’s life.”

I talked a bit about the process of developing this comic over at Bleeding Cool.

Frantz also had a 15 minute on-air chat with Steve Austin at ABC Radio in Brisbane (listen here), in which he chatted not just about Magpie but his extensive career in Australian comics, and the current state of things there.

Otherwise?

This week, my far more introverted and serious solo baby – #1 of the rebooted/revised Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat – came out via new American indie imprint Project-Nerd Publishing.

It can be ordered direct from them (also in print) here, and features a variant cover by Claudia Everest of A Dog A Day fame.

We just just got reviewed thanks to two fine people at Comics Should Be Good at Comic Book Resources, and I really like both write-ups; they address pros AND cons, but over all (I think) are positive pieces.

Greg Hatcher put it that, “The story… well, I don’t know that I enjoyed it so much as admired its craft. It’s very well-done, but not exactly uplifting.

“That’s not to say it isn’t good, because it is. And the art, the odd blend of photomontage and collage techniques Bergen uses for this, really knocked me out. I kept getting lost because I was stopping to admire the art just as art.”

Meanwhile, Greg Burgas wrote: “What Bergen does well is take these classic tropes of old fiction and seamlessly blend them with science fiction – he has done it before, and it’s clear he’s comfortable with it, which is why the brevity of the issue isn’t too annoying, as I’m pretty certain everything will become clearer down the road.

“The collage-style artwork is fascinating, too. Bergen freely adopts photographs of old actors – in some panels the CEO is clearly David Niven, and I know I should know who the CEO’s flunkie is, but I can’t quite place him – but he filters them nicely and puts them into hazy black and white to make them fit into the comic better. He uses saturated colors to create hallucinatory panels that help obscure the ‘thieving’ of images but, once again, fit in with the milieu of the comic.

“The collages turn Melbourne into a poisonous nightmare, which is part of the point, and they also help make the noir elements of the comic stand out more.

“Future Melbourne is a weird stew of sleek lines and dingy sleaze, which has been a staple of pulpy stories for decades, and it both puts the book in a context but also signals that it’s something a bit bizarre (I thought of the movie Dark City a bit while reading this, as that movie also blended these elements very well).

“Bergen is making the point that the corporation controls the hearts and minds of the citizens, which isn’t a new point at all, but he does it through the overwhelming artwork as well as through some of the narration, and it’s much more effective to see it visually than read it.”

Anyway, all food for thought, and very much appreciated.

It’s easy to forget, then, that I still have regular monthly comic Trista & Holt coming out, with #13 hitting stands at the beginning of March – meaning only two to go.

#12 got a nice review from Steven Alloway at Fanboy Comics and Paul Bowler at Sci-Fi Jubilee, while Nevada McPherson critiqued #11 here at Graphic Policy. I cannot thank these people enough. Along with Dan at All-Comic, they’ve followed the series from scratch and been supportive and encouraging throughout.

Even better, they seem to get where I’m coming from with the book!

Yep, I’m throwing in an exclamation point for good measure.

Finally – I’m kind of exhausted from writing this self-trumpeting hoo-har, so I can’t begin to imagine how you might feel if you made it this far – there’s a new project I mentioned last entry that I’m bloody excited about.

It’s a new comic called Crash Soirée, in which I’m co-creator/writer with fellow Australian artist Graeme Jackson.

You can follow process/progress via the Facebook link in the title (above), but working with Graeme is downright exciting as much as it is fun and enlightening.

We just finished working up the profile for principle protagonist Calamity Jane, and here’s the character reference he finished today.

More info in coming weeks. Otherwise, rest those damned eyes!

Exclamations out.

 

Magpie #1 & Crash Soirée

I guess it’s kind of appropriate that she’ll be here in time for Valentine’s Day.

I’m talking up Magpie, the character created by artist Frantz Kantor and myself to grace the pages of quarterly Australian anthology ‘zine Oi Oi Oi!

Not that I can picture Maggie coveting flowers and romance — despite a skimpy wardrobe, the girl has more in common with Wolverine than Black Canary.

Anyway, while Frantz and I are on a wild roll with the character and currently tweaking episode four, #1 will be out in print in Australia on around February 15.

To celebrate (and knock me for six), Frantz brought our girl to life in this promo teaser:

I also (digitally) got together with Frantz in Melbourne and Nat Karmichael (the publisher of Oi Oi Oi!) in Queensland, to talk about the project with Natalie Robinson at Drawing Book Studios — in Sydney.

We’ve been getting fantastic feedback — luckily!

Greg Hatcher @ COMIC BOOK RESOURCES has said that Magpie is “Cute and funny and really quite gorgeous to look at – Frantz Kantor evoking the Mad-era Wally Wood,” Jason Bennett @ POPCULTHQ wrote that it’s “Stunning work… from these talented creators.” COMICS ALLIANCE appraised “Magpie offers a humorous take on a superhero world, and Kantor’s art is nothing like what we’re used to in traditional superhero comics,” and COMIC CRUSADERS found that “The art looks fantastic! Genius story-telling, truly worth a look.”

Paul Bowler @ SCI-FI JUBILEE’s critique? “This new comic strip is great!”

Steven Alloway at FANBOY COMICS wrote it’s “Definitely worth checking out, and I look forward to seeing what Bergen and Kantor come up with in future adventures,” while Marcus Gilman at METAPUNK put it that “Andrez Bergen, this time together with Frantz Kantor, is at it again, another glorious project – a comic with a definite Golden Age feel to it.” GEEKED OUT NATION put it simply — “Here’s something a bit different.” — and GEEKCRITIQUE found that “Magpie is dynamic and entertaining, instantly involving you in its characters.”

Tim Mason at REGEEKEN nicely put it that “Andrez always spins an incredible yarn and draws you into all his stories… The art of Frantz Kantor is outstanding.

Matt Wyrwas at TALKING COMICS went so far as to say “Buy it! If you like stories that showcase humor along with action, Magpie is something you should check out. The setup up is great… I’m along for wherever Bergen and Kantor want to take us!”

Finally, here’s something one or two people *might* recall:

It’s a line Jack (Southern Cross) says in the above novel, and directly relates to a brand new comic-book project I just started with Australian artist Graeme Jackson.

The name is Crash Soirée, and here’s Graeme’s W.I.P. character design from yesterday.

More news… soon.

2016 round-up

Ahem. It's been a while.
In case you missed the “memo” (via my far more regular blog here), my new novel  Small Change  has just been published via Roundfire Fiction in the UK, and it features Roy Scherer and Suzie Miller from the Tales to Admonish series: think a mix of noir, horror, mirth, and homage.
One homage, clearly from the cover art and title alone, is to the great Tom Waits.
On January 14th I put the finishing touches to novel #6, and sent it off to a prospective publisher: 1970s crime-noir-pulp tipping 67,598 words, including the glossary at the back of the book, partially based on my current comic book series Trista & Holt.

Its title is Black Sails, Disco Inferno . Keep an eye on the novel’s Facebook page for updates. 

Otherwise? 

My collaborative comic book project with Australian artist Frantz Kantor – Magpie – is in full flight. 

We just finished Episode 2, but the first one, introducing our fledgling character Maggie, will hit newsstands in Australia in February 2016, inside Oi Oi Oi! #7. I think the fact that we both have strong, inspiring daughters (Frantz has three to my one!) accounts for some of the direction we’re pursuing here. This is hardly some wallflower, despite first impressions. As Frantz put it in an interview we just did, “What a pleasure to work on a smart female protagonist! Like Margo Channing said [in All About Eve]: ‘Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!’.” 

In this series we’re paying homage to, nodding, winking and piss-taking everything – from Roy Thomas to Ghost in the Shell, M.C. Escher wrestling Russ Manning’s Magnus, Robot Fighter, and on into mass-media current affair programs, even 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fantastic Voyage, and Lost in Space. 

Look out for the first installment of Magpie inside Oi Oi Oi! #7, at the beginning of February in newsagencies across Australia. 

Issue 1 has already scored some very nice feedback from Greg Hatcher @ Comic Book Resources (“Cute and funny and really quite gorgeous to look at – Frantz Kantor is evoking the Mad-era Wally Wood…”), Comics Alliance (“Magpie offers a humorous take on a superhero world, and Kantor’s art is nothing like what we’re used to in traditional superhero comics.”), Comic Crusaders (“The art looks fantastic!”), Sci-Fi Jubilee (“This new comic strip is great!”), and Jason Bennett @ PopCultHQ: “Stunning work… from these talented creators.” 

Also out next month, this time in the U.S., is my redux-version of Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat – with me again doing art chores alongside the script. 

The comic’s currently being printed up by Project-Nerd Publishing in America, but you can pre-order both versions here. 

Aside from being over-excited about Magpie for 2016, I’m looking forward to seeing how the latest short film from Tokyo’s Production I.G (the creators of Ghost in the Shell) goes on the international festival circuit. It’s called Pigtails, directed by Yoshimi Itazu (character designer and chief animation director on Miss Hokusai), and I worked on the English subtitles — mostly naturalizing the translation and giving it a bit of zing. 

Finally, music-wise, I still do stuff as Little Nobody , even though I decided to quit the DJing side of things under this name in August last year. 

However, thanks to the very cool Nicolas Lutz, who runs My Own Jupiter in Europe, I’m about to release a double-vinyl LP of Little Nobody tracks made over the past 14 years here in Tokyo. It’s called, appropriately enough, This is Tokio — and you can tune in to the tracks HERE. 

I’ll let you know when it’s finished being pressed-up and is ready to drop — again in the new year. 

And here’s an interview I did with Tarita Weber @ Say What? magazine.

Novel #6 finished, plus Magpie’s in full flight

It snowed properly in Tokyo yesterday for the first time in 2 years, and the mercury dropped to -1°C (I’ll let you figure that out in Fahrenheit), albeit for a short time.

Needless to say, it was bloody cold.

And did you know that 100 years ago this week, Marcel Duchamp used the word “readymade” in writing for the first time — on the way to changing art forever?

In less important news, on January 14th I put the finishing touches to novel #6, and sent it off to a prospective publisher: 1970s crime-noir-pulp tipping 67,598 words, including the glossary at the back of the book, partially based on my current comic book series Trista & Holt.

My co-writer on two chapters was Renee Pickup, of Dirge Magazine notoriety, and Black Sails, Disco Inferno is a retelling of the classic medieval romance Tristan and Isolde (or Tristram and Iseult, depending on your sources) – turning things on their head by reversing the sex of our chief protagonists and placing these people in a ‘70s pulp world.



This is the decade of the Godfather films, Starsky & Hutch, Bay City Rollers, flares and disco, set in an unnamed city in which crime families flourish and the police pinch pennies from those with most power.

Marcella Cornwall, a.k.a. Queenie rules with an iron fist, and when two of her men are killed, it’s up to her niece Trista to find out the truth.

If you know your medieval lore, you’ll (kind of) get what happens next.

Now comes the waiting game, so I’m investing in a few lucky charms like digital rabbits’ feet, freeze-dried clovers (the four-leafed variant), plus I have my fingers and toes crossed.

Keep an eye on the novel’s Facebook page for updates.

Otherwise?

My collaborative comic book project with Australian artist Frantz Kantor – Magpie – is in full flight.

We just finished Episode 2, but the first one, introducing our fledgling character Maggie, will hit newsstands in Australia on January 30 (just over a week and a half away), inside Oi Oi Oi! #7.

I think the fact that we both have strong, inspiring daughters (Frantz has three to my one!) accounts for some of the direction we’re pursuing here. This is hardly some wallflower, despite first impressions. As Frantz put it in an interview we just did, “What a pleasure to work on a smart female protagonist! Like Margo Channing said [in All About Eve]: ‘Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!’.”

We’re also lucky enough to see print alongside other goodies from creators like Frank Candiloro and Alisha Jade.

Issue 1 of Magpie has already scored some very nice feedback from Greg Hatcher @ Comic Book Resources (“Cute and funny and really quite gorgeous to look at – Frantz Kantor is evoking the Mad-era Wally Wood…”),  Comics Alliance (“Magpie offers a humorous take on a superhero world, and Kantor’s art is nothing like what we’re used to in traditional superhero comics.”), Comic Crusaders (“The art looks fantastic!”), Sci-Fi Jubilee (“This new comic strip is great!”), and Jason Bennett @ PopCultHQ: “Stunning work… from these talented creators.”

Plus, just today ReGeeken very nicely put it that “Andrez always spins an incredible yarn and draws you into all his stories… The art of Frank Kantor is outstanding.”

Cheers, all, for taking a look at something that others might think obscure. Keep tabs on Magpie artwork, updates, events and new directions here.

In case you don’t know Oi Oi Oi!, to date six issues have been published on a quarterly basis and featured the work of almost 40 different Australian artists and cartoonists. #1 won a Golden Stapler Award for ‘Best Collaborative Zine’ in 2014, and #4 was nominated for the same award in 2015. The second issue was short-listed for a prestigious Ledger Award ‘for excellence in Australian comics’ in early 2015.

Anyhow, you can find out more directly from Comicoz.

Also out this month, this time in the U.S., is my redux-version of Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat – with me again doing art chores alongside the script.

I’m lucky  enough to have scored my first variant cover, this one conjured up by Claudia Everest of A Dog A Day fame, and I love it to bits.

The comic’s currently being printed up by Project-Nerd Publishing in America, but you can pre-order both versions here.

While you’re at it, think about investing in their other wares, such as Matt Kyme’s That Bulletproof Kid.

You’re supporting not just indie creators like Matt, but fledgling publishers (in this case Project-Nerd, but here also read Comicoz, above) who bite the bullet and take financial risks to spotlight art they truly believe in.

Without them, we wouldn’t get half this stuff out there.

Finally, let’s talk Australia!

…and I’m talking up the comic book anthology, not the country.

Hah! I’ve been biding my time, waiting to use that silly gag. Sorry.

Anyway, I got home a couple of days ago and found this in the mail from, yes, Australia (and here grudgingly showcased by Cocoa, who had better things to do than act as her dad’s hat-stand): the Australia! anthology of sequential art (comics!) that’s also a fund-raiser for beyondblue — and it’s bloody beautiful.

I got the opportunity to do a story here with awesome artist Chris Wahl, but also included are talented cats Glenn Lumsden, Dave Dye, Paul Mason, Julie Ditrich, Dave Hodson, Tim McEwen, Dillon Naylor, Ian C. Thomas, Danny Zemp and others.

It’s absolutely stunning in presentation and feel — hats off to Nat Karmichael at Comicoz for a beautiful job. And if you want to order, support Australian talent, and a great cause, go here.

Otherwise?

It’s been a week of downs as well, namely the passing of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and a close family friend.

All three individuals I had a lot of time for and will miss. Bowie, in particular, was a huge influence – check out his album Heroes (1977) for just one reason. I still DJ out the vinyl, and it pops up in my novel Depth Charging Ice Planet Goth.

Rickman is hilarious in Galaxy Quest (1999). Go rent this if you haven’t seen already.

Thanks, mates, for the brilliant times. A salute to you starmen and women, wherever you now may be.

BULLET GAL: The Kickstarter. What is it, and why bother?

Hey, it's been a while between posts here — sorry 'bout that.

Like a zillion other people, their flying monkeys and the odd enterprising pet, I currently have a Kickstarter campaign running.

Verily, this is something everyone I know on social media like Facebook and Twitter would've realized by now — sorry, mates. I tend to harp a lot. Anyhow, disclaimers and apologies aside, here's a sneak-preview of the promo video thanks to the cool cats at Under Belly Comics in Canada, who're steering the fundraiser:



I overly harp, as I mentioned, because (a) this promo video is a knockout, and I want for this to be a success in order to repay the trust and support that Under Belly has thus far provided — as they do for a lot of other indie outsiders — and (b) I love this project.

But of course I should.

I'm biased as all hell, so don't listen to me. I hope you do listen to people like Shawn Vogt (who reviewed all 12 issues of the series at Weird and Wonderful Reads), or Steven Alloway at Fanboy Comics and Paul Bowler at Sci-Fi Jubilee, both of whom just reviewed Bullet Gal #6.



Plus the Australian Comics Journal and crime novel reviewer Elizabeth A. White makes (I think!) great cases. Ta, mates.

We now have 70% pledged funding, which equates to $3,502, thanks to 79 incredible individuals.
Even so, that leaves a somewhat giddy $1,498 that still needs to be bid before the Kickstarter campaign is successful, and we need to accumulate this within 13 days. The big, somewhat leading question here is why? — one reason I chucked the word in the title of this entry.

Well, there's the story: More nods and winks than you can poke a long stick at, an homage too many, and tongue kind of firmly in cheek — beneath other levels of hardboiled noir, crime, sci-fi, abstract expressionism, the surreal and a superhero romp gone wrong. And for those interested in my other work, this is a stand-alone link between the novels Depth Charging Ice Planet Goth and Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?

The character herself, Mitzi, is obviously a special one for me and I'd dearly like to see her get beyond the limited-edition comic we're currently publishing monthly in Australia.

Feedback to the 12 issue run of Bullet Gal , which is being collected together in this trade paperback, has been nothing short of amazing, and I'm still awaiting the savage critiques. Aside from two pieces of such, the rest has sat exceptionally pretty so far as I'm concerned. The Cult Den referred to the series as "a warped masterpiece", Spartantown said there's "nothing like it in comics", while Sequart wrote it's "consistently impressive".
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To further my cause, I've been able to write rambling pieces for Graphic Policy, Pulp Pusher , The Next Best Book Blog and Bleeding Cool .

I also did extensive interviews on Bullet Gal and the ideas behind the series with We The Nerdy , ComicBuzz , and 8th Wonder Press .

And you know what? There are so many artists working now or who've previously worked in comic books that I love. Five of the current crop are David Aja (Hawkeye), Mike Deodato (Original Sin), Walter Geovani (Red Sonja), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night) and Steve Epting (Captain America/Velvet)... and all five of them this week supported the Bullet Gal Kickstarter on Twitter. Just wow. Thanks, lads, and hats off.


Finally? A further doff of the boater to the 76 people who have pledged financial support to the trade paperback, and the people who've helped spread the message of this silly project or ours. 

You all seriously rock. That's why.

Kmye Chan: Not Just a Flash in the Artistic Pan

Unless you’ve had your head buried in one very deep sandbox, you’d have noticed that Japanese art, film, music and fashion has had a huge impact on the stylings of its Western brethren. 

With this in mind I occasionally yack with foreign musicians and creative types about the influence of Japan on their own art, and this month I placed the spotlight on French artist Kmye Chan , with whom I’ve been liaising about a potential book cover (it's called Planet Goth and will be published in 2014 with Kmye's 'Dancing Puppet' painting, left, on the front).

The artist's name itself was a giveaway: Kmye CHAN.

Chan in Japanese is an honorific suffix originally used for babies, but these days employed to refer to anyone with an endearing quality, be the individual a super-cute grandmother or a zany seal (look up Tama-chan online for one example).

Kmye is an amazing painter, someone who has taken the obvious influence of manga and rendered it anew in a style also reminiscent to me of American comic book artist Steve Ditko. 

Who are your favourite manga artists, and which stories did you most enjoy as a fan?

“My favourite would easily be Yukito Kishiro — reading Gunnm [Battle Angel Alita] was a turning point in my drawing life. Both the artwork and plot were something completely new and out of this world, so far as my fifteen-year-old self was concerned!

“I love Ai Yazawa (Paradise Kiss, Nana) for her bittersweet shōjo characters and quirky linework. Graphically, I am also always amazed by Kaori Yuki’s art... When I started drawing, her work was my ultimate reference since I collected her manga and art books! And last, but not least, in my teenage years I was a massive Rurouni Kenshin fan [by Nobuhiro Watsuki] — this series still occupies a sweet spot in my heart and I happily read it over and over again.”

So you obviously would you say you’re more influenced by shōjo (girls) than mecha (giant robot) manga. Are the two compatible?

“That being said, I have read and loved my share of mecha/kaiju manga: Neon Genesis Evangelion has been a staple in my manga collection. Of course, both are compatible — they are different but both equally enjoyable. I would actually love to see a mecha manga storyline drawn with a typical shōjo manga style. That would be an interesting twist!”
“My artwork is undeniably more influenced by shōjo manga — you can see this in the flowing clothing and hair, the highly detailed, decorative style that is typical of shōjo has always been something I have been fascinated with. There is something inherently beautiful about it, where shōnen manga style [aimed at teenage boys] in general is more focused on reflecting action and movement.


READ MORE OF THIS INTERVIEW @ FORCES OF GEEK.

A Battle Royal バトル・ロワイアル

You've likely already heard the rumours — forget what you think you know about The Hunger Games franchise since it's pretty darned blatantly sourced from better film Battle Royale (2000).

Thing is, that's in turn based on Kōshun Takami's 1999 novel, and there's a manga series of Battle Royale that was published from 2000 to 2005, illustrated by Masayuki Taguchi.

But let's get back to the cinematic outing.

This violent, often wildly hilarious — and disturbing — gem is p'raps not quite so obscure now, thirteen years on, as when it was first released in Japan.

Battle Royale would've made a far more fitting obituary for its director
You certainly couldn’t take style, content and inspiration any further a field from Fukasaku, Sr.'s earlier adventure schlock-romp Legend Of 8 Samurai .

So clear your frazzled Hunger Games brain.


It’s a not-too-distant future.

Japan is again a fascist state. An arbitrarily-chosen bus full of high school kids are knocked out with sleeping gas, kidnapped, then shipped on to an isolated island — where they’re informed by their embittered former teacher Kitano ('Beat' Takeshi Kitano) that the only way they will leave said island is by killing all their classmates — or by ending up in a body-bag themselves. 

In order to enforce this mandate, each student is shackled with an exploding collar, à la Wedlock , and Kitano punctuates the students’ plight with a well-aimed penknife to one of the girl’s foreheads, thereby launching a battle for self-preservation.


READ MORE @ FORCES OF GEEK.
 

All Roads Lead to Nihonbashi (日本橋)

 It's funny how you can live in a place for a decade and miss a lot of what's right there nearby.

It's autumn, the weather's been glorious here in Tokyo (here read cool that the scorching summer we just went through), and the leaves are starting to turn colour-wise.

A couple of days ago I was on tight writing deadlines, but it was superb weather again so I decided to skip out and finally go explore the area in central Tokyo around the Nihonbashi, literally Japan Bridge — which was built a century ago in 2011, but rests on what has been a vital conduit spot for this city since the 17th century.


Japan Bridge is also the setting and title for a 1956 movie — Nihonbashi — by the great Japanese director Kon Ichikawa.

Ichikawa's first film in colour tells a riveting yarn of two geisha fighting for control of the Nihonbashi area, along the way brushing kimono with ghosts, murder, infanticide and flying daggers.



Read more of this piece and glimpse a swag of additional images @ Forces Of Geek.

Production I.G: The Little Details

A long time ago, while conjuring up some superbly detailed artwork, my friend intimated that God resided in the details.

Not being Christian per se, and without a religious millimetre illuminating anywhere on my body, I didn’t have a clue what this guy was on about, or which dippy deity he referred to. The only thing similar I’d heard was that Old Nick (you know, the Devil) was in those same details.

Which rendered me somewhat confused.

That is, I until around 16 years ago — when I first watched Mamoru Oshii’s enthralling anime feature Ghost in the Shell (1995).

While the original manga pages — titled Kōkaku Kidōtai in Japanese, written and illustrated by Shirow Masamune — pushed quirky as much as cerebral, light-hearted and a trifle perverted, this animated movie interpretation by Oshii, of Patlabor fame, was dark, a tad more intelligent, and the most innovative cyberpunk romp since Akira (1988).

It also led to an obvious Wachowski siblings’ homage with The Matrix in 1999.

Truth is, Ghost in the Shell knocked off my cotton socks to hammer home the studio behind the film — Production I.G — as my favourite Japanese anime company. It’s a lofty perch that I.G retains nearly two decades later.

Here’s where I get to lob in some silly puns relating to the introductory ‘theme’: God knows I.G deserves it, and by Heaven above they go for the jugular of those little details, glean ‘em, tweak ‘em, and quite often leave you gob-smacked, gasping for more with each successive experiment in style, form and technology. Halle-bloody-lujah.

To start with, there’s so much damned depth to I.G productions.

Not just the background animation or those aforementioned little details; it goes beyond the superlative character designs, the tight direction and slick production values; the depth lingers somewhere beyond this production company’s penchant for risk-taking along with clever marketing panache.

They’ve got to be doing something right to have established themselves at the forefront of the severely stiff competition that is the Japanese animation industry, and further to have maintained that position.

Likely this has to do with the talent involved at the studio.

READ THE REST OF THIS 2-PART PRODUCTION I.G OVERVIEW — PLUS A BRAND NEW INTERVIEW WITH KENJI KAMAYAMA — @ MADMAN.

...with thanks to Francesco Prandoni @ I.G and Ben Pollock @ Madman.