Geisha

by Andi Watson

What do you do if you're an artist who wants to display your soul but no one believes you have one? Geisha is the futuristic tale of Jomi Sohodo, an android with a knack for painting. Adopted early on by the Kami family, Jomi has been assimilated into regular human life - or so she thinks. Society, for all its advances, still regards her as an outcast, as something less than human. This makes it rather difficult for her to sell her paintings, and is she can't do that, she's going to have to find another way to pay her rent. So, to make ends meet, Jomi enters the family bodyguard business and a new world of action and intrigue, complete with supermodels, jealous ex-husbands, maniacal moguls, and the twisted double-cross of art fakery.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Crime, Graphic Novels Comics, Sequential Art

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Andrew "Andi" Watson (born 1969) is a British cartoonist and illustrator best known for the graphic novels Breakfast After Noon, Slow News Day and his series Love Fights, published by Oni Press and Slave Labor Graphics.

Watson has also worked for more mainstream American comic publishers with some work at DC Comics, a twelve-issue limited series at Marvel Comics, with the majority at Dark Horse Comics, moving recently to Image Comics.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would tell you the story about how I managed to get a copy of this book for free, but I don't want anyone at the bookstore to get in trouble, so I guess I won't. Which I suppose means I actually have to talk about the story instead. Geisha is about an "artificial" girl raised with a human family in a world where most artificials exist in some sort of service profession (the fact that she is artificial is somehow instantly recognized by most people in this world, who frequenty assume she is a prostitute.) Trained as a bodyguard with her brothers, she's trying to make a living as an artist until the prospect of not being able to pay rent forces her to beg for a job from her father in the family business. Which is of course where our story starts.

As much as I enjoyed this story, I think my comic collection is now fully saturated with cutesy girl comics. I need something by Alan Moore or Joe Sacco next. Or maybe some old Gaiman that I still don't have...

[Ficie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters are utterly unengaging, which makes the story, at times, hard to follow.
The main character is an android, which appears to cause her a number of problems. Unfortunately it is hard for the reader to identify with Jomi's misfortunes, as they are quite inconsistent and often incomprehensible. At times one even forgets the protagonist is not human, as all the characters look (and act) quite similar.
I gave up a few pages from the end, it didn't feel worth my time.
Skip it, you won't miss much.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet. A really fun jaunt... I didn't go in expecting anything in particular, and was happily surprised by even the first few pages.
My big complaint is that, except for the fact that it is made very clear in the dialogue that Jomi is an android, you'd never be able to tell by looking at the illustrations. She looks 100% as human as everyone else... clearly there's something visible that gives her away to strangers on the street, but it doesn't show up in the illustrations.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Geisha was very okay. Aside from not having any actual geishas (not that it needed to have geishas or I was even expecting geishas), the plot didn't really do much for me. It was hard for me to understand why the author felt certain things were worth talking about or mentioning. But that's just my opinion. I would like to hear the thoughts of someone who had a more positive experience.

[Rob Kaas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proof that a simple story with characters who remain true to themselves is often the best one.

One of my first indy press graphic novel purchases, way back when.

[Dogfood · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Geisha“ nimmt als Zutaten einige bekannte SF-Motive um daraus, sowohl inhaltlich, als auch zeichnerisch, etwas eigenes zu schaffen. Geisha ist eine junge Androidin, die von ihrem „Vater“ wie ein normales Mädchen groß gezogen wurde und daher, wie ein normales Mädchen, sehr menschlich wirkt. Geisha will Künstlerin werden. Aber als Androidin wird ihre Kunst nicht für voll genommen. Die Einkommenssituation ist eher karg. Daher arbeitet sie in der Securityfirma ihres Vaters als Bodyguard und soll ein weltbekanntes Mannequin beschützen.

Die Zeichnungen sind eine Fusion von Asien und Europa. Aus der Manga-Welt erkennt man das dynamische Seitenlayout wieder, so wie einige Tricks, wie eine hohe Zeichengeschwindigkeit erreicht wird: Fokussierung auf Dialoge und Menschen bzw. Gesichter. Hintergründe werden nur sparsam eingestreut. Der Sprung zu einem europäischen Strich geschieht dank der Manga-Zeichensprache, die versucht, sich auf das Essentielle zu konzentrieren, aber von Watson mit Hilfe des Pinsels? Feder? Leben und Individualität eingehaucht bekommt.

Was sich hier schon andeutet, ist eine der Stärken von Andi Watson: trotz der zeichnerischen Reduktion, die Gesichter der Protagonisten sprechen zu lassen.

Dass mich Geisha trotzdem nicht geflasht hat, lag am Setting und der damit verbundenen Erwartungshaltung. So effizient Watsons Strich ist, seine Stories sind eher „geschwätzig“ statt straight und strukturiert. Das SF-Setting wirkt, nicht nur zeichnerisch, wie überflüssiges Beiwerk. Der Konflikt von Geisha als Android, also Kunstmenschen und Geisha als Malerin, also Kunst-Mensch, verliert sich in der allgemeinen Geschwätzigkeit des Comics. Dem Comic wäre nicht sehr viel abgegangen, wenn man ihn in der heutigen Zeit hätte spielen lassen. Diese Beliebigkeit zeigt das Manko des Comics auf. Aber Watsons "Love Fight" fünf Jahre später, wirkt wie ein Lerneffekt von "Geisha"

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the art and the world building.. but I think a lot was under developed in this story around her being an android who does art.. like I don’t think we got all the way there with the humanity bit. Also seemed to end very abruptly.

[Mariano Lastiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geisha es un comic para leer sin demasiadas pretensiones. Una suerte de slice of life con toques de comedia y ciencia ficción. No esperes encontrar una historia rimbombante, porque el autor británico solo quiere mostrarnos una historia relajada con gente con problemas en apariencia cotidianos.
Por supuesto, si hay androides, robots gigantes y mafiosos, se pierde un poco de eso, pero no empantana tanto una propuesta sumamente disfrutable. Andi Watson nos presenta un dibujo simple, pero efectivo. Su trazo tiene cierto tinte cercano al de mucha de la publicidad de los 90s, el pop art y el comic alterntivo de los últimos años, dando un tono cuasicaricaturesco que le da una candidez a una historia que no busca ser más de lo que es.
Tengo curiosidad por conocer más de Watson. Por lo demás, historieta que se lee ligero y se puede disfrutar a pleno.

[Sarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The misogynistic introduction by some other comic artist does this volume no favors, and the work itself is poorly edited with numerous spelling and punctuation errors, but it's a nice little story nonetheless. I'll always love Andi Watson's style.

[lucy black · Rating 3 out of 5]

A totally simple comic with a simple storyline and simple drawings. Whats makes it good is the setting and characters are not simple.

[Charlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed refinement: seemed like a fanwork.

[Evey Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nota: 3.5