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 Interview: Felipe Smith on MBQ and Manga
Written by Adam Volk
Note: Art to follow...
Felipe Smith is one of North America’s newest and most successful manga illustrators and writers, having burst onto the scene last year after winning TOKYOPOP’s Rising Stars of Manga competition. Born of Jamaican and Argentinean parents, Smith attended the American Community School in Argentina before working towards his BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he taught himself Japanese and continued to develop his craft. Since that time, Smith has written and illustrated the continuation of his award-winning TOKYOPOP entry into the series MBQ, a semi-autobiographical fusion of traditional manga art style with distinctive American themes. Manga Life’s Adam Volk sat down with Felipe to discuss his new series, the state of American manga, and life in the city of Angels.
ADAM VOLK: Your new series MBQ just came out from TOKYOPOP this July. What kind of reaction has it received so far?
FELIPE SMITH: It’s been received very well so far, and I’m excited about that. I’m really glad readers and critics alike are following the story and not misinterpreting any of its elements. Sometimes I’m concerned some readers might be offended by my storytelling. Of course I mean no offense when drawing or writing the characters’ dialogues. My main objective is to bring a sense of reality to the reader through the characters’ speech and actions. Some of my characters may be offensive individuals, but then again I’ve met a few myself, and I’m sure the reader has as well. The human experience is what I want to share with the reader through MBQ; the good, the bad, and everything in between.
VOLK: For readers who haven’t picked up the book yet, what’s the basic premise behind MBQ?
SMITH: MBQ is a story about the way people live and why. It takes place in the city of Los Angeles, following the lives of 6 characters from very different walks of life: A struggling comic book artist named Omario, his aspiring film maker roommate Jeff, a Japanese American MC named Brian, a gun trafficking gang leader named Dee, a seasoned LAPD Officer near retirement by the name of Finch, and his Rookie partner O’Malley. At first glance the city they live in seems to be all they have in common, but as the story progresses we observe their separate paths converge.
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