|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
||
|
|
So, I instead endeavoured to mix in some unusual questions – in order to probe the mind of The Rivkah, but also to pose some complex themes (just to make everyone think). NB. This version is an edited version of the actual interview, which was too long to post here. I’ve posted the extended version on my livejournal, which can be found at http://www.livejournal.com/~queeniechan/ Q. Now, I know all about you, Rivkah, but please tell the readers a bit about yourself. Well, let’s see. I have brown hair and brown eyes. I stand about 5’7” tall. I come from a family of nine, but we’re hardly ever in the same place at once. I enjoy bubble baths, driving fast cars (not that I actually own one), and good company. I like to debate politics, religion, and the publishing and comics industry. Other than that…I just draw and write comics, right? I’ve always kinda dabbled in art and writing, but I didn’t get serious about it until a few years ago when one day I just woke up and was like, “this is what I’m going to do.” It really makes you believe in fate. It made me give up the publishing company I’d started a year before and a pretty successful career, but what can I say? When you’re meant to do something, you do it, and you get rid of everything that gets in your way.
Q. And about “Steady Beat”, your book coming out with TokyoPop in October this year? The main premise of the story is about a girl named Leah who realizes that her sister is gay. But as the series progresses, it evolves into something a lot more than just a story between sisters—or even a coming out story. “Steady Beat” takes place in the city I grew up in a midsized Southern town, Austin, Texas. There are a lot of stereotypes I try to break, but also to uphold in order to express the colorful nature of middle America. On the other hand, the culture is often overshadowed by fundamentalists. The two main characters in the book are the daughters of a Republican State Senator who courts some very Christian fundamentalist constituents, so you have two sides of a very diverse equation. Leah is like most young people our age, but it’s sometimes difficult to overcome the bias of the community she grew up in. It’s her internal struggle of loving her sister and confusion over a variety of cultural values and interfamily relationships that creates the main drive for the series. And it’s also a love story. Apart from her troubles with her sister, Leah also gets caught up in the struggles of relationships, school, and self-discovery. Steady Beat is currently slated for three volumes, but I hope to make it into nine should it prove successful.
Q. What I find most interesting about “Steady” Beat is that it has strong political overtones. This is something unique in the current manga landscape, because while Japanese manga has schoolgirls and politics, the two don’t mix much. It’s a distinct cultural difference, because the Japanese are not politically active like Americans. Do you think this cultural-political element will make Steady Beat more appealing not only to an American audience, but an international one as well? Since it’s something “normal” Japanese manga doesn’t have. As I mentioned before, “Steady Beat” takes place my hometown—Austin, Texas, USA—and the people here are very politically active. From what I've seen from afar, Japanese youth aren’t like that, but Americans like taking sides--and we do it well, for better or worse. It's a very different landscape from Japan--at least as I've been lead to believe. I think people are just interested in different cultures. I don't think the political element will appeal to a non-American audience as much as the cultural elements will--whether they're visual, written, or implied. I used to read every Japanese comic that came out on book shelves in the US. A large part of the appeal was the whole foreignness of it all. But after having developed a familiarity with the culture through the comics, I'm starting to crave something new. I wonder sometimes if people in other countries feel the same way, you know? Could there actually be an advantage to manga-influenced comics that take place in the States? It's the same visual beat as Japanese manga, but with a completely different cultural twist.
Q. Now talking to you, artist to artist. How did reading manga motivate you into choosing manga as your form of self expression? Well, you know how some people are more visual and some are more auditory? I think comics cater to people of both persuasions. Some people focus on the art. Others focus on the story and dialog. To me, comics are an incredible method of communication. It's like the difference between talking to a person on the phone and seeing them in person. Give me just the words, and you have a very limited conversation. However, combine art with dialog and suddenly whole new worlds open up. You're able to direct your reader down a specific direction or method of thought (via dialog) while enhancing the experience with visual cues. Reading comics is interactive. It draws you in, and due to the "gaps" between panels, you're forced all so "fill in" action and thoughts and dialog—just enough to get them involved in the actual storytelling. And it's one of the most amazing forms of entertainment at relaying a message. A theme. A moral. Comics are extremely effective at showing people a different perspective. This is what I want to do with my own graphic novels. I want them to say something. While entertaining people is the main idea, it's the underlying message that gets me. Q. For the sake of other young artists looking for tips, tell us about some of the troubles you had while doing “Steady Beat”, and how you solved them. I could talk about this forever! I think the most difficult obstacle I had to overcome in creating "Steady Beat" was finding a way to set a schedule for myself and to stay on task. My editor's a busy guy too, and he can't be there every day to remind me I have a deadline. My advice? Just keep at it. Eventually you'll slip into a routine. Another trouble I had with "Steady Beat" was a particular chapter 3. It wasn't coming together right. It held me up for two months, and the art took about another two. The lesson here? Write and complete the script for the entire book first. On book one, I wrote a very loose script that kept changing. Events would change in one chapter that'd alter later chapters that I’d have to rewrite, and it's extremely time consuming. At this time, I'm already working on Volume 2 of "Steady Beat." But now, I wrote the script, polished it, and did complete thumbnails first. Once I get to the pencils, there's very little I'll have to change besides cosmetics. Plus, writing the complete script at once took just over a week. Compare that to the two months I spent on a single chapter with Volume 1, and the difference is immediately obvious.
Q. I know you’re a manga artist currently, but you plan to write a novel in the future. Now, there are many comic/manga artists out there who work in different mediums (eg. Novels, animation, film), and yet, many who stay and work only in the comics industry. Do you think it’s important, for an artist’s self-growth, to attempt work in other mediums? Or in other genres in the same medium, at least? I think it really depends on the person. Some people are good at one specific thing, and they're happy staying there. As for myself, I get bored. I'm not very content sticking with a single field or subject. My original love before comics was the written word. I love young adult fiction and some adult fantasy, and it's something I'd love to write. I've a book in the works, "Tea For Rapunzel," that's a little reminiscent of "A Little Princess:" It's a young adult novel with elements of the fantastical, that aren't quite magical. Writing for a younger audience, especially children, allows a writer to express the incredible imagination and a belief in fantasy adults aren't allowed to posses. It’s something Hayao Miyazaki does very well and that I’d love to be able to capture in my own works. Ah, but I digress. I do think it's important to have a lateral expansion in ability rather than a vertical one. If you focus too much in one area in your art, you run the risk of blinding yourself to other deficiencies. It's like the amazing inker who can't draw a correct proportion to save his or her life. If you want to expand, be patient, accept gradual growth, and diversify. Q. Here’s a question I’ve been dying to ask. What are your other planned works for the future, after “Steady Beat”? What would we be seeing from Rivkah 10, 20, 30 years down the track? Well, I already mentioned my desire to write young adult fiction. While I wish my primary focus to remain on graphic novels, I would also love to branch out into animation some day. Some stories simply work better in a moving format, and it's these stories in my head that are dying to get out. And I've got my whole life planned out. In 5 years I wish to be completely done with "Steady Beat" and the writing for a children's manga series I'm already working on. In 10 years, I want to have my first animated movie. In 20 years, I’ll have several more adult and children's series, and lots and lots of teen series. And in 30 years? Actually, I want to retire. I've always wanted to become either a politician or a rabbi, and fifty seems to be a good age to do that. We'll see when I actually get there, though.
Q. Let’s talk about your influences. Okay, I know Tezuka Osamu’s one of your favourite artists, and I’m a fan of Phoenix and Buddha too. I guess we both love the humanism in his stories and the unparalleled maturity of his story-telling. What is it about his work that inspires you the most? I think you said it already, Queenie. It's the storytelling that inspires me. I don't consider myself the best artist or writer in the world—and there's definitely always room for improvement—but…I think I have a knack for combining the two to create a compelling story that involves readers on both an emotional level and an intellectual one. That's something I admire in Tezuka. He's more than an artist or a writer. He's a storyteller. The kind that gets up in front of the fire and not only tells the story but shows it through a gesture of the hands, the motion of the body, and inflection in tone and voice. Storytelling is a dynamic, moving art that sweeps the listener/reader away to worlds both familiar and strange. The storyteller draws you into their own worlds and into their heads where unknown perils and rewards await. And you're completely at the storyteller's mercy until they decide to let you free. That, to me, is true art. An art of the highest calling. Making your readers feel and experience the world through your eyes, bringing them to tears and laughter, through moments of joy and solitude. It's humbling when you know you've impacted someone by showing them a little slice of your world through your own eyes. It's about changing perspective. And it's that dialog, that rapport, between reader and creator that inspires me. Q. Let’s talk about the current manga and western comics industry. What do you think the industry will look like in 5-10 years time? You're about to open a can of worms here, sweetie! Asked me this a few months ago, and nobody would have really cared, but every since Warren Ellis decided to point people in my direction over a certain observation of the American comics industry, people either seem to think I either know it all or know nothing at all. Nobody can seem to make up their minds. However, the industry is changing and has changed from what it was five years ago. Nobody will disagree with that. What everybody seems to disagree on is how it'll look in the years to come. Some speak of a "bubble"—that the industry can only grow so far before it bursts—but that isn’t a view I share. I don't think the rate percentage of growth will stay the same by any means as it'll eventually level off; but as long as the population continues to grow and new readers are brought in, it will continue to grow in volume—for both comics and manga. I really just consider it all "graphic literature". And honestly, I think the real growth hasn't even been seen yet. The majority of the comics industry is still stuck in the rut of the single-issue. Kids these days…they don't read issues. They read graphic novels—thick books in a very specific black and white format. There's a slow trickle of OGN (or OEL, whichever you prefer) that's beginning to gain speed. TOKYOPOP may very well start the flood, but it's other companies that will keep it going. I foresee a very competitive industry in 5-10 years, and that's nothing but good news for creators. And I think the greatest demand will be for those who can successfully blend the techniques of East and West into a dynamic visual medium that’s like nothing seen before. Original in content and design, yet still familiar. That’s where the real innovation is going to come in, and where the next generation of comic creators will eventually spring from.
Q. You're doing a new column with "The Pulse". The Pulse is mostly a Western comics site, and has good manga coverage by industry insider MangaJake. What sort of articles can we expect in the future, and will readers be able to send in suggestions? My column at the Pulse is going to be primarily an editorial column. I want to be able to report on aspects of the industry from a different perspective of those who grew up on American comics. Both manga and comics are graphic storytelling, but the cultures surrounding the two are vastly different, especially in the fan community. Some of the articles will talk more about things that'll bring girls and a younger, more hip crowd into comic book stores. I want to write articles that generate growth and discussion on certain failures and successes in the industry, rather than flinging mud around--as so many other blogs, news sites, and fans do. One of the "failures" of the comics industry is its inability to reach outside the existing comics crowd. One of its successes would be the loyalty of its readers. There's a lot of material from both sides that I can use. However, what I most want to write about is how manga has influenced American comics. That's the real focus of the column—to get people from both sides of the playing field interested in the other art form. And I would love to hear suggestions from readers. It can never hurt to have too many ideas. I would prefer people to visit my blog at http://www.livejournal.com/~lilrivkah/ to make their posts!
Q. Any closing thoughts? Besides buy “Steady Beat” by the bucketful? Study hard and don't forget to eat your vegetables, because the whole industry is in for a wild ride. While I pray that "Steady Beat" is successful, this is by no means the only story I ever plan on creating. There are other, maybe even better, stories that are just waiting for a few extra years of experience to be drawn and written. I'm just gettin' started, baby, and ain't nothin' gonna stop me! Now everybody call Oprah and tell her she wants to have me on her show. : : |
30 August 2010 25 August 2010 11 August 2010 6 August 2010
|
 |
| home | reviews | news | features | about us | advertise | privacy policy | contact us |
