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Profiles in Manga, Part 1
Written by Park Cooper
So perhaps you know that my wife Barbara is doing manga adaptations for Tokyopop: Atelier Marie and Elie: Zarlburg Alchemists, a Japanese fantasy/comedy manga; (A Seduction) More Beautiful Than Love, a Korean manwha; and volume 5 of Satisfaction Guaranteed, a Japanese yaoi manga. All this Tokyopop material in the house has really focused my attention on Original English Manga. Except Rob Tokar called them original global manga, so I think that's what we're transitioning to calling them, like when we all switched from tapes to CDs.
Anyway, I thought I'd give English-Language manga creators an opportunity to let you get to know them, and understand what makes them tick. Remember the old Profiles in Webcomics I used to do? Yes, well, I had trouble getting many webcomics creators to promote themselves. I figured I wouldn't encounter the same reticence in the world of manga, and I was right. Here are four of the answers I've gotten so far...
Your name, your manga's title, and what your manga's about:
Hello, I'm Jim Pascoe, writer/creator of Undertown. Undertown is about Sama, a boy so sad that tears have literally stained his cheeks. His father has fallen gravely ill...and doctors only give him a month to live. With nowhere to turn, Sama grabs his teddy bear and crawls under his bed, magically entering a portal to a fantastic realm called ... Undertown! There he and his bear search for the Sugar Stone: a "secret something" that might be able to heal his dad. Unfortunately for Sama, The Cloud--the wicked leader of the Insect Insurgents--hunts for the Stone, as well...
What was the first anime you ever watched?
Speed Racer. Hey! I was a kid!
What was the first manga you ever read?
Crying Freeman.
What was the first western comic you ever read?
I grew up on a steady stream of Spider-Man comics. My favorite bad guy was always the Lizard!
What is your favorite anime, manga, and western comics?
I run through favorites faster than changing socks. The works that I come back to again and again are the anime of Hayao Miyazaki, Otomo's Akira manga, and the ol' classic Alan Moore/Dave Gibbon's Watchmen.
What was the last comic or manga you read?
Paul Pope's Batman: Year 100.
What was the last anime you watched (and was it any good)?
Takashi Miike's The Great Yokai War is like live-action anime ... so good it boggles my brain.
What is your definition of manga? How is manga different from western comics?
To me, as a structuralist, manga is simply the word for Japanese comics, in the same way that La bande dessinée is French for comics. I don't like to think of manga in terms of format or panel count; it's not like you can print a comic book in digest format and it automatically becomes manga. For me, the way that this question is posed, gets more to the idea that manga is an ethic. I like to live my life in genius action. I like to live in manga.
What can western comics learn from the popularity of manga?
That change is good. Western comics don't need to be more like manga. Traditional mainstream Western comics publishers should realize that their audience constantly grows and changes, and there exists a need to deliver a more diverse product mix, from new genres to alternative formats.
What are your current influences?
Music is my biggest influence, especially experimental sound compositions from the likes of Ryoji Ikeda, Alva Noto, Current 93, and William Basinski.
What are your current favorite websites?
Core 77's Design blog (www.core77.com) and Heidi MacDonald's The Beat (pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/)!
What's your favorite movie, novel, and TV show?
Again, so many to choose from! Today's list:
A Clockwork Orange
The Atrocity Exhibition
Twin Peaks
What was the path that led you to creating a Tokyopop manga?
Well, I've been writing for many, many years. The genesis of this particular story goes back to 2001 when I was working at Disney Channel. Part of my job involved reading through all of the email that kids would send to the Web site (only the comments - all personal info from the kids were stripped away). Most of it was pretty standard stuff, quick shout outs about a character or a show. Then 9/11 happened. The emails turned devastatingly sad and intensely personal. Mostly they were confused. Not angry confused; not vindictive. Simply unable to conceive how and why their dad wasn't coming home or why they couldn't get in touch with a sister who lived in New York. I kept all this with me until I had the story for them. That story is Undertown.
Tell us about your background.
I've worked in a number of different mediums, from comics to prose, from the internet to television. I've written comics and books with major licensed properties like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kim Possible, Hellboy, and Star Wars. And I worked with ABC Family Channel/TOON Disney to create an interactive TV show experience called Jetix Cards Live!, which won an Emmy®.
What conventions will you be attending this year?
Definitely Comic-Con International: San Diego. For all of my appearance, check out www.jimpascoe.com.
Who's your (current) editor?
The incredible Paul Morrissey.
How did you find your artist (if it isn't you)?
I feel extremely lucky to be working with Jake Myler. My editor Paul had a number of different artists try out for the book. Though all these artists had various strength, Jake consistently raised the bar. And once he was on the book he didn't stop. Watching him continue to evolve into a superstar is one of the great pleasures of Undertown.
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Your name, your manga's title, and what your manga's
about:
My name is Jake Myler and I have a graphic novel coming out this summer called Undertown. It's a fantasy comic about a boy that must go to another world called Undertown to find a relic called the "Sugar Stone" in order to save his dying father.
What was the first anime you ever watched?
I think it was probably Unico way back in the 80's.
What was the first manga you ever read?
I found in the discount comic bin: the first issue of a comic called Appleseed.
What was the first western comic you ever read?
In my dad's surfer magazine there used to be comics by Rick Griffin - very psychedelic stuff.
What is your favorite anime?
Full Metal Alchemist!
What is your favorite manga?
My favorite manga at the moment is King of Thorn, by Yuki Iwahara, but it changes very often.
What is your favorite western comic?
Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley
What was the last comic or manga you read?
Buffy Season 8 issue one!
What was the last anime you watched (and was it any good)?
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann by Gainax, it's pretty good, although I hear the animation quality goes down at episode 5. I've only seen 3 episodes so far, so I don't know for sure.
What is your definition of manga? How is manga different from western comics?
For me, manga is defined by the way it tries to tell a story. Things that would take place quickly or be described in text of a lot of American comics are instead shown over a span of pages in manga. Panels and pages are paced faster but showing more - like film, whereas western comics make each page more precious and the reader would probably spend more time on each individual page. But both forms of comics are similar in that there is unlimited potential to blend both styles of storytelling and art. Which I think is great!
What can western comics learn from the popularity of
manga?
I hope that it at least shows that there are in fact markets out there for comics about a larger spectrum of topics. Manga has proven that there are in fact vast numbers of girls who are willing to read comics, but perhaps the average comic shop isn't where they're willing to go to discover new comics. Eventually I'd love to see more soccermom's, more elderly, and more motorcycle fanatics reading their own brand of comics! (Hey it happens in Japan!)
What are your current influences?
I think I've been influenced a lot by Paul Pope, Takeshi Obata, Takehito Harada, Katsuhiro Otomo and Kristen Van Dam.
What are your current favorite websites?
I seem to frequent the Nasa Astronomy Picture of the day Archive way too much!
What's your favorite movie, novel, and TV show?
I never know how to properly answer this type of question, but I'll pick 3 that first come to mind: Movie: The Dark Crystal, Novel: The Golden Compass, TV: Lost
What was the path that led you to creating a Tokyopop manga?
It's kind of a roundabout way, but I've wanted to publish a graphic novel with Tokyopop for 5 or 6 years now, starting when I entered the first Rising Stars of Manga contest. I failed several times, but it made me stronger! A writer asked me to collaborate on a pitch with him. Even though the whole pitch took a year, and then ended up being canned, I kept all my contact info and pitched to Tokyopop my own story called "Helix Emersion". That too was canned (but I didn't give up!), they liked my artwork at least, and put me to work with getting a pitch together with Jim Pascoe. Then to make a long story short, we made Undertown!
Tell us about your background.
My art education is in animation, and in college I had a lot of teachers who worked for Disney Feature Animation. When Disney decided to get rid of its 2d department and half my teachers were scrambling for money - I decided that if veterans of the industry couldn't get a job, I'd never have a chance, so I did a 180 and pursued what I wanted to do as a kid and go into comics! I've also worked on lots of various artistic endeavors like, contributing over a thousand sketch cards to Topps Starwars Heritage, Lord of the Rings Evolution and Lord of the Rings Masterpieces series. I've done 2 part comic project called Dark Butterfly with Phantom Rock Entertainment, and I was a partner in a T-shirt and comic publishing company called TA-SU for a few years.
What conventions will you be attending this year?
San Diego Comicon for sure!
Who's your (current) editor?
Paul Morrissey
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Your name, your manga's title, and what your manga's about:
Tricia Riley Hale, Grand Theft Galaxy - A girl who's a pre-law student, on her eighteenth birthday discovers that her parents are the most wanted criminals in the galaxy and want her to join the family business. On the same day, the galaxy enforcers, the Disciples, descend upon the Earth and announce that if her parents don't return an object that they stole in three days they will destroy the Earth and all its inhabitants.
What was the first anime you ever watched?
As a kid, G Force. I saw anime in a whole new perspective as an
adult after I'd been working in animation for several years. My first anime as an adult was Cowboy Bebop and that's when I realized that animation wasn't just for kids.
What was the first manga you ever read?
I grew up with American comics and never actually read manga. But I worked as an artist on Golgo 13 and Lupin for an interactive
company.
What was the first western comic you ever read?
Scamp when I was five. He was the offspring of Lady and the Tramp. I didn't get into superhero comics until I was 13. I was hardcore into X-Men and was a 13 year-old who would spend $5 to $20 to collect back issues.
What is your favorite anime?
I guess I would have to say Perfect Blue. I was on the edge of my seat during that movie and I was so involved I forgot it was a
cartoon.
What is your favorite manga?
I read the first issue of I Luv Halloween recently and I loved that. The kids in the book are pretty twisted but it is still able to
maintain an element of humor. I also think the art fits the book
quite nicely.
What is your favorite western comic?
I read the graphic novel Street Angel recently and I really enjoyed that. The book has an excellent sense of humor and I can appreciate a story where there's a battle between ninjas and pirates.
What was the last comic or manga you read?
I'm almost finished with one of The Runaways graphic novels.
It's...okay. I like the concept of the book and I think the writing
is pretty good for a hero book. I guess since Joss Whedon jumped on
board and is now writing for it, my expectations of the story was a
little higher.
What was the last anime you watched (and was it any good)?
The last anime that I watched for the first time was Tokyo
Godfathers. I thought it was excellent and beautifully done.
What is your definition of manga? How is manga different from western
comics?
Most obviously, there are more pages in manga and they tend to be
black and white. Western comics tend to be more superhero driven
while manga can stray more towards the mech warriors. Manga enjoys a
broader audience where western comics are mostly read by fan boys and
kids.
What can western comics learn from the popularity of manga?
That people can enjoy more types of subject matters other than
superheroes. Manga and anime is as much for adults in Japan as it is
for kids, which is not the case in the United States. More than
anything, I think Tim Kring presenting shows like Heroes is what is
opening American adults eyes, that superheroes aren't just stories for kids.
What are your current influences?
I'm a sucker for television and the one hour episodic. My writing
heroes are Joss Whedon, Winnie Holzman and John Hughes. They embody
the type of things that I write. The things that drive me to create is getting excited over shows like Heroes, Kyle XY and Lost.
What are your current favorite websites?
I love the site 43 Things. It's sort of an accomplishment check list of things to do and places to travel. It keeps you accountable. I used to be a writer and editor for a gossip column, so I would read Pink is the New Blog and Perez Hilton. I felt kind of dirty inside and Kevin Federline was sapping my will to live, so I had to give that guilty pleasure up.
What's your favorite movie, novel, and TV show?
I could probably recite most of The Breakfast Club and Some Kind of Wonderful. I love the book Boy by Raold Dahl, which recounts his boarding school days as a child. He was a mischievous little thing and I laughed my ass off through most of it. Heroes is my favorite show and I have a soft spot for That 70's Show reruns.
What was the path that led you to creating a Tokyopop manga?
I'd been working on a story when an artist friend called and said
Tokyopop was looking for new material. After two meetings they told
me they wanted to buy it and the rest is history.
Tell us about your background.
When I first moved to LA I was a model and most of my friends were
celebrities, so I pretty much just partied like a rockstar for several years. Then when I got more serious about my career I was a color stylist for most of the comics I grew up on and then a digital background painter and effects artist in animation for Disney, Warner Bros, Sony and a bunch of others. It took me a while to wind down out of my party lifestyle to really focus on my writing and the things I wanted to achieve.
What conventions will you be attending this year?
San Diego Comic Con.
Who's your (current) editor?
Rob Tokar edited my first Grand Theft Galaxy book but he was promoted to Editor-in-Chief, so he handed me over to Hope Donovan so that I could get more regular attention.
How did you find your artist?
A friend of mine, Steve Altman created the book The Irregulars and had used a guy from a graphics agency that he was happy with. I sort of hand picked my guy, Jim Jimenez from a roster. He had a good comical style that I thought would suite my book. I think that Benjamin Roman would work nicely for my next project that is in development and I would like the opportunity to work with him.
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Your name, your manga's title, and what your manga's about:
Anthony Andora, co-creator and writer of Rhysmyth. Rhysmyth is the story of a high school girl who needs an extracurricular activity to make her college applications look better. Her hopeless situation turns when a coach happens to see her miraculously recover from what could have been a disastrous fall down the stairs. He invites her to try out for the Rhysmyth team (Rhysmyth is a sport similar to Dance Dance Revolution but magnified onto a larger, flashier scale). She eventually joins the team and enters a world of competition, rivalry and, for the first time in her life, love interests.
What was the first anime you ever watched?
Probably Speed Racer or Voltron (the US version of Japan's King of the Beasts, GoLion).
What was the first manga you ever read?
Dragon Ball.
What was the first western comic you ever read?
A Dick Tracy comic.
What is your favorite anime?
Naruto.
What is your favorite manga?
At the moment, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad.
What is your favorite western comic?
Everything by Frank Miller and Alan Moore that I've read, with The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen sharing top honors.
What was the last comic or manga you read?
The Marvel comics Civil War TPB.
What was the last anime you watched (and was it any good)?
I caught some of Bleach on Cartoon Network while my brother was watching. I thought the dubbing and voice actor choices were quite good. In general, I prefer to read the manga version before watching the anime--and I prefer subs over dubs.
What is your definition of manga? How is manga different from western comics?
Manga is just a word and like every word has several applicable definitions that I can see and understand. First, it's the Japanese word for comics. Second, it can refer to a certain art style that the Western world has associated with Japanese comics (though only unfairly referring to a small selection out of the vast diversity seen in Japanese comics). Third, it's a marketing term that can refer to any graphic narrative directly influenced by and attempting to carry on the artistic tradition of Japanese comics.
On the surface level, and generally speaking in regards to "popular best-seller" type books, the difference lies in the art styles. On a deeper level, the difference in cultures really shines through in the characterizations, themes and story-telling of both manga and western comics. In the end they're all pictures and words telling a story.
What can western comics learn from the popularity of manga?
That there's an audience for every type of story.
What are your current influences?
Wow...everything. I've read and seen and heard so much that it makes sense that I've been influenced and will continue to be influenced by what I've experienced. At the moment, what stays fresh in my mind is Tezuka-sama's Buddha.
What are your current favorite websites?
ESPN, the Tokyopop Forum and Librarything.com.
What's your favorite movie, novel, and TV show?
Movie would probably have to be 40-Year Old Virgin. Novel, Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. TV Show, hmm...let's roll with The Office (domestic version).
What was the path that led you to creating a Tokyopop manga?
I originally wanted to write Western comic books but found no luck getting an artist to stick with me. In the end, the only artist who stuck with me was Lincy, my partner on Rhysmyth, a manga artist and Tokyopop hopeful. As a novice writer, I took it upon myself to cater to her needs since she was far more experienced than me. Her goal was to get published by Tokyopop and I was only too happy to help her get there.
Tell us about your background.
I've lived in Southern California my whole life with my parents and older brother. My ethnic heritage is Filipino and I'd love to write a graphic novel about the history of the Philippines one day. School has always been an area I performed well in. I graduated from UCLA in 3 years with Honors but I've been out of school for so long I want back in. I've always loved reading and have tried to be creative as far as I remember.
What conventions will you be attending this year?
For sure I will be at Anime Expo in Long Beach and at San Diego Comic Con.
Who's your (current) editor?
Alexis Kirsch. He uses whips to get corrections from me.
How did you find your artist (if it isn't you)?
Well I had found an expensive hobby in original comic art collecting and decided that creating comics would be an easier way to acquire the art. I found Lincy selling commissions on eBay and e-mailed her, asking if she needed a writer or not. Luckily she did and we've been working together since. We like to think that destiny played a part.
The Park Cooper column archive can be found HERE : :
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