Posted on

Things to do in Shibuya, Tokyo: BECK Pop-up store Sep 1-26

From Scott Green/AICN on Twitter comes word of this awesome pop-up retail location for merch from the upcoming BECK animated movie, based on the manga by Harold Sakuishi. It’ll be in operation from September 1st to September 26th inside the PARCO Department Store complex in Shibuya.

Originally published in English by Tokyopop before being put on hiatus about a third of the way through the series (with the rights eventually reclaimed by Kodansha), BECK is a really great seinen (manga for dudes in their late teens and early 20s) about an average kid moved by rock ‘n’ roll to start a band and make it big. It’s the exact sort of thing that I think would speak to a lot of people who’ve ever wanted to become a rockstar, and the anime actually aired in primetime on MuchMusic here in Canada a few years back. I know Mal’s a huge fan of the manga too, and I think that’s a good indication that Scott Pilgrim fans would probably dig it 🙂

For the official pop-up store website (heh) with directions click here.

For the official movie website click here.

I love love love these sorts of stores when I stumble across them in Japan… You may have noticed my near-obsession with Japanese retail spaces, and seeing something like this, a dedicated (and well-promoted) merch store for an upcoming movie release is pretty-much genius. Wish I could visit!

– Christopher

Posted on

Drew Weing’s Set To Sea Art For Sale…!

Drew Weing first came to my attention as an Autobiographical Cartoonist documenting his education in Savannah College of Art’s Comics Program, and I really loved those strips! Over the years he’s produced a number of wonderful webcomics, minis, and short pieces (mostly available at his website), and August saw his first full-length graphic novel SET TO SEA released by Fantagraphics. It’s a great read and a gorgeously illustrated book, I definitely recommend it.

Mr. Weing announced today that he is, in fact, selling off original artwork from the graphic novel, and considering how lovely it is (and that each pages is a 4.5″ x 5″ single panel, suitable for framing) I imagine the majority of the art for this book will be scooped up by fans and collectors imminently–I know I want more than a couple of them.

Check out the sale ($145 a page!!!) at http://www.drewweing.com/littlehouse/original-art/

– Christopher

Posted on

Things to do in Massachusetts: New England Webcomics Weekend November 6-7

My good friend Meredith Gran (of Octopus Pie fame) just posted an update or two on Twitter about The New England Webcomics Weekend, a special webcomics-centric convention/get-together that she organizes being held November 7th and 8th: Almost half of the tickets are sold out, after only a week on sale…!

This is very good news for the event, now entering its second year. Tickets for NEWW are a very reasonable $10 for the weekend, though there are one-day and VIP packages available. I think it’s excellent that there are shows like NEWW, putting a laser-focus on a specific niche market within the greater sphere of comics. Of course, that said, that niche probably has millions and millions of fans across the world, which is what makes the event pre-registering all its attendees so necessary… 🙂 I mean, who knows what would happen if all 100,000+ peeps who read Questionable Content every day showed up at the same time, at an event designed for just a few thousand…?

The event is set up similarly to TCAF or SPX, with a selection of creators (entirely comprised of webcomics authors and publishers) set up and selling their wares, interacting with fans, etc., alongside panels and programming and larger group events. It’s a very communal, welcoming setting and a great relaxed space for fans to meet fellow fans and their heroes.

Initially I had planned to attend and help with some of the organizational efforts of the show, and I’m still planning on offering some advice and suggestions for programming and whatnot, but alas, I won’t be able to make it this year. Still, I think it’s going to be a remarkable event, held in a very cool building in a scenic locale with plenty of other interesting stuff going on in the neighbourhood. If you’re interesting in attending this year you better snap up your tickets quick, as it will definitely sell out in the next few weeks.

For more, check out http://webcomicsweekend.com/

– Chris

Posted on

Satoshi Kon: 1963-2010

Update: An English translation of Satoshi Kon’s final words–a note he wrote to the public in his final days whilst dying of cancer–has been posted. It is heart-breaking, and honestly beautiful. Go read it: http://makikoitoh.com/journal/satoshi-kons-last-words

Amazing Director. Of the films he’s contributed to, I’ve seen and enjoyed Roujin-Z, Millennium Actress, Memories (The “Magnetic Rose” short), and Paprika. I own most everything else but haven’t gotten around to watching it just yet… no time like the present eh? He’s also a very strong manga creator, it’s a real shame none of his work has been released in English as of yet. Sad day.

Had the sad news first: http://twitter.com/AkiYanagi

http://board.otakon.com/index.php?showtopic=20122

http://www.uk-anime.net/newsitem/Director_Satoshi_Kon_passes_away.html

http://www.japanator.com/paprika-director-satoshi-kon-dies-at-age-47-16279.phtml

– Christopher

Posted on

Minneapolis & San Francisco: Check Our Your Indie Press

Hey readers in far away lands! There are two really cool looking events coming up in the next few weeks that, were I anywhere near them, I would totally go check them out. Since you’re reading this blog I figure you’re at least a little like me, so maybe you wanna check’em out too…?!

Minneapolis Indie Xpo
Saturday August 21st, 2010 (THIS WEEKEND)
@ The Soap Factory
518 Southeast 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55458
FREE TO ATTEND
http://mplsindiexpo.com/

“The Minneapolis Indie Xpo was founded in 2010 as a one-day show celebrating independent comics and Midwest cartoonists. It grew out of the local comics community’s desire to have its own venue for exhibition and was cobbled together by two veteran event coordinators who happen to be big comics fans.  You can call us “MIX” and, as the name implies, expect a bake sale at the show.”

Special guests include Chris (Dr. McNinja) Hastings, Zander and Kevin Cannon (Big Time Attic), John (King-Cat) Porcellino, Aaron (“Walker Bean”) Renier, and dozens more!

San Francisco Zine Fest
Saturday September 4 and Sunday September 5
@ The County Fair Bulding (formerly Hall of Flowers)
9th Ave. at Lincoln Way (in Golden Gate Park)
FREE TO ATTEND
http://www.sfzinefest.com/

“SF Zine Fest is a FREE annual two-day conference for independent and underground publishing. Exhibitors come from all over the West Coast, and while the focus is on zines, all walks of DIY life are represented — comics, arts and crafts, literary presses, and more. SF Zine Fest was founded in 2002 by Jenn of Starfiend Distro.”

Special guests include Artnoose (Ker-Bloom!), Jesse Reklaw (Slow Wave), and V. Vale (Search & Destroy).

—

Check out the website, make your plans!

– Christopher

Posted on

Neat Stuff On The Internet

+ So my friend Corey Mintz, food writer for The Toronto Star, has shown his true nerd colours and slavishly devoted a surprising amount of time and effort into running a post compiling every panel with food and/or eating from the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. It also includes a short interview with Mr. O’Malley about his seeming obsession with his characters pigging out. Neat post.

+ It didn’t get much attention at the time, but the giant Gundam that they built on Odaiba in Tokyo last year was part of a tree-planting initiative, somehow. I didn’t really get it myself. Well, while the Gundam may be gone (moved to Shizuoka), there is a new tree-planting initiative in roughly the same spot, and this time it’s an 8 metre high Hello Kitty… that shoots lasers. Check it out at Pink Tentacle.

+ One of the best announcements at the San Diego Comic Con was that of Shigeru Mizuki’s work finally being translated and released for an English audience, courtesy of the fine folks at Drawn & Quarterly. Mizuki is a huge creative force in Japan, and his creations are ubiquitous. For more on that, check out this recent posting from Japan Probe which takes you to “Kitaro Town”, Mizuki’s hometown which has been completely kitted-out with characters and illustrations from Mizuki’s work, most notably his famous “Gegege No Kitaro”.  Instantly going on my “to visit” list next time I make it to Japan…

+ Two fantastic cartoonists, Gabrielle Bell and Jillian Tamaki, are running recaps/reportage of their time at the San Diego Comic Con, in comics format! They’re fabulous, and I highly recommend checking them out.

Jillian Tamaki’s got a two-parter (part one, part two) and I make a cameo in part one… part two is more of an ‘epilogue’.

Gabrielle Bell’s updates are still ongoing, with three parts currently up at http://gabriellebell.com/.

– Christopher

Posted on

SCOTT PILGRIM AND THE INFINITE SKULLKICKERS

Skullkickers #1 Cover A.

My friend Jim Zubkavich is a good guy. He works primarily as the creative director at UDON here in Toronto, and he organizes all of their creative services and manages all of their artists and heads up all kinds of projects for them, most notably the very successful Street Fighter Tribute and Darkstalkers Tribute volumes, which saw him organize over a thousand submissions from professional and amateur artists into two very handsome artbooks.

I’m the Best Man at Jim’s upcoming wedding, so it’s pretty clear that it is difficult at best for me to be unbiased about his work, and tbh the work of Udon in general. Difficult but not impossible of course, when they get something wrong I will tell them and Jim is gracious enough to accept criticism well (he may occasionally argue, as is his right).

Jim’s got his own creative ambitions outside of working on licensed material at UDON, in fact he had been producing a webcomic called Makeshift Miracle well before he started at UDON, and after much prodding at my behest he finally got it together and released a book collection of Makeshift 3 or 4 years ago. It’s a nice looking book, we had a launch party for it, it was a great time.

Jim’s next major creative project was actually just solicited last month, and due to the insanity surrounding San Diego and Scott Pilgrim I never got a chance to mention it here on the blog. It’s called SKULLKICKERS, and it’s a full-colour 5-issue mini-series coming out from Image, with the first issue dropping September 22nd. Jim’s been a project manager and creative director for a while now, he’s got his act together and with this series and he’s put together an amazing creative team with artist Edwin Huang knocking the art out of the park on his first go. The first issue is totally complete. The second issue (in the Previews now) is totally complete. The third issue is underway. The series is gonna come out on time, in full colour, and it looks great. You can see a bunch of stuff at the SKULLKICKERS website, http://www.skullkickers.com/.

Skullkickers #1 Cover B

So SKULLKICKERS. It actually launched out of two short stories in Image’s POPGUN anthology over the past few years, and they were short, sharp, funny little pieces. The premise of the series is basically “What if Army of Darkness had two Ash’s, and it was set inside a Dungeons and Dragons game?”  I’ve read the first issue thanks to Jim providing me with a preview, and it’s just as good as the shorts, maybe better as the longer format allows for some longer set-up… and follow-through on the jokes, and the action has more room to breathe. It’s a really solid first issue, and I enjoyed it as a reader, and I’m proud of my friend for following up on his creative ambitions and making this book happen. I think it’s going to be one of those surprise hits that Image has been publishing lately.

As I mentioned, the first issue was in the last Previews. Issue #2 is in the current Previews.  The item codes are, if you are so inclined:

SKULLKICKERS #1, $2.99, JUL10 0392
SKULLKICKERS #2, $2.99, AUG10 0490

We ordered 50 copies of the first issue, to support the work and to entice Jim into doing a signing at the store, and because I feel like we can probably sell a bunch of copies of a very solid new indy book. Hell, it’s even $2.99, cheaper than most of Marvel’s and DC’s stuff, and with their deep pockets they could almost assuredly afford to lower their prices… Anyway.

So the reason I’m telling you all of this is because I’ve got this blog here, and for the last 13 years or so I’ve used my web presence to direct as much attention and energy and sales and good fortune as I’ve been able towards comics I like, and comics by my friends, and those are usually both the same things. I have spent a lot of time telling all y’all about how good things like Scott Pilgrim are, because I believe in Mr. Bryan Lee O’Malley and I believe in his work, and now this weekend a major motion picture based on the work of my friend is opening across North America. It is amazing. My friend is now a bestselling author, and has a measure of financial security not often afforded to people in the comic book industry, and while I don’t pretend to take credit for the incredibly hard work he’s put in over the last six years, I am quite happy to have done my part to get that work into as many peoples’ hands as possible.

That’s the reason I’m telling you about SKULLKICKERS. My friend Jim did a really fun book, and it’s coming out soon, and what do I have this small measure of internet fame for if not to sell some good comics and help my friends out? Well, that and to get on comp lists.

So in closing, if you are a reader who would like to take me at my word and check out this comic, I strongly recommend you talk to your local retailer and make sure they’ve ordered it. They may not have–there are a lot of books in every given PREVIEWS. If you are a comic book retailer, I would urge you to pick this book up as it is likely to be underordered, and likely to receive some very positive attention in stores. Retailers can increase their orders until the FOC date of September 2nd, and for every 10 you order, you get 1 free as an ordering incentive!

Congrats to my buddy Jim on the first issue of his new series. Best of luck on the next and the next.

– Christopher

Posted on

Japan 2009: Manga @ Tsutaya

I think it’s fair to say that on my Summer 2009 trip to Japan, I spent a lot of time in stores that sell manga. I’m a pretty manga-specific guy actually. Sure, I’ll get suckered in for some cool looking toys, and I’ve got no resistance to Gashapon at all. But generally, the other otaku goods fall a little flat with me–given the choice I’m filling up my suitcase with books. Manga mostly, a few artbooks, and the occasional oddity. 🙂 So when I say that my favourite manga displays in Japan were found at the Shibuya location of Tsutaya–the country wide chain of media stores–well, I hope you’ll consider it a ‘considered’ opinion. The Shibuya Tsutaya has an enormous depth and breadth of selection, well-organized and with lots of creator and series-specific displays, lots of hand-written recommendations and decorations, and the taste of the staff seems to be exactly the same as my own.

For example, it’s where I found this mini-shrine to Tekkonkinkreet creator Taiyo Matsumoto:

Everything in one convenient place? Don’t mind if I do.

To get to the Shibuya Tsutaya (and I’m sure it’s just one of dozens), take the Hachiko exit from Shibuya JR Station. Hachiko is the name of the dog up top there. Directly across the scramble crossing, in the same building that houses the Starbucks, is Tsutaya. Actually, I covered it briefly on my 2007 trip, if you wanna go check it out: https://comics212.net/2008/02/24/japan-2007-shibuya-ginza-ramen-museum-macadonaru/

I enjoyed it so much I went for another spin and came away just as impressed at their manga retail acumen! Here are some shots from inside the store.

The elevator to B1 drops you in the middle of the shoujo section, and a large poster promoting the work of Fumi Yoshinaga, amongst others…! Zooming in to the top of the post there?

A signing card/poster by one of my favourite mangaka, Paradise Kiss and Nana creator Ai Yazawa!

The English editions of Paradise Kiss from Tokyopop were sort of awful approximations of the elegant Japanese designs–complete with metallic inks. Gorgeous. On the very edge there, you can see 2 copies of the Paradise Kiss postcard set and “Welcome to the Gokino World”, an artbook of Ai Yazawa’s pre-Parakiss work. I have both of these items, I’ll try and blog them at some point in the future… they’re amazing!

This is one of the new-release tables, which features giant stacks of manga, hordes of manga… and the cool, fashionable young people checking them out. I really dig the interior page reproductions, I think that’s a cool idea that I wish we did more of here… that I wish we had more space to do at The Beguiling where I work…! 🙂

A closer look at the new releases sees a two-volume best of edition of OISHINBO, “Maverick” and “Tycoon” for the opposing father and son culinary enemies! Also, some sort of ridiculous salaryman manga, and another cool-looking food manga in the upper-left corner.

Some more new releases.

The magazine-wall of new releases. Love the full-face display too.

This month’s Shonen Ace Monthly Gangan comes with a DVD!

Meanwhile, it looks like the Azumanga Daioh gang make a return engagement…?

I loved these fat Golgo 13 collections. Note the complete run of Golgo 13 also on the shelf around it… 120+ volumes.

I guess with all of these close-ups, it’s kinda hard to get the best idea of just how big this place was…? Apologies, I don’t seem to have taken a reallllly wide shot. Still, trust me, it’s a pretty big floor 🙂

Here’s another one of those ‘shrines’ I was talking about… this time to Naoki Urasawa, creator of the then just-completed PLUTO series! As you can see, Pluto is prominently featured, but it’s his (then) brand new manga series BILLY BAT that really took the cake!

Oh and a signing card from the creator of  Emma, Kaoru Mori, peeking through on the right hand side there… I may not have even seen that in store. Good thing I took photos eh?

This weird food manga looked fascinating too. Love the display signage of the sardine on the plate.

So here’s something weird. Junji Ito did a very strange cat-manga…? The horror guy, you know, Uzumaki and Gyo? Yeah, I had to buy it. I haven’t read it yet though, but it’s kind of amazing that it exists. I’ll try and blog that too.

Here’s the shrine to all-things Takehiko Inoue. I love that Slam Dunk STILL has more facings than his 2 current series, Vagabond and Real.

So I just wanted to post this–this is how BUDDHA by Osamu Tezuka is sold in Japan. As a box of 12 manga, each with a different weirdo animal illustration on the cover. I… I don’t get it.

An amazing collection of some of the awesome signing cards they’ve got in store from the folks who’ve visited! That’s Junko Mizuno up top, followed by Suehiro Maruo in the middle. And the bottom is familiar to me, but I can’t make it out. Feel free to let me know in the comments, and I’ll correct it!

Speaking of which, this hand-made sign for Suehiro Mauro’s adaptation of Edogawa Rampo’s “Mysterious Tale of Panorama Island” is awesome!  Make sure to check out the English-language edition when it gets released this fall from Last Gasp!

How it all works: These manga shelves are the most fantastically designed things I have ever seen. Stroke of genius, really.

How it all works: Have a standing special order? Supposed to get a toy with your magazine purchase? Want something really thefty? You can find that material behind the counter, ready for pick-up when you’re ringing out.

That’s it for this time! Look for the last post in this travelogue very, very soon. We’re visiting one more Tsutaya before we leave the country…

– Chris

Posted on

Gekko Hayashi a.k.a. Goji Ishihara

Last week the excellent Japanese Culture blog Pink Tentacle picked up on the story of illustrator Goji Ishihara, a Showa-period Japanese illustrator who is fondly remembered for his children’s book illustrations… depicting horrific monsters and violence! This illustration is from the aptly named “Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters” from 1972, and if you head over to Pink Tentacle you can see 15 other illustrations from that book and a bunch more. They’re great! He’s clearly an amazing illustrator.

He was also immediately recognizable to me as the illustrator of a lovely little chapbook of erotic illustrations that I picked up at Taco Che, the alternative comic/book store in Nakano Broadway. It’s called “Erotic Art of Gekko Hayashi a.k.a. Ishihara Gojin” and it turns out that it was actually published by Taco Che themselves, though in 2005 and is now sadly out of print.

The book is fabulous, focusing on primarily gay erotic works, with some S&M a general erotica thrown in for good measure. From what I can tell, the chapbook acted as a gallery catalogue for an exhibition of his work that the store threw back in 2005. You can still see the event page here.

Slightly Naughty! Click to enlarge.

Looking back at it now with a modern eye, you can see the dedication to the depiction of powerful, lithe, and sexy male forms in his kids illustration work that Pink Tentacle dug up, and it goes to show the sort of coded gay language that was a big part of mainstream culture through the 70s and early 80s.

Unfortunately there’s very little information on Hayashi in English anywhere on the net, so far as I can tell, so any speculation as to whether or not he identified as gay would be up in the air. EDIT: I just found this interview at ComiPress that has a great overview of his career (apparently he worked right up through his 70s, including doing gay work until the end of his career, (including some racy stuff!). He also, apparently has a son who is the administrator of his estate (Hayashi passed away in 1997) so… yeah. Gay is still kind of a sliding scale in Japan. 🙂

The other neat thing is that all of the images that Pink Tentacle ganked came grom a site called “Gojin Fech!” which seems to be a massive repository of his work online, which I can’t seem to navigate at all, Google Chrome/Translate are utterly choking on it. But maybe check it out for yourself, and see if it works out better for you: http://shun50.cool.ne.jp/gojin.htm

Anyway, if you like really attractive illustrations of the male form from 1970s Japan (and who doesn’t?), I highly recommend googling the names “Gekko Hayashi” and “Goji Ishihara”, because there are tons of other fabulous examples of his stuff online.

– Christopher

Posted on

Did you cover The Beguiling’s Scott Pilgrim Midnight launch party?

How I Spent My Monday Night: Chatting with hundreds of people at the Scott Pilgrim Costume Contest. Photo by Alex Davies from http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=6631

So about 8 hours after I got home from the Scott Pilgrim event, I hopped in a cab and headed to the airport to hit the San Diego Comic Con. It was fun times! But then so was the big event, but because of the timing and rush of it all, I didn’t get to really read any of the event coverage, or thank the fine folks who covered it or mentioned it or had a great time. While Google is turning stuff up, I’d hate to miss anything, so if you covered or attended the Scott Pilgrim v6 Midnight Launch at The Beguiling and wrote about it online, please drop a link to the coverage in the comments section here! I’d really appreciate it.

All the best,

– Christopher Butcher