Monday, February 22, 2010

SPECIAL "SUEHIRO MARUO" ISSUE OF GARO

Did you know that there was an issue of GARO in the 90s showcasing Suehiro Maruo's work? The May 1993 issues of GARO featured a Maruo cover, and included a long interview with the main. The issue also featured a gallery of Suehiro Maruo's full-color paintings, comic panels, and a photographic bibliography of his work (to date at the time).



Here are some of the lush, full-color pieces featured in the magazine. Many thanks to Stefan, who originally posted these great scans on his Tumblr. Stefan posted recently to help on the Early Manga Days chronology, and posts art on his DeviantArt page.
[Click for larger scans of these pages]









I'm gonna try to track down a cheap used copy of this when I'm at Mandarake this coming weekend. I leave for Japan in less than 48 hours!

16 comments:

jimpac said...

Have an awesome trip, dude. That copy of Garo shouldn't set you back much, finger's crossed they have it in stock.

Goodbye! said...

You lucky ba***** T_T
Have a good vacation, yep!

Stefan said...

Thanks a lot Ryan.

The issue is really wonderful! It also features Nemoto (SICK SICK SICK, I love it).

Do you/does anyone know about the mag Comics Mavo? Is this any good?
I saw they have it at Taco-Che as well.

Anonymous said...

hmmm, strange, all of those images are in an issue of Juxtapoz that featured Maruo and maybe had an interview with him also? wonder if it's the same text?

jimpac said...

@anonymous - Just checked my copy of that issue of Juxtapoz and the accompanying article is written by someone called Annie Tucker so it won't be the same text. You are right that they used a lot of the same imagery from that Garo issue, though.

trevor brown said...

not to dampen your spirits but it took me several years to find a copy - it became really frustrating going in secondhand bookshops with almost complete sets of garo but that particular issue always missing - and when i did eventually find a copy it was a bit of an anticlimax (it's maybe good for the text pieces but the art all available elsewhere)...

anyway, you could find a cheap copy of the yahoo auction easily i think

there's a nice little taco-che-ish bookstore called something like baraka in kichijoji (exit the station on the inokashira park side, walk right, and it's on the left hand side - lots of cult manga and suchlike

Mr Alchemy said...

(you know you're reading a badass blog when Trevor Brown stops by.)

Ryan S said...

@Stefan: oh nice! I have heard the name Comics Mavo before, but never seen it is person. will keep my eyes peeled!

@jimpac: Yeah I remember that issue too-- not the same text I think, but lots of the same paintings

@Trevor: thanks for stopping by! Good to know that the issue is hard to find, so I don't get sad when it's not there at Mandarake or tacoche. I hadn't heard of that shop in Kichijoji, so I'll definitely try to locate it and see what I find.

Anonymous said...

Hyakunen books in Kichijoji had a copy about a month ago, it had been hanging on for a while and might still be there. Worth a try, and cheap too. Located across the street from that other pillar of alternative Japanese culture- the Lacoste store.

Oli said...

Yep this one can be difficult to find.
There's a small manga and used clothes store in kouenji where they had one years ago. They sell Igarashi Daisuke stuff too if I remember well.
There's a shop in jimboucho called nakano shoten where they have a few garo's too... Not so far from akiba's mandarake ;)

I'm leaving japan tuesday, leave me a message on my bakeneko blog if you want me to take you there and have a beer!

Oli

Unknown said...

Ryan/Stefan - Mavo is a doujinshi edited by Takekuma Kentaro (Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga) that features an assortment of talented students who I believe all go (or used to go) to the various universities he teaches at. There's some pretty good stuff in there, definitely check it out when you get a chance.

Ryan S said...

@anonymous: thanks! I went to a bunch of Kichijoji books shops (including that one, i think) :) thanks for the tip

@Oli: Hey Oli! I actually went to that shop and spent a long time digging around-- so much good manga and anthologies there! The name is Koenji Bunko Center. Didn't find that issue of Garo but no sweat. Just got back to the States today-- sorry we didnt get to meet up, it was a super busy 7 days.

@Ko: Thanks for the tip! I didn't get it til i got back just now, but I actually did pick up an issue of Mavo (#10) at Taco Che yesterday morning. It looks pretty rad!

Ryan S said...

@Ko: Actually, i just checked--- the one i got is UZO not MAVO-- a different self-published zine. Mavo yomitai na. I did see lots of Takekuma-san in the Umezu documentary though... more in another post on that :)

Oli said...

Oops sorry, i didn't check the date of your post.

trevor brown said...

just another cult bookstore recomendation (while i'm signed in and passing thru): omega swiez in jimbocho

http://www.omega-swiez.co.jp/contents/about.html

an appointment needed to visit - and they're a bit expensive - but you can make yourself at home, pulling strange books off the shelves, and sit and read for hours - it has a nightclub ambience

Ryan S said...

@Trevor: Thanks for the recommendation! I am sadly already back in the states; I did have great luck in Nakano, and in Koenji's endless used shops. I even made it to Baroque and saw some of your stuff there.

I'll tell my friend Haruna about the Jimbocho place, I'm sure she'll appreciate it!

ryan