HANGING BALLOONS BY JUNJI ITO

I just got back from a quick trip to Texas to visit my mom and aunts/cousins for the holiday. I'm working on some final posts of the year, after a pitiful lack of any posts on Same Hat in December! GUHHHH. SORRY GUYS!

I do have some exciting news about a posting experiment of sorts! Thanks to the generosity of Michael & Dave, I’m serializing their skillful and impressive fan translation of HANGING BALLOONS by Junji Ito over on the Same Hat TUMBLR. I've been posting 5 pages a day, and you can start at the beginning and read them in reverse order (if you aren't already)!



Hanging Balloons is a longer standalone story that would have been part of the Museum of Terror series had it not been killed off by Dark Horse after volume three. We're up to page 34 already, and shit is about to go down that will haunt your dreams! The entire story should be complete by Monday, January 3 if my mental math is on point.

GO CHECK IT OUT! (and subscribe to the Same Hat Tumblr if you like things that are awesome).

ART FROM THE KITAHARA COLLECTION IN TOKYO

These images came in via the Same Hat Tumblr's open submissions form :) Same Hat reader Han was recently in Tokyo and saw an amazing exhibit of pieces from the "Kitahara Collection" at the Mori Gallery in Tokyo.

Many, many thanks to Han for sharing these amazing photographs! Once again, Same Hat readers prove themselves to be the coolest and most generous comic fans on the interwebs. Han, you rule! If you like what you see below, check out the complete Kitahara Collection photos.






Poster pattern frenzy!




A wall full of Tadanori Yokoo poster prints. I think I would have straight-up fainted on the spot.


Signed piece by Yokoo-- this poster was adopted as a poster campaign by some national onsen organization, remember seeing it earlier this year while visiting Nate in Nakano at a public bathhouse.


Damn, the tiny details on these Yokoo pieces never cease to amaze me.






Giant robots / record players!


Does anyone recognize this sculptor/artist's work?



These look to be paintings by Imiri Sakabashira, but someone correct me if I'm wrong...


Astro Boy redux

Click here to check out the rest of this great set of images.

PHOTOS FROM THE TOSHIO SAEKI EXHIBIT

As I blogged earlier this month, San Francisco is playing host to a rare exhibit of the works of famed erotic artist, Toshio Saeki! My girlfriend and I were running errands on Saturday nearby 111 Minna Gallery, and decided to stop by and check it out!



The show took advantage of the large space (where previous magazine release parties, Last Gasp shows, etc have been hosted), and featured a mixture of Saeki's original inked B&W drawings, his color guides for the printmaker he works with, and a number of lush chinto prints in various sizes. For folks in the area, you have until November 27 to see the exhibit, and I strongly encourage any fans of the perverted and elegant to stop by!

Without further ado, here are my photos and notes from the exhibit!




Mood lighting... we were the only folks during a rainstorm and got to check the entire exhibit out in peace.


Color prints lined both rooms of the exhibit, in Saeki's signature style. These pieces are created in collaboration by Saeki in collaboration with a print-maker via his "semi-traditional" offsent print technique. These were full color prints in his most distinct style, and each is one of an edition of 75.


As much as I like Saeki's normal work, which reproduces really well on glossy paper and as big posters, I was most excited about these more subtle and elegant prints on washi with a slight grain and imperfections. Though these are each chinto offset prints, each one is only printed in editions of one (!) making each one of them "unique".






An original color guide by Saeki, used by the printer per his instructions in the collaborative process of creating the actual print.


Ghost grandma does not approve.


Lush colors and balance, achieved via CMYK-esque color separations dictated by Saeki.


The other room of the exhibit.


Also on display were a few original ink drawings (on the right), selling for around $5K each!


We stared at these for a long while-- some of my favorites of the entire show! The middle one was so damn impressive (but sold already!), as well as the shakier lines of the upper-left print.


Every one of these full-color prints were sold when we visited, each one of an edition of 75.





Micah, the nice guy curating the gallery was cool enough to bring up additional prints that hadn't been displayed in the show. These were additional pieces (all 1 of an edition of 1) that they hadn't had room on the wall for but were available for sale. I decided I really wanted to get the following piece, and though my credit card is sad I will deal with it later after my next paycheck...


It didn't have a title, so the dude made one up for the invoice; "Dwarf on the road with 4-wheeled severed head". I think Saeki would approve.



(details)

Like I mentioned, local folks have just a few more days to check out this awesome show! Another high-five to 111 Minna Gallery and Last Gasp for putting this exciting exhibit together! Check out their site above for a full gallery of the prints/originals that were on the walls.

KOIKE KAZUO IN NORTH AMERICA?

Hey folks! Today's post is something a little different than usual-- a guest post by Ryan Holmberg, who as many of you know was the curator of Garo Manga: The First Decade (1964-1973) show earlier this year and is currently a postdoc in Contemporary Art.

This is a group research project of sorts, as he's looking for our help (and the help of the greater comics/mangasphere) to dig up details about the American reaction to the translated works of Koike Kazuo. I'll let him take it away below, and please add your thoughts/links/contributions in the comments. Some answers to these questions may be in interview with Frank Miller and Dark Horse editors, along with books by Paul Gravett or Frederik Schodt. But I also I know there are lots of other writings from the 80s and 90s, along with personal anecdotes, that can fill in the details. Thanks in advance!


(Frank Miller/Lynn Varley's cover to the first issue of First Comics' run of Lone Wolf & Cub. Check out the complete covers from those floppy issues)

From Ryan Holmberg:

A colleague of mine in Tokyo is currently writing about the famous manga script writer Koike Kazuo of "Lone Wolf and Cub" and "Crying Freeman" fame. He recently asked me some questions about the reception and reputation of Koike Kazuo in North America. Having first come into contact with his work in Japan, I was not sure how to answer. So on his behalf, and to satisfy my own curiosity, I wonder if readers of Same Hat might be able to share some facts or general impressions or anecdotes? The more specific people can be about dates and places et cetera, the more helpful it would be.

First, does anyone know the history of how Koike's work came to be translated in the United States? Is there an industry back story of any note? Also, any thoughts about what kind of audience his work was initially marketed to – age-wise, reading taste-wise, et cetera? Was there any substantial critical response at the time?

Second, Frank Miller's admiration of Koike Kazuo is well-known. I wonder if anyone could flesh out the details of that, and the various ways in which it shaped Miller's work, or how Miller was involved in popularizing Koike's work? I am aware that Miller/Varley did covers for Lone Wolf and Cub, and the impact on Ronin and Sin City…but I am wondering if anyone might be able to expand on that.

Third, it seems the status of writers is much lower than that of artists when it comes to comics in North America. Do you think this might also be the case for Koike? In other words, do people first think of Kojima Goseki and Ikegami Ryoichi when the titles of Koike's work come up?

Last, in the early 70s, Koike was writing a Japanese version of the "Hulk" for Bokura Magazine. It has never been collected, and probably never will be because of copyright issues. My colleague is wondering whether, in North America, at the time of "Lone Wolf and Cub's" release, would it have had the same readership as the Hulk? He’s trying again to get a sense of if the readership of Koike's work in Japan overlaps with that elsewhere?

Sorry for the many and lengthy questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(Lone Wolf & Cub board game by Mayfair Games, 1989. Cover by Grendel artist Matt Wagner)

UPDATE: Received this update from Ryan Holmberg:

"Thanks for this treasure trove of information. It's amazingly helpful and much much more than I had hoped for. I apologize for not being active on the posting myself. On the one hand, I couldn't be of much use as my contact with Koike's work has been almost entirely in Japan. Also, I have been too buried in circa 1960 "hardboiled" manga the past few weeks -- essentially the breeding ground for Koike-type gekiga. Maybe I can return the favor in a week or so with some gems from that world. Again, thank you thank you"

MARUO WOULD BE PROUD

Here is some serious Halloween/Suehiro Maruo realness, courtesy of my friends Monika and Yuichiro.



Yuichiro is dressed in a Maruo/Rampo-inspired outfit, while Monika is dressed as Midori, the Camellia Girl (Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show).

What did YOU dress up as for Halloween?

COVER FOR NEW SHINTARO KAGO MANGA

Exciting news for Shintaro Kago and monster manga fans! The cover of his new manga, アナモルフォシスの冥獣 (The Dark Beast Animorphosis), has just been published on the ANIMORPHOSIS blog:



Here is a video of Shintaro Kago inking this cover illustration. I read on Kago's twitter that he just finished proofing the book a week or two ago... The book is scheduled to be published in in Japan on 11/18/2010, published by コアマガジン (Core Magazine).

UPDATE: Here's a newly-added description of the book on Amazon.co.jp:

事件や事故の現場を再現し被害者の霊を呼び出す降霊イベント”ア ナモルフォシスの館”。特撮セットの中で非業の死を遂げた男の霊 の降霊に成功するが、イベント参加者の男女６人が次々と怪死を遂 げていく・・・。（帯文） 前作「フラクション」で第三回世界バカミス☆アワードを受賞し、 ミステリ漫画家としても評価の高まる駕籠真太郎の133ページ もの単行本書き下ろし長編第二弾。著者の特撮への造詣の深さを思 わせる小ネタ、オカルト描写など、これまでの駕籠真太郎作品の別 解釈＋αがてんこ盛り。一挙書き下ろしを通じて新たなマンガ体験 をお楽しみください。書き下ろしと同時収録されるのは、全て単行 本未収録の短編が9本。

Will post a quick translation when I'm not riding on a bus (feel free to Google Translate or suggest one in the comments)

UPDATE 2: They added a short book trailer for the title as well:

TOSHIO SAEKI SHOW OPENING THIS WEEK IN SF

Hot on the heels of a series of horrific and exciting San Francisco events (Alternative Press Expo, Halloween parties, post-World Series victory riots), our fair city has another trick up its sleeve for November: A solo art exhibit by artist Toshio Saeki!



This Thursday, 111 Minna Gallery will be co-presenting a show of Toshio Saeki's chinto printing pieces with publisher Last Gasp. This show will run until November 28th, and be a rare opportunity for folks outside of Japan to see Saeki's prints in person.

If you're a fan of Toshio Saeki and/or erotic art, you should've already checked out Last Gasp's fabulously oversized art book Onikage. It's a lush and unique hardcover showing both large color works and the chinto printing process via interesting vellum overlays in the book itself. Pricy but worth it for fans-- I've never seen another book that gives such interesting insights into how CMYK or woodblock printing works.

I'll be stopping by the opening to see the pieces in person- I'm super curious to see if any prints will be on sale and how much they run! Will post pictures and a report from the event here on Friday morning for folks outside of the Bay Area.

UMEZZ CARNIVAL 2010

It's Halloween already, which means our favorite manga event of the year has arrived... and sadly, already passed! That's right, Kazuo Umezu's birthday and accompanying Umezz Festival! Never fear, you manga fans unable to attend due to geographic and temporal restrictions-- as with last year, our buddies over at Tokyo Scum Brigade were there documenting and participating in UMEZZ CARNIVAL 2010!



In a series of posts on their blog, Voidmare & Dr. Senbei covered the actual Umezz Carnival, along with his live rock concert and the accompanying animation festival. Here is the list of must-read posts (The 1st post includes bonus Demerin-as-Hebi Onna cosplay pics!)

+ Umezu Carnival 2010

"This year, the Kichijoji Theater provided the backdrop for a three-tiered event grounded with a talk show delving into the man's obsession with snakes, followed by an appearance by anime diva Horie Mitsuko, then topped off with a performance by his band CAPS!! and the Gwash dancers."

[READ MORE ABOUT UMEZU CARNIVAL!]

+ Umezu Rock Live 2010

"If anything, retiring from manga has given him the time to focus on his second passion: Music. Umezu began writing songs for popular musicians back in the 70's and even recorded two full length CDs, Yami no Album (The Darkness Album) and Gwash!! Makoto-Chan/Umezu Kazuo World. The Umezu Carnival is held both to celebrate his birthday and scratch the rockstar itch that has been driving him batty for the past quarter of a century."

[READ MORE ABOUT UMEZU ROCK LIVE!]

+ Kichijoji Animation Festival

"The 5th annual Kichijoji Film Festival was held yesterday as part of Kichijoji Anime Wonderland. Hometown animation companies Studio 4 C and studio Studio Deen, as well as manga publisher Coamix, were there to represent their turf. They were backed up by academic manga researchers from Kyoto Seika University, Takekuma Kentaro and Tsugata Nobuyuku."

[READ MORE ABOUT KICHIJOJI ANIMATION FEST!]

ALSO FOR ADDED PLEASURE: Your the Man Now, Umezu

Unrelated to Umezu, I'm curious to know if anyone did horror/indie manga cosplay this year? Last year's bunch was fantastic... please email me any photos and I'll post them up! My buddy Moni and her BF dressed up as Maruo characters...

KAGO INKING THE COVER OF HIS NEW MANGA

As a follow-up to my previous post from last week, another video has been posted of Shintaro Kago's mesmerizing inking technique. The previous post and this one feature him inking pages from his newest manga, アナモルフォシスの冥獣 (Dark Beast Animorphosis), which looks to be a Horror/SF kaiju-Cloverfield mutation story. There aren't a lot of details yet on the book itself, but it's schedule to come out in Japan on 11/23/2010, published as a book by コアマガジン (Core Magazine).

Here is a new video posted on the "ANIMORPHOSIS" blog, basically a sped-up clip of him inking the cover illustration. Pretty amazing to watch him fill in all the details:



More details as I have them about the book itself. You know I'm gonna have to talk the San Francisco Kinokuniya into importing myself a copy!

OUT TODAY ON DVD: HOUSE!

Our buddy Brendan Ninness reminded me this morning on Facebook of some exciting pre-Halloween news... HOUSE by Nobuhiko Obayashi comes out on Criterion DVD today in America!



I've blogged previously about this this masterpiece of goofy surreal horror-- one of my alltime favorite films. This official and lush DVD include the following notables:

• Constructing a “House,” a new video piece featuring interviews with director Nobuhiko Obayashi, story scenarist and daughter of the filmmaker Chigumi Obayashi, and screenwriter Chiho Katsura


• Emotion, a 1966 experimental film by Obayashi


• New video appreciation by director Ti West (House of the Devil)


• New and improved English subtitle translation


• PLUS: An essay by critic Chuck Stephens

The main piece of awesomeness is simply having HOUSE available on a non-VCD, non-fan translated rip-- but I'm pretty stoked to see the interview with Obayashi and his daughter(!) along with a DVD-quality of his short film Emotion. For folks interested in learning more, Criterion posted a great interview with Janus Films’ Brian Belovarac about the process of "discovering" and releasing the film for English-speaking audiences.  Here is the excellent essay about the film by Chuck Stephens on the Criterion site.

You can watch "Emotion" on YouTube here.

AMAZING SHOJO WORK BY LITTLE THUNDER

Little Thunder is one of our favorite contemporary illustrator/cartoonists, an artist around my age working in Hong Kong. She does narrative comics, along with illustration and design gigs for rad products and sites around the world.

Last week, Little Thunder posted a new batch of sketchbook pages, paintings, and illustrations to her Flickr. I actually gasped when I saw the Shojo manga-inspired "JOEY" series, which summon the sexy and rich textures and compositions of Moto Hagio and other Magnificent 49ers masters.

Check out more of LT's work on her flickr and Instagram, enjoy these pieces, and spread the word about her awesomeness.

COME SEE US AT APE!

For folks within driving distance of the Bay Area, tomorrow is the 2010 Alternative Press Expo! I'll be tabling for the 5th consecutive year with the supergroup known as THE BANG GANG!



I don't have any brand-new zines this time, but will be selling PRISON FOR BITCHES, the Lady Gaga fanzine that me & Michael DeForge created, featuring comics/essays/art by our favorite indie cartoonists and illustrators. I'll be tabling with a fantastic squad of comic creators, and they'll be slinging awesome comics and prints and goodies:
Hellen Jo
Calvin Wong
Anthony Wu
Derek Yu
Aaron Mew
Ryan Germick
Angie Wang
Mare Odomo

We are at booth #613, located here:

[Click for big version]

We'll be there Saturday from 11am-7pm, and Sunday 11am-6pm. Stop by and say hello!

SHINTARO KAGO INKING VIDEOS FROM HIS NEW MANGA

We haven't posted lately about our friend Shintaro Kago, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been keeping busy! Between gags and a longer "sumo detective" comic for the eManga periodical ComiCloud, Kago has also been working on a new book called アナモルフォシスの冥獣 (Dark Beast Animorphosis), which sounds like a twisted kaiju science fiction/monster comic. AWESOME!



I'm not sure of many of the details about this book, but did find a great series of videos on this new "ANIMORPHOSIS" blog of Kago penciling and inking a few panels from the book. They don't give away much plot-wise, but the level of precision and detail he puts into his line work always amazes me. I was lucky enough to snag two pieces of his original work, and I find myself often squinting and staring at them in our hallway remaking on the insane cross-hatching, dot tones, and fine inking. No matter the subject matter, magazine or medium, dude is truly impressive.

I'll dig around for more information on this book (coming out this week on November 18, 2010) and will post them on Same Hat. In the meantime, enjoy these videos!

Video 1 of 2


Video 2 of 2


Consolidated 2x speed video!

GIVING AWAY SOME MANGA/COMICS

I was cleaning my apartment a little this weekend, and have a stack of manga and American comics to give away. These are things I purchased, along with a few free books from friends here and there.


(These books not actually included)

The rub is, these books are free but you're gonna have to Paypal me for shipping. I sorta discourage international folks from claiming books unless you're okay with the ~$8-14 bucks it costs to mail things. For US folks, I'm sure it will be like $2-$4 for any books you'd want.

If you see something you want, leave a message in the comments claiming it/them AND send me an email at SAMEHAT[at]GMAIL[dot]COM. I'd recommend you check the comments to see if someone else has claimed a book first, and I'll strike them out of the post as fast as I can to avoid confusion. OKAY, ENJOY FREE STUFF!

• Welcome to the N.H.K. v.1 by Takimoto / Oiwa
  
• Nightmare Inspector v.1 by Shin Mashiba
  
• ALIVE v.1 by Tadashi Kawashima
  
• Gantz by Hiroya Oku v.1
  
• Swan by Ariyoshi Kyoko v.1
  
• After School Nightmare v.1 by Setona Mizushiro
  
• Ristorante Paradiso by Natsume Ono
  
• The Wallflower v.1 by Tomoko Hayakawa
  
• A Distant Neighborhood v.1 by Jiro Taniguchi
  
• A Distant Neighborhood v.2 by Jiro Taniguchi
  
• DMZ: On the Ground (v.1) by Wood/Burchielli
  
• Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil v.1, 2, 3 by Jeff Smith
  
• The Plain Janes by Castelucci & Rugg
  
• Janes in Love by Castelucci & Rugg
  
• My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down by David Heatley
  

SEIRINKOGEISHA BOOK PREVIEWS ONLINE!

I figure a lot of Same Hat readers are familiar with the publisher Seirinkogeisha (青林工藝舎), but if you're not they are one of the driving forces of contemporary indie manga-- a small publisher (not unlike Fantagraphics or Drawn & Quarterly in North America) behind a stable of diverse and exciting artists, many showcased in their AX anthology/magazine. They are also closely connected to tacoCHE in Nakano. Along with IKKI, EnterBrain/COMIC BEAM, and a few other publishers in Japan (Ohta, some of the stuff in MORNING), Seirinkogeisha is carrying the torch for indie manga- publishing both manga by contemporary creators and collections of unknown or under-appreciated artists of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.



I realized recently that lots of fans of this stuff, waiting to see it in translation, might not be aware that the rad folks at Seirinkogeisha have been posting online a growing selection of previews of their new releases. These are all in Japanese (of course) but even untranslated hopefully present a cool flavor of what's happening right now. They post updates to their blog each time they add new previews too!

If you're interested in seeing what's happening in contemporary indie manga from one of the most interesting comics publishers in the world, I strongly encourage you guys check out the samples! For most titles, they put up the first chapter or so of the book-- and though their web reader is a bit slow to load, it's a great resource for nerds like us. I haven't read any of these books (except for the Yamada Hanako one) so please share comments if you have!

Thematically and visually, Seirinkogeisha's crop of new releases are all over the place (in a good way), but here are a few of ones I found most interesting:




生きる2010 (Ikiru 2010 aka We Live 2010) by Takashi Nemoto 
The gnarliness we've come to love and expect from Takashi Nemoto is in full force here. The first story in the book/preview is in trippy full-color, and the entire book looks to be equally dense and brimming with sketchy details.



レッツゴー!!おスナック (Let's Go! Snack Bar) by Toyo Kataoka
Kataoka is featured in the AX Anthology, and has published a series of short story collections. In his work, Tokyoite Kataoka's uber-ornate and grotesque manga style is used (to great effect) to tell blue collar neighborhood stories about the city's day laborers, bar flies, and housewives.




ドストエフスキーの犬 (Dostoevsky's Dog) by George Akiyama
I picked up a copy of this book, along with Akiyama's ANGURA after having them recommended by Shintaro Kago himself. In Dostoevsky's Dog, Akiyama's elegant and clean lines serve up a a collection of raw tales, full of sex, sin, and coming of age angst. One of my favorite discoveries of the last year!



FLIGHT by Tsurita Kuniko
I'm not super familiar with Tsurita Kuniko, but this book collecting various manga from her short career has majorly piqued my interest. From a few online bios, it sounds like Tsurita's comics were published by Shirato Sanpei in GARO, starting right away in the mid-60s when she was just a high school student and continuing until the early 80s. She is reported to have worked in some way with Shigeru Mizuki, but fell ill with SLE and died at the early age of 37,




砂の剣 (Sword of the Sand)) by Susumu Higa
Another title/creator I'm not super familiar with, this one is Seirinkogeisha's latest book released (also featured on the cover of the latest AX). Sword of the Sand looks to be a humane and personal wartime tale set on Okinawa during the end of WWII.



Sujiko by Osamu Kanno 
This is the first collection from Seirinkogeisha of the absurd and weirdly literary art comics of Osamu Kanno. I don't know much about this guy (post in the comments if you do!) but he has been consistently publishing short stories in AX since the beginning, and made his cartooning debut in 1982 (according to this profile via a Tsuge site). His "The Stranger" is the first story in the new AX Anthology. I am intrigued by this preview and want to learn more about these comics...

From Caroline Bren in the comments:

In addition to last year's book from Serinkogeisha, Osamu had another collection around the same time by Hokutoh Shobu, which I believe has been his regular publisher since the begining of his 80's. The recent book as well as one older one seem to still be available, but there is larger bibliography here. Most of the excerpt from his book that appears on the Serinkogeisha site first appeared in AX #58, and AX #71 had a cover feature on Osamu (but only a short comic). I haven't read any of the books but the pieces in AX are great.

ダニー・ボーイ (Danny Boy) by Shimada Toranosuke 
I picked up a manga called "Träumerei" by artist Shimada Toranosuke last Spring in Tokyo, after seeing his works at the BIG AX FESTIVAL (pics of him from the show in that post). At first I didn't realize he was a contemporary cartoonist, and thought Seirinkogeisha had reprinted something from the early 70s.

Shimatora has a lovely little story in the AX Anthology ("Enrique Kobayashi's Eldorado"). His style is cartooning in a really beautiful and literal sense, simplifying faces and settings down to elegant lines and contrasting black & white shapes. I haven't read any of his stuff beyond Träumerei, which jumped setting from Cambodia to Japan to the Middle East to America, but this book seems to be a series of short stories named after songs (Danny Boy, Far East Suite, etc), focusing on war, music and late-20th Century politics(?).



正義隊3 (Justice Corps 3) by Yuka Goto
The third volume of this action series by young & awesome cartoonist Yuka Goto (age 32). Justice Corps looks like weird shirt drawn in a retarded and mean high school girl's notebook, which is an aesthetic that I love. Goto has a story called The Neighbor in the AX Anthology, and I just love that Seirinkogeisha publishes this type of work. The HETA in her heta-uma is STRONG, but also hilarious, like if Mat Brinkman's MULTIFORCE was drawn by Tammy from Esther Pearl Watson's Unloveable.



As a final note, I realized I never blogged about "Tamashii no ASOKO" the book about the late (& genius!) Yamada Hanako-- a fantastic biography & collection of her high school comics, college zines and assorted works. I've had an art crush on her since first seeing her comics in Comics Underground Japan, and will devote a full post to the book sometime (of which, you can get a sample at the link above).