THE SETTING: The Manga Pavilion in the German Publisher hall at Frankfurt Book Fair, the biggest book and publishing fair in the entire world. THE CAST: Me talking to a white German teenage girl, dressed in an H&M-meets-Harjuku-cosplay outfit with dyed streaks in her hair. THE SCENE: The German teenager is part of a queue of about 250 other girls, in a line waiting to get their comics signed by SOMEONE that looks like a Japanese or Asian American hip hop girl.
ME: So, who are you guys waiting in line to meet? German teenybopper: It's Judith Park! ME: Oh, is she an American comic artist? German teenybopper: You don't know Judith Park? She is the most famous manga-ka in Germany!! ME: [Stunned silence]
For those new to the blog, this post is the penultimate dispatch in a series of posts based on things I saw and people I met while in Ireland and Germany last Fall.
And making this clear from the start-- I don't have any stunning insight on what exactly this means. I also am probably going to use all the wrong terminology here. But figuring that manga-influenced comics made in English by non-Japanese creators are referred to as Original English-language manga (OEL manga), I am gonna try calling these comics Original German-langauge manga (OGL manga). The main impetus for this post was that the scene at Frankfurt got the weird little motor in my brain spinning. And it made me also realize a few other things:
1) The European reading population and comic buying scene (Esp. in Germany/France/Spain) might have figured out manga in a major, commerically-viable way before us (where, us = Americans). I make this declaration based solely on the breadth of manga available in translation there, the # of Japan-related magazines and publications, and the level of maturity of the OGL/OFL/OSL manga scenes in each country.
2) Teenage girls and cosplayers in Germany appear to be just as fascinated and empowered to participate in comics BECAUSE OF manga as their American counterparts. If the concept of manga sparking larger female participation in comics (financially, creatively, etc) makes you raise an eyebrow then you must have missed the memo in the early '00s.
3) The OGL manga scene has its own young stars, and it looks like they're coming to our shores soon.
I'm really hoping this is one of those posts where people who know way more about this scene (and the implications and embedded arguements therein) jump in via comments and get a proper discussion going-- If I've said anything idiotic or misinformed, then let me know.
But back to my task for today: Who, exactly, is Judith Park (other than the biggest manga-ka in germany, DUH)?
I've done the basics of web research (Lambiek, Wikipedia (DE), and her homepage) , so let me lay it on you. She was born in 1984 in Duisberg (near Dusseldorf), and according to her english profile, she's into Frank Miller, Michael Bay blockbusters, Rocco's Modern Life and Miyazaki films. It's not clear where she is based right now, but I did learn while I was in Germany that Frankfurt is home to the biggest Korean expatriate population in Europe.
Her most famous comics pictured above, Y Square and Distopia. It also sounds like she's now working on a new yet-unnamed book.
Judith is scheduled to appear at number of appearances at German book and comic fairs, and her site contains lots of pics from recent events she's attended. I read the Google Translate version of this profile of Judith from November 2005, where she says that she draws for about 9 hours a day, and got her start by winning a manga competition held by the publisher Carlsen, which is one of the three big German comic book publishers. You can also see more of Judith's art at her deviantART page. (She also has a YouTube channel documenting her "gay chinchillas"-- her words).
More recent pics of Judith from her site:
Now, this is not to say that the German OGL manga scene (as far as I could feebly decipher) is just about Judith Park. I also had the dumb luck to see another rising German comics star, Anike Hage, signing at the pavillion. Anike Hage is even younger (only 21!) and has a number of OGL titles out with Tokyopop DE. I just read here that Anike Hage's Gothic Sports has been licensed to be released by Tokyopop US, as part of their ambitious international comics push. The release date on Amazon for this book is May 8, 2007.
A few last tidbits, I found a German con report that has some pics of Judith signing and of German cosplayers (the theme of the last post in this series). In his archives, I also found that Jeff Smith posted details on the German manga scene, and pics from hanging out with Anike on his blog around the time of Frankfurt Book Fair. Finally, here is a translated article about Judith Park's sales figures and continuing popularity in Germany.
Fone Bone & Anike Hage's protagonist together
Jeff Smith and Anike Hage, exhausted after signing comics all day
Okay, my brain has run out of steam, but I want to hear more from you guys about manga in Europe (Germany specifically), any thoughts on Judith & Anike, or generally about Original-English/German/etc language manga in all of its international incarnations!
EDIT: I should have directly mentioned Elae's awesome site Deutsche Mangaka, which is specifically about the OGL manga scene. From her site, I just learned that Judith Park's Y Square was licensed in English, but no official release date yet. Very interesting cross-pollination news :)
Short post today, but this one aims to put a huge grin on the face of every Umezu fan out there.
In a recent post on his website, Kazuo Umezu put up a link to his online photo gallery, hosted by Google's Picasa Web Albums! Who woulda guessed that Umezz was hip to social photo-sharing sites?
His photo albums hold about 180 pictures , including candid shots from talks and signings, and even some images of Umezu as a young boy!
On top of that, an entire album (36 pics) is full of one similar headshot pose, but each with a different, wacky face. Oh, and if you didn't already know it, this set should quickly make it clear to you what Umezu's 'signature outfit' consists of...
How can you not love Umezz?? I'd kill for the chance to get to meet him someday... but in the meantime I'll continue to dream that he is my effeminate, ridiculous great-uncle!!
I know, I know... TWO POSTS in one night? But, in the spirit of making old readers happy, and keeping the new readers (HI NEW READERS :B) enticed enough to come back often, we're working on upping the posting frequency.
Pardon our shamelessness for making this one about ourselves. For anyone that wants to know more about why we started this site and all that jazz, Evan & I were recently interviewed by manga blogging queen Brigid Alverson (of MangaBlog and Digitial Strips fame). The interview, covering topics like Japanese horror, the ethics of scanlation and our original webcomics, was for Brigid's monthy manga column at Comixpedia, called Brigid's Bento Box.
So, head over to Comixpedia and check out the interview, and then come back here to let me know if you think we sounded like idiots or bored you to tears.. or maybe um, inspired you to start your own scanlation blog?
A rare sighting of the elusive editors!
Okay, so now that you've read the interview (you clicked the link, right?) you know that we're working on an original webcomic horror thingy called Stillborn, and the new Sensha story should to be posted very soon. SO, the important question for you guys is: What should we scanlate next? We're considering more Yoshida Sensha 4-panel gag strips (in color), comics by Heartbroken Angels' Kikuni, etc...But, what would YOU like to see? Let us know in the comments.
I don't know what to say except that LJ'er rootstudio is totally rad: Insane? YES. Flattering? INDEED. Inspired cartooning? You're DAMN RIGHT!
As he explained in this post, "For those of you who don't know it yet, Same Hat! is the most awesome horror/wonky gag manga blog ever. So it's only fitting I should pay tribute radicolaishness with this crummy parody of this original strip by Yoshida Sensha from which they got their name..."
AWW, thanks rootstudio!! Everyone should check out his journal for great comics commentary and great doodles of weird shit.
PS: This is the second ever Sensha-inspired parody strip we've seen, the first being 'Same Paddle' by another LJ'er, paradesend.
Yes, more news regarding Uncle Maruo! The anime adaptation of Suehiro Maruo's MIDORI (aka Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show) is currently up on YouTube in its entirety (split nicely between 5 clips). We previously blogged about the trailer and a torrent for the anime, but this should make it a lot easier for more of you to check this flick out. Collected here for your enjoyment (while it lasts):
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Part Four:
Part Five:
Just to note, we've just started updating our own Same Hat channel (Tatsumi interview, Kiiiiiii live, with more to come) and tagging lots of favorites that might be of interest to readers of the blog (Hideshi Hino interview, Tezuka anime shorts, etc).
Here is an amazing find from our man in Japan, Clay-- Sorry to be so slow to post this! Warning: This graphic stuff may be unsuitable for some!
Just to paraphrase a few other posts, NeoSamurai reported that Hugo strikes back, one of the great Japanese guro/horror blogs, has posted the entire scans of the fantastic 1988 book, 江戸昭和競作無惨絵英名二十八衆句 -- aka "28 Famous Scenes of Murder and Verse." This book features gory and outrageous Muzan-e scenes illustrated by Same Hat favorites Suehiro Maruo and Kazuichi Hanawa!!
You can download it in its entirety (86.7MB) here, at least for now.
Muzan-e "無残絵" (Bloody Ukiyo-e) is a subcategory of ukiyo-e prints depicting sex, gore and cruelty. The book is a homage to the famous 1866 series of the same name by artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, who is often names as the last great master of Ukiyo-e.
This book couples Maruo & Hanawa's contemporary prints with Yoshitoshi's 19th century Muzan-e, along with commentary on each piece in both English and Japanese. Some of my favorite prints include a few by Suehiro Maruo depicting Hitler & Eva in the bunker, Marc Bolan hanging from a helicopter toting a machine gun, and a scene inspired by Kazuo Umezu's Snake Girl manga! Hanawa's prints are more classically-informed, but the one of a woman strangling her lizard fetus (I know, WTF) is perhaps the most disturbing of the whole bunch.
WHAT A FIND! We name-dropped Yoshitoshi and his bloody Ukiyo-e way back in early posts on this blog, and so we're especially pleased to hear about this and bring it to you. For those that don't want to download the entire .RAR, you can find some scans of Hanawa's prints from the book here.
Many thanks again to: Clay, NeoSamurai and Hugo strikes back!
Quick post: Last weekend, I found myself in the office for a few hours trying to catch up on work. During a coffee break, trying desperately to stay away from my desk, I decided to whip up gigantic images of a few favorite authors and decorate the office hallway (That makes sense, right?).
After a few minutes on Rasterbator, 2 cups of coffee and an additional hour on all fours taping the pieces together later, here are the results:
POE vs. LOVECRAFT!
details: Edgar Allan Poe: America's Favorite Anti-Transcendentalist
H.P. Lovecraft: The Master of Cosmic Horror
I thought you guys might enjoy those. Future additions for the next time I get bored at work: Franz Kafka and Shirley Jackson!
Taking a quick break from manga news & scanlations, here are some clips from a rad show I saw on Wednesday. The event featured openers Dreamdate and Scrabbel, and was headlined by art-noise duo Kiiiiii! from Tokyo. This fantastic show was part of the SF Asian American Film Festival.
Check out these pictures and videos! Not content with simply creating an awesome flyer, our buddy Hellen rocked the cello with her band Scrabbel:
I had been hearing about Kiiiiiii for a while from Tokyo-area friends like Yasuko (her kiiiiiiii show pics here and here), and knew they were infamous for wild, conceptual shows (Think a capella OOIOO meets Chicks on Speed-- they do covers of Michael Jackson and the Wiggles!), and we were not disappointed. Also keep in mind that lead singer Utako is performing on a seriously sprained ankle, injured jumping off a tall stage at SXSW.
Shouting and call & response is a good way to start:
Seriously, it's just drums + singing, no other instruments:
Dude, Reiko is a fierce drummer!
Utako rocking the maracas, Reiko rocking the gator hand puppet:
Sorry that I couldn't keep the camera steady:
Kiiiiii's show-ending rendition of We're the Bad ('We Are The World' mashed up with MJ's 'Bad'):
My pre-emptive apologies for the video overload. We'll be back to your regularly scheduled horror and gag manga news soon.
Updated: SAME HAT stopped updating in 2013! For all new projects, please see Youth in Decline's sit and Instagram.
All fan translations of manga that you'll see in the archives are previously untranslated into English and range from comedy to horror to avant-absurd weirdness.
Same Hat is written & edited by Ryan. If you would like to contact me, please email: samehat @ gmail.com. Also, you can Ask me anything on the Same Hat Tumblr!
