u/bachwerk

(Edit) I’ve told this completely wrong, u/ambitious-welder-159 shared an actual clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=BNG-1EhNg2A9U99o&v=7zoWcTEetQs&feature=youtu.be

Same general theme, quite different details. I will self-flagellate now.

—————

Been reading this a bit this weekend for some reason, I thought I’d share an anecdote of when I’ve heard this phrase before.

Sometime in the 90s, during the Toronto Film Festival, at a Midnight Madness (b-movie) screening, Bruce Campbell did a Q&A (probably around Bubba Hotep). One audience guy lined up to ask a witty question, “Why don’t you make GOOD movies?” The audience giggles, but Campbell isn’t having it.

(this is obviously paraphrased, as I don’t really remember in detail, but the gist works)

Campbell starts, “Alright, let’s say you are the studio head, you want to make a good genre movie, not break the bank. Who can you attach to produce? How about Kathleen Kennedy? She did Indiana Jones and some Star Wars.”

Fan says sure.

”Hey, and we can use a book to base it on, something proven to have a good hook. We can secure a Michael Crichton one, that Jurassic Park guy.”

Fan agrees.

”For effects, you know know who we got? Stan Winston! He’s the best in the biz.”

Fan says yes.

”It’s getting expensive, we need stars, but not too big. Let’s get good actors at least. Hey, we can get Tim Curry, he doesn’t phone it in.”

Fan says cool.

”Nice job, Einstein, you just greenlit Congo. Now sit down.”

The new series by Matsumoto Taiyo and Cyril Pedrosa, started in May, and is being published bi-weekly. The first collection is expected in the fall. I don't know if there will be more than one.

It's Matsumoto, so it's going to be good. The first chapter is fine enough, but you can't judge it from that.

The story is called Nanbanjin (Southern Barbarian), which was the medieval word for Westerners when they first arrived in Japan in the 1500s. The story clearly states it's the Muromachi period, so I'd assume it's set in the first half of that century. (If you study Japanese history, you'll see they had long contact with the West, but it was largely confined to Dejima in Kyushu, originally Portuguese, and later Dutch)

The main character is a rural fisherman, who is introduced remembering his son that was lost to the sea. A giant Westerner washes up on the beach, immediately bringing to mind Mazzuchelli's Big Man story. That character is nursed to health during this chapter. The others are the rural villagers who largely debate whether it's a barbarian or a demon/oni.

Matsumoto has used a lot of ink washes throughout, and it has a mood of traditional sumi-e ink art of the period in places. His art has an inherent emotion at this point in his career.

I picked this up on a lark, and will wait for the collected edition to read more. But it's interesting to see what it's about. I'm sharing it here in lazy photographs, and this should not be considered any replacement for reading the actual printed edition. Hopefully it whets your appetite.

It's hard to know what Pedrosa is doing from this issue. Is he writing? Contributing story? Laying out the plot? He's of Portuguese descent, and a lot of the original visitors to Japan were the Portuguese. I can imagine it's an interesting period for him.

I look forward to reading it in full in the fall.

Even as I was taking pics of my last post on 90s Canadian mini-comics, I was thinking this should probably be shared. Joe Matt had a decade or so in Toronto, and kept a sketch book that he roped in any semi-famous cartoonist into contributing to. A ton of famous names in this.

No idea how much this was, probably about $2, and was for sale at the Beguiling for a very limited time, during the golden years, back when the shop was on Markham street.

I made a pdf for you too! Enjoy!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ra3BjG8ipVuVo0vl9dL_oygoZ-zhjYgR/view?usp=sharing

I lived in Toronto for eight years, and was a comic maker while there. Of course I supported the scene. Let me know if these are of interest. I’ve written about them where I know something worth writing.

Out There by Alan Hunt. A contributor to Exclaim, and someone who wanted to be a comic maker until Drawn & Quarterly offered to publish him and he learned what they offered. He still shares illustrations on his Insta

Assorted Bumblenut books by Marc Ngui. I considered him the most technically skilled and hard-working artist of that time. Very prolific and very precise cartooning.

Shrimpy and Paul by Marc Bell, who has gone on to larger success

A book by prolific creator Lorenz Peter

A zine by Chris Hutzul, who was a cartoonist for Eye Weekly for a while. Last I heard he was in advertising, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had art shows going on occasionally too.

A book by Amanda Crawford

Stay As You Are by Brad Yung, a smart, social comic.

Spork by John Perlock. He went on to be a magazine illustrator, to the best of my knowledge

A comic by Patti Kim, who was a major zinester in the 90s. Her zines were an influence on me making zines myself during high school.

One-Way Glass by Ryan James. His book was mentioned in the letters pages of Peepshow, which gave him a solid profile

Books by Tim McGregor. He had a neat retro rockabilly sensibility

Don’t Touch Me, a comics zine by Dave Howard, who ran the Toronto Comic Jam, and still might

Random copies of the Comic Jam collections. Al Bunce was a star, and still posts on Insta

My own book, Square. Ultimately I made 20 issues, but only four while in Toronto, and a decade between issues 4 and 5

And a bonus pic, Joe Matt’s Sketch Jam Book, chock full of famous 90s alt cartoonist he roped into contribusting.

Comics for Life

Hey

Hokkaido Comitia is coming up on May 10 at the Sapporo Convention Center near Higashi Sapporo Station on the Tozai subway line.

Comitia is a nationally-held indie comics event. This is where the independent manga makers of Hokkaido sell their books, prints, and goods. It’s a no-IP event, so everyone sells their own original works.

This will be my third time tabling at the Hokkaido event. I’ll see you there!