Comic Book Therapy » Japan

Indie Spotlight: Yumi Sakugawa

Muy Mareado! — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:00:11 +0000

Welcome to Indie Spotlight! The independent scene is filled with many writers and artists alike and we here at Comic Book Therapy wanted to explore and reach reach out to these talented people to have the opportunity to learn about their works. For our first edition we present to you Yumi Sakugawa!

I am Yumi Sakugawa and I am a comic book artist and illustrator based in the Southern California. I am a regular comic / illustrator online contributor to Sadie Magazine and Wonderhowto.

Most recently, my comic zine “Mundane Fortunes for the Next Ten Billion Years and Other Stories” was selected as Notable Comics of 2012 by the Best American Comics anthology editors.

_____________________________________________________

Comic Book Therapy – Thank you very much for taking the time out to do this interview. How have you been doing?

Yumi Sakugawa – It is my pleasure! I’m finally fully recovered from a week-long cold so right now I am feeling pretty amazing.

CBT – You’re a self published comic book artist. How did you start?

Yumi – After I graduated from UCLA, I spent a year teaching English in Japan… because that’s what you do when you have just graduated from college with an art major and you have no idea what you’re going to do with yourself. During that time, a fellow English-teaching American artist friend and I spontaneously decided to sign up for a small booth at the bi-annual Tokyo Design Festa, a giant arts and craft convention that happens in Tokyo every May and November. I didn’t have any art on hand and I definitely did not want to show up as a first-time exhibitor empty-handed–so I furiously whipped up my first self-published 30-page comic zine “Milk and Moo” just in time for the event. Note to new artists, there is nothing like a convention deadline to really force yourself to kick your own butt to get something done.

This was back in 2008, and I had no idea that a zine culture even existed. When I moved back to Los Angeles, I made serendipitous connections with fellow artists in 2010 who introduced me to the zine scene and really got me hooked to showing comic zines at zine conventions.

CBT – What projects have you completed? Currently working on?

Yumi – I’ve self-published about eight comic zines in the last four years, ranging from illustrated guides on meditation to short comic story collections. My most recent self-published comic zine was a 50-page autobiographical diary comic of my travels in Paris and Rome.

Things I’m currently working on? I’ll definitely be releasing more self-published comics about meditation and mindfulness (people seem to really like those), and more short comic story collections. And since the world always needs more self-love and creative inspiration, I’m thinking of releasing a comic zine that deals specifically with self-love and staying inspired as an artist.

I’m also working on a longer fictional comic project right now, longer than anything I have ever made. It’s kind of a secret so either a lot of people will get to read it once it’s done or I won’t finish it and no one will ever know about it. Hopefully it will be the former and not the latter.

CBT – How long have you been in the art world? What inspired you to pick up the pencil/pen and create?

Yumi – I honestly don’t know what counts as being in the art world! I was in my first group art show in 2008 that wasn’t an art school student campus gallery show, so maybe since then? As for what inspired me to pick up the pencil / pen and create, I’ve always been drawing and doodling since I was a small kid, and drawing is the perfect medium to express yourself when you’re a really painfully shy kid and you’re trrified of talking to people.

CBT – As an artist, conventions and other means of showcasing are pretty important to promote your work. Have you attended conventions?

Yumi – Yes! I’ve attended maybe 6 different comic and zine conventions in the last few years and I really love the convention scene. For 2013, I’m really excited that I will be tabling away from the West Coast for the first time ever–at the Brooklyn Zine Fest in April and at the Toronto Comics and Arts Festival in May. Come visit my table if you think you’ll be going to either of those events!

I always make the coolest new friends and discover amazing new artists at every convention event. Seriously, I feel like there is a significantly lower percentage of douchey, pretentious creative types in the zine scene compared to other creative scenes or maybe I have just been really lucky with the people I’ve met. That, and I love having the opportunity to share my work with new people and connect in real-time with people who have seen my work previously on the internet or elsewhere.

If you are just starting out as a comic book artist, then I really recommend signing up for a table or a booth at a comic convention. Even if you don’t sell that many comics in the beginning, you get so much from the whole experience.

CBT – What is your best Convention memory?

Yumi – I think my best convention memory is the first comic and zine convention I’ve ever attended in 2010. I was crammed in one car with three other zine friends and left at 3 in the morning from Los Angeles to arrive just in time in Sacramento at around 10 A.M. to table at Indy Euphoria. I was only there for one day and I hitched a ride back to Los Angeles with another friend that same night. That convention memory is particularly special to me because that was the first time I had the chance to meet Dylan Williams, the late founder of Sparkplug Comic Books. It was at the convention when he actually bought copies of my first comic zine from me to distribute through Sparkplug and as a total newbie, I was so blown away by the possibility that complete strangers would really take a genuine interest in reading my comics. I feel so fortunate to have met him at that time and one more time before his unfortunate passing in 2011.

CBT – Things can be a bit difficult getting into the comic business. What encourages you to continue?

Yumi – I honestly don’t think much about the difficulty of getting into the comic business. Not because I naively think it won’t be difficult for me or anything like that, more so because I’m much more preoccupied on a narcissistic, mundane level with the daily difficulty of motivating myself every single day to find the time and the inspiration to move forward with my comic projects, regardless of busyness or creative blocks.

What keeps me going? Fan mail from an eleven-year-old girl. Complete strangers from countries I’ve never visited ordering my zines online. Seeing my self-published comics on display in my favorite independent bookstores. Kind messages from strangers. The painstakingly slow progress I make as an artist with every new project I finish. Being held accountable to my inner eleven-year-old who always dreamed of becoming a cartoonist.

CBT – Have you done work for other publishers?

Yumi – I’m actually working on something with another comic publisher. I can’t disclose too much information for the moment and more details will be revealed later in 2013. Stay tuned!

CBT – What do you enjoy most about doing comics?

Yumi – I think comics is the best creative medium for me to fully and honestly express myself as an artist and as a human being. Growing up, I was always torn between wanting to become a writer and wanting to become an artist; thankfully with comics, you can do both things at the same time.

CBT – With the year of rebirths and reboots, do you feel it contributes well to the comic business or takes the interest away from longtime readers?

Yumi – I’m the worst person to ask this question. I haven’t actually read any rebirth or reboot comic storylines.

CBT – Who is your favorite comic book artist? Favorite title or series that features his/her art?

Yumi – What a difficult question! I have many favorite comic book artists that changes with what I am interested in at the moment, but I always find myself revisiting again and again “Skim” illustrated by Jillian Tamaki and written by Mariko Tamaki. Coming-of-age stories with interesting female teenage protagonists are my personal catnip.

CBT – What comic book character would you find easy to relate to?

Yumi – This is a Japanese manga character, but I can relate too well with Maruko from the shoujo manga series “Chibi Maruko-Chan.” She’s lazy and disorganized, and prone to retreating to her own imaginary world a lot, just like me. (I can’t relate, however, to her immense dislike of nattou)

As for an American comic book character, this may be an extreme cliche answer but I think Charlie Brown and I would have had a lot of great coffee hang-outs. I was a pretty melancholy kid prone to over-nostalgizing my own childhood experiences in my head as they were happening in real time.

CBT – What would you consider your greatest piece to date?

Yumi – I don’t know if this would be my greatest, but I will always have a huge fondness for my first self-published comic story “Milk and Moo.” There is a wonderful magic that comes out of having no idea what you’re doing but somehow getting it done anyway.

CBT – For those who want to have a start in illustration, what advice would you share with them?

Yumi – Give the world as many opportunities as possible to see your artwork. Have a regularly updated art blog. Show your work at shows. Exhibit at conventions. Meet other artists. Make friends with artists whose skills and work ethic intimidate the shit out of you. Being an artist can be a lonely business, so find a community of artists you can join or make your own community. Find excuses to get your illustration out there, whether it’s volunteering to illustrate for a someone’s music event flyer or challenging yourself to publishing a weekly web comic with a friend.

In the beginning, all of this may seem like shooting darts in the dark. It is all worth it for the momentum that you create for yourself that will carry you over to your next great opportunity.

CBT – Thank you very much! Is there anything you’d like for us to be on the lookout for?

Yumi – Since so many people have asked about this, I will be releasing a limited artist booklet print of my emo-comic “I Think I Am In Friend-Love with You” sometime this month (January). If you are looking for the perfect not-so-subtle gift to give to your friend-crush for Valentine’s Day, this is it.

>Click Images for Bigger Versions<

Check out the sites below to see more of Yumi’s work and updates on her projects!

Bigcartel: yumisakugawa

Facebook: www.facebook.com/yumiverse

Flickr: yumisakugawa

Twitter: @yumisakugawa

Tumblr sketch blog: acrosstheyumiverse

_____________________________________________________

Hey writers and artists!! As the continuing interest in independent works grows, we want to reach out to the indie community and highlight those who dedicate their time and effort to a passion for their work. Tell us YOUR story! If you know someone that you would like to be featured in this section let us know!

To be featured in Indie Spotlight, please complete the following steps:

Contact us at: dezdewberry@comicbooktherapy.com (Please put “Indie Spotlight” in the subject line)
Provide a short bio and 5-10 pictures if you’re an artist
Sit down, relax and get ready to be contacted back!

Muy Mareado!, Indie Spotlight: Yumi Sakugawa

The Wolverine Finds Its Silver Samurai

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 04:24:35 +0000

The Wolverine will mark Hugh Jackman’s sixth outing as everyone’s favorite Canadian, which sets a record. The closest man to make that many appearances as the same hero is Christopher Reeves with four appearances as Superman. The sequel to the disappointing X-Men: Wolverine Origins is written by Christopher McQuarrie with rewrites by Mark Bomback. Production will start in Australia within the next few weeks. The big news is that the film has landed its villain- The Silver Samurai.

Variety is reporting that Will Yun Lee has signed up to be the villain in the sequel. The film is reportedly based on Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s story where Wolverine goes to Japan. The Silver Samurai is one of Wolvie’s best known villains. Also know as Kenuichio Harada, the Samurai is a mutant who can charge objects with a tachyon field that can cut through anything. Anything includes adamantium. He channels his powers through his katana more often than not.

Lee has been in Witchblade, Law and Order, CSI, and recently Hawaii Five-o. He will also be in the new Total Recall and Red Dawn remakes. I think this is pretty good casting, plus it’s nice to see the Silver Samurai finally square off with Wolverine. What do you think about the casting and villain choice?

Cody "The Thorverine" Ferrell, The Wolverine Finds Its Silver Samurai

Avengers vs X-Men #5 Review

MrComicBook — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:27:39 +0000

Marvel’s main event has been somewhat of a mixed bag for the last couple of issues. Some rather odd character development, and each writer’s own voice being morphed into something that isn’t their own, has made the event’s rather strong start seem like a distant past. Avengers vs X-Men #5′s character work is much stronger, but the ending leaves the reader rather puzzled.

Matt Fraction deals with this week’s issue. He frames the issue with Hope comparing herself to the man who pushed the atomic bomb onto Japan in World War II. It’s a nice comparison, and one that helps sell the reader on how Hope feels this issue. Fraction finally has her crack and agree with what the Avengers have been saying all along. That scene would have worked really well, if it wasn’t surrounded by more and more fighting. Look, I knew there was going to be endless fighting in this series, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be the same five fights over and over again. But Hope’s confession that she made the wrong choice is a good story point, and one that I didn’t see coming from this event. Tony Stark’s robot and plan was good, and it’s no surprise considering Fraction is one of the best Iron Man writers ever. He also grounds the characters a little more than Ed Brubaker did in his issue, but retains the quirk from Jonathan Hickman’s. Characters aren’t going wild for the sake of satisfying a plot point, but are speaking in character. While Fraction had trouble giving everyone a chance to speak on Uncanny X-Men, he did a good job here.

What really left a sour taste in my mouth was the ending. It’s not the worst ending in the world, but not exactly the best either. The Avengers vaguely did something to the Phoenix Force, which pissed it off. I hope they state in another issue what the Avengers exactly did, otherwise it’s a cheap plot twist. But having the X-Men present be infected by the Phoenix somewhat messes up continuity. Wasn’t the Phoenix only able to get into the mind of certain people? I could be wrong, and I’m sure Marvel will say something like, “It’s the Phoenix Force, it can do whatever the hell it wants.” #6 comes out in two weeks, so I shall reserve my judgement on this story choice till then.

John Romita JR is bashed quite a lot on internet forum boards. He is a very talented artist who is one of the legends of the comic industry. Look to his run on Amazing Spider-Man with J. Michael Straczynski for proof that he can be an amazing artist. But Avengers vs X-Men isn’t going to be one of this better books. His artwork is starting to look rushed, even when it looks good. The page where the X-Men get infected looks great, and the costume designs are great to look at. While Tony’s new toy looks like a big Transformer, it gives JRJR some room to pencil a couple of great pages. But the wires that connect Tony to the robot look cheap. And Cap’s shield strangely floats in one scene. One thing that I have been noticing for some time is that Marvel has been overworking JRJR. The guy needs break.

I have been using the Marvel AR app on my iPhone, and I must say that it’s not 100% worth it. Most of the added details are just the page going from pencils to inks to the final product. Cool? Yes, but not worth it really. I like it when Marvel adds videos from the writers and artists, but they only work half the time. Most of the time they play twice, with the reader hearing the audio twice but the video is only playing once. It gives an odd echoey sound that makes it impossible to listen too.

While not the worst issue, things to change fast in this series if the event is going to be saved at all. With JRJR finally getting a break and Olivier Coipel taking over on art duties, it’s time for the event to turn it around quality wise. My fingers are crossed for Act 2.

Avengers vs X-Men #5 gets 3.5/5.

MrComicBook, Avengers vs X-Men #5 Review

Who Is Ready For Some Jessica Nigri Posters?

Agent Burgos — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:03:33 +0000

Our girl Jessica Nigri is leaving for Japan! Relax she is not moving there, but she is going to promote the Lollipop Chainsaw video-game there, and how cool is that?!

Dont believe me? Check the embedded video:

Told ya! On the meantime Jessica has some new prints available! Remember when I said that Jess was working on a new shoot?

Let me refresh your memory:

Now you remember… Well the prints are finally available! This is how you can order them:

1. Choose your poster or Posters!

2. Send through PAYPAL $10+shipping and handling(depending on where you are, outside the US is $10!) to Jessicanigri@hotmail.com

3. In the “note to buyer” let me know which poster you would like! (Red 1, red 2 etc)

4. Send payment and wait for your POSTERS!

<3 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!! <3

There you have it folks, if you want some you better hurry up because these will be on high demand!

Agent Burgos, Who Is Ready For Some Jessica Nigri Posters?

Ammusement Park Dedicated To Gundam Franchise Announced

wolverinept — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:00:27 +0000

Leveraging off of the popularity, and profitability, of the Gundam Cafe located in Akihbara, Bandai is scheduled to open the “Gundam Front Tokyo” theme park in the Odaiba shopping and entertainment district of Tokyo.

Among the attractions, fans will be able to watch a movie about the real size Gundam (18 meter tall Gundam automated statue that originally graced Tokyo Bay three years ago) , see several rare items of the franchise and a constant display of thumbnails related to franchise.

The theme park is scheduled to open to the public on April 19th.

wolverinept, Ammusement Park Dedicated To Gundam Franchise Announced

Tsuritama Scores A Trailer

wolverinept — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:30:47 +0000

The story takes place in the island of Enoshima, Shonan area, south of Tokyo, and follows four young people different: Yuki, Haru, Natsuki and Akira.

Being produced by A-1 Pictures, the anime has Yuuichi Takahashi (Macross Frontier) animating the design characeter Atsuya Uki (Cencoroll). Toshiya Ono (Precure Suite, Suite Eiga Precure: Torimodose!) is responsible for the script and Kuricorder Quartet (Allison & Lillia) is responsible for the soundtrack.

Tsuritama is expected to launch in April 2012 on Fuji TV.

wolverinept, Tsuritama Scores A Trailer

Cast Of New Power Rangers Series Fired!

wolverinept — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:58:12 +0000

According to her, with the 20th anniversary of the franchise in 2013, Saban decided to change the course of the season, probably thinking of some sort of great celebration.

The new casting selection is scheduled for late March and early April.

Although no official title was released for the new season of Power Rangers, the production registered in October the name “Megaforce” for a live action series, and other products.

It would be really cool if they gather all of these Power Rangers series for 20 years, let’s dream, you know, since we don’t pay anything for that…

wolverinept, Cast Of New Power Rangers Series Fired!

James Mangold Talks “The Wolverine”, Frank Miller, Japan And Martial Arts!

Comic Book Therapy — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:00:07 +0000

Fox’s X-Men Origins follow-up, The Wolverine, is due to begin filming next year and James Mangold was the man tasked by Fox/Hugh Jackman to bring our favorite mutant back into the big screen.

James recently sat down with The Playlist and was kind enough to provide us all with some interesting information and what exactly can we expect from The Wolverine.

Why this sequel works for him

“You could actually just tell a story about this amazing character from the start, just the way they do when you really read a comic. You don’t have to spend the first hour saying how they were born; you can actually just find them in an emotional space, in the middle of action, and what happens is you’re not crowded with cutting to nine other action heroes. You can really make a movie about this dude.”

His relationship with Darren Aronofsky‘s and how it affected his decision

“I spoke to Darren a bit about The Wolverine before I ended up taking it on. But I will tell you that when Darren stepped off, I was in the middle of doing a lot of other things, and when it was brought up to me, I actually didn’t even consider it for the very reasons you’re talking about. It was, oh, who wants to do that, and follow that, and I could hear all of the media swirl about it.”

“Several months went by and I hadn’t even really read it, and later when they came back to me and I kind of took it in, and a lot of that hand-wringing had kind of died down,”

“What I saw was some really promising material, and to me an interesting character played by a great friend of mine who’s a terrific actor, Hugh Jackman.”

Why is The Wolverine so different from other movies and why he is doing it

It’s a kind of adventure following such a unique character like Wolverine in a really unique environment. I mean, the fact that half of the characters in this movie speak Japanese, this is like a foreign-language superhero movie that’s as much a drama and a detective story and a film noir, with high-octane action as it is anything like a conventional tentpole film.”

“I think part of the reason I’m doing this picture has been because it isn’t to me a conventional superhero movie. It isn’t an origin story, so I’m freed from that burden, and it also isn’t a save-the-world movie, which most them are. It’s actually a character piece; I actually think it has more in common with ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’ and ‘Chinatown,’ what we’re doing, than the conventional, ‘will Wolverine and his compatriots save the world from this thermonuclear device’ question.”

What Frank Miller’s Japan-centered comics brings to the sequel

“I think that this movie is much more an intense psychological and action-packed character piece, that’s much more about Logan getting lost in this very unique and insulated world of Japanese culture, gangster culture, and ninja culture. The fighting is going to be unique because it’s all influenced by Japanese martial arts.”

The storyline and the dark and intense character that Wolverine is

“I think more than anything, it’s a character piece, asking really interesting questions that are what pulled me in about what it means to be immortal. What is it to live forever, when you lose everyone you’ve ever loved? Either you watch them get killed, or you just lose them by attrition. What is it to feel the burden of saving mankind through all of its mistakes, over and over and over again. What’s the toll it takes on you as a living being that is somehow living this Frankensteinian, eternal life? And there’s a lot of interesting dramatic questions we’re going to deliver on as well as some really inventive action.”

“I like to think that we’re out to make that Wolverine movie that people have been looking forward to seeing, which takes on some of the darker and more intense aspects of the character, and his own journey, that have not necessarily been possible in the Wolverine origin story that they did or obviously when he’s sharing so much time as a character with so many others in X-Men.”

Head on over to The Playlist and read James Mangold talking about Wolverine’s immortality and working with screenwriter Mark Bomback. Click here to read the full interview at The Playlist.

The Wolverine is set to go before cameras next year and you can look for it in theaters some time in 2013.

Comic Book Therapy, James Mangold Talks “The Wolverine”, Frank Miller, Japan And Martial Arts!

Zenith Interviews JesuOtaku

ZenithWillRule — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 18:05:43 +0000

At Magfest, I sat down with JesuOtaku to talk about the past, present, and future of Anime. What did she have to say? Watch and find out.

ZenithWillRule, Zenith Interviews JesuOtaku

Zenith Interviews Marzgurl

ZenithWillRule — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:50:16 +0000

Click to Play

At Magfest, I sat down with Marzgurl to talk about the past, present, and future of Anime. What’d she have to say? Watch and find out.

ZenithWillRule, Zenith Interviews Marzgurl

You Can Play This Panel

ZenithWillRule — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:50:07 +0000

Click to Play

Have you ever wanted to play a game that’s only available in Japan? Well, J-dub is going to tell you how. In this panel, Jewwario shows you how to import games on every system known to man. Watch and enjoy.

ZenithWillRule, You Can Play This Panel