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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.

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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

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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

Review: Savage Wolverine #1

MrComicBook — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:19:28 +0000

The writer/artist book seems to have become popular again with the big two publishers. Marvel has enlisted Frank Cho to create a Wolverine book…..which puts Wolverine on the sidelines for most of the issue.

If you read Frank Cho’s Dynamite book Jungle Girl, you already have an idea of what to expect here. It takes place in the Savage Land, and all hell breaks lose rather fast. Cho hasn’t hidden his love of Shanna the She-Devil, and it shows in his writing. She gets some good dialogue compared to the other characters in this book. Granted, most of her dialogue is explaining the trip that the reader just saw themselves. Savage Wolverine #1 isn’t written well, but it shows a lot of potential. It could be a fun and outlandish book. Cho misses a great opportunity for humor, instead going for straight seriousness. The recent Avenging Spider-Man arc in the Savage Land used the absurdity of the land rather well. Wolverine can’t stay in the Savage Land forever, so Shanna will have to make a trip to the Jean Grey School sooner or later, which is a situation ripe with humor.

Wolverine doesn’t fare well in this issue. It’s clear from the start that Cho wanted this book to be a Shanna ongoing, but Marvel thought it wouldn’t sell. So Cho threw Wolverine into it so that it would sell. He barely speaks, and narrates every little thing he does. The reader doesn’t need to be told he just killed someone when we saw the head flying across the panel. The narrations go away once Wolverine bumps into Shanna, which betters the issue. If the next few issues have the same problems, maybe Marvel should bring a cowriter aboard for a while. Help Cho get his ideas out more effectively. If I had any control over the books Marvel published, they would have turned this into a Shanna book instead. Wolverine has enough books, and Marvel has been succeeding recently with B and C lister books. If the book is good, it will sell. Also, this would be a MAX book. Cho could pencil the nudity that he terribly wants to pencil.

At this point in Frank Cho’s career, everyone knows what to expect from his books. Lots of dinosaurs, cavemen, and scantly clad women. Every other shot of Shanna has her standing in a provocative position with her boobs almost hanging out. With the story being serious in nature, the amount of boobs sticks out that much more (no pun intended). If Savage Wolverine had been more lighthearted and over the top, the boobs would have felt natural (I seriously didn’t mean that pun either). Savage Wolverine is one great looking comic though. Every character is very expressive and detailed, and the lush jungles are beautiful. The contrast of wide screen panels and small panels is used well to convey the fighting. Cho’s amazing art is going to be the big draw on this book for some time.

Savage Wolverine is going to be a bubble book for some time. If the writing can improve, and the tone can shift a little bit, we have ourselves a great book. But if not, we have a dud.

Savage Wolverine #1 gets 3/5.

MrComicBook, Review: Savage Wolverine #1

AC Comics Launches New Interactive, Multimedia Website

Comic Book Therapy — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:58:49 +0000

Check out the new www.ACCOMICS.com website! We’re taking the plunge into “the social web” with a new multimedia-enhanced, interactive, blog-driven website with nearly 1000 pages of content. We’ve got many great stories to tell, new (and old) photos to share, and never-before-seen videos and audio interviews to stream. This new site will allow Bill Black, Mark Heike and other AC creators to share tons of new material and some of the great behind-the-scenes stories that we’ve accumulated over the years but been unable to share with our fans until now. New articles are already published and many more are on the way!

Plus YOU can leave comments of your own throughout the site on just about EVERY page! We’ve always known that we have the best fans in the industry and we look forward to hearing your comments throughout the new site. Stop by today and say hi!

As always at www.accomics.com you’ll also find the AC Online Store filled with over 700 products from our many decades of comic book publishing, featuring titles like Femforce, Best of the West, Crypt of Horror, Men of Mystery and many, many more.

You’ll also find Bill Black’s ongoing series of films, hundreds of gallery photos, Femforce fan fiction, articles and photos about your favorite movie stars from years gone by, and insights into the history of the comic book medium from fans, publishers and artists alike. There’s something for everyone!

Don’t miss out!
Stop by the all new www.accomics.com every day!

Femforce 157
Gargantarama 20
Available Now!

Includes the major launch of our new feature N.E.D.O.R. Agents!

Another superb cover by Will Meugniot!! With Synn’s reality-warping powers seemingly out of control, the FEMFORCE have taken her to The Colorado Project for a medical intervention. But it’s not always wise to leave your health in the hands of a doctor who comes from another planet, with a couple of assistants who happen to be giantesses. The therapy they concoct is definitely “outside of the box”! PARAGON’S sightlessness becomes ever more puzzling, NIGHTVEIL is barred from using her magic, and SHE-CAT goes looking for a mysterious person out of her past, only to end up tangling with ATOMAN, CARBONATOR and SPEEDBOLT of the doltish JUSTICE SQUAD. Meanwhile, SYNN just mopes and waits for whatever is going to happen to happen. All this and more in “Living In Synn, Part 1″- plot by Stephanie and Mark Heike (with a script by Mark Heike), pencils by Chris Allen and Rock Baker, and inks by Jeff Austin.

Then- hang onto your hats for the first full-length adventure with the GREATEST new super-team series since…well, since The FEMFORCE was created!! Make way for the New Earth Defense Organization Reserve- N.E.D.O.R. Agents!! In an alternate version of Earth (as is told in this tale narrated by the FF’s NIGHTVEIL)), it’s 1965, and a group of super-powered champions (based on the characters from the long-defunct Standard/Nedor/Better publishing group of the 1940′s ) has spent 20 years in readiness for a terrible event, which now is almost upon them. World War II veteran heroes Black Terror, Fighting Yank, American Eagle, Doc Strange, Liberator, Woman In Red, The Grim Reaper, Commando Cubs, American Crusader, Tygra, Princess Pantha and Miss Masque are joined by second-generation heroines (and uber-babes) Candi Future, Pyrogirl and Fighting Tank, Jr.as they learn the truth about what REALLY threatens the world in “Everlasting Battle” a 25-page retro-revisionist epic that’s fast-moving, sexy and action-packed. Created, written and drawn by WILL MEUGNIOT, the feature that we teased in FF #156 kicks into high-gear this issue- and will be soaring to even greater glories in FF #158!! Plus- N.E.D.O.R. Agents pin-ups by Rick Hoberg, Gerry Acerno and Keith Tucker, AND info on a special original art contest giveaway by Will himself!

Click Here to get it now at the AC Shop

Golden Age Greats Spotlight Special 7: Roy Rogers Western Movie Hero 100th Anniversary Special
Available Now!

Commemorating the 100Th birthday of the greatest movie cowboy of them all and the comic book history of the matinee Western movie stars!

Within a breathtaking color photo cover of ROY ROGERS himself, you’ll find a bonanza of great vintage cowboy comic book story reprints, including THREE ROY ROGERS epics- “Ghost Town Payoff,” drawn by John Buscerma, “Sign of the Burning Rock” by Alex Toth, and “Man Trap” by Buscema. Then, it’s JIMMY WAKELY in “The Ballad Of Boulder Bluff” by Toth; DURANGO KID in “Son of the Sheriff” by Joe Certa and John Belfi, MONTE HALE in “Guns Against The Gold Train,” with art by Ed Good, GENE AUTRY in “Tobacco Juice,” WILD BILL ELLIOTT in “Hidden Bullets” and Tom Mix in “Suspected,” drawn by Carl Pfeufer. Then, it’s twenty pages of great photos and movie stills celebrating ROY and DALE EVAN’s film and TV career, featuring all of their favorite supporting players along with them. The remaining 112 pages is a reprise of the 1997 book “Roy Rogers and the SiIver Screen Cowboys,” written by comic book historian Bill Black, and out of print for many years. THE most comprehensive history of Western movie heroes in the comic books that has ever been published, listing a capsule history and art sample on EVERY movie cowboy that EVER appeared in a comic book, PLUS seven superb full-story reprints from the heyday of the comic book Western, including ROY ROGERS in “Red Ledge Gold”, with art by John Buscema; DALE EVANS in “Ghost Town Gold”, with art by Russ Manning; REX ALLEN in “Friend or Foe”, illustrated by Alex Toth, LASH LaRUE in “The Woman In Black” (art by Doug Wildey); ROCKY LANE in “The Crippler”, illustrated by Dick Giordano and Vince Alascia; Rocky Lane’s horse, BLACKJACK in “Trail Pard,” with art by Steve Ditko, and John Wayne in “The Weeping Walloper”, drawn by Al Willamson and Frank Frazetta. 210 pages of Western comics history in all!

Click Here to get it now at the AC Shop

Who are the Angel Avengers!!

Are they comic book heroines? Bionic femme fatales? Paranormal government operatives? Supernatural super spies? World-class martial artists? Agents of a higher power? The embodiment of feminine grace, beauty, virtue and strength? All of the above!!!! The Angel Avengers series will feature a rotating cast of sexy and unstoppable warrior women in standalone action-adventure clips. Our heroines are tasked with protecting the world from mundane menaces like terrorists, assassins and criminal syndicates… while also keeping the paranormal forces of darkness and evil at bay. Bad guys beware!

Click Here to check out the trailer and watch it today!!

Comic Book Therapy, AC Comics Launches New Interactive, Multimedia Website