Welcome to the fourth and final entry in a series about my successful application for a Monbusho Research Scholarship. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading parts one, two, and three first. This final entry deals with the interview process.

In June 2007 I received word that I had passed the initial application stage and had been selected to for an interview and a series of language proficiency exams. [Read more →]

Welcome to the third in a four part series of entries about my successful application for a Monbusho Research Scholarship. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading parts one and two. This entry deals with my process for filling out the application and contacting professors.

Filling out the Application
The majority of the application is pretty straightforward; names, addresses, dates, that sort of thing. You can write it in English or Japanese; I went with English. Just go over the application guidelines and follow them to the letter.

Make your application look as pretty as possible. Since I have graphic design training, I was able to import the Monbusho PDF application into Adobe Illustrator and fill in the information there, so everything had a nice, typeset look to it. If that’s not possible for you, I recommend finding a typewriter and typing up your application. Failing that, write as neatly as possible with a black pen. Proofread everything carefully to make sure you don’t have any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Print out clean laser copies of the application on a good quality paper. Separate the different copies in clearly labeled, brand new folders. Again, every aspect of your application should exude earnestness and professionalism.

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Welcome to the second in a four part series of entries about my successful application for a Monbusho Research Scholarship. If you haven’t already, I recommend reading the first part (in particular, the disclaimers contained therein). This entry deals with my process for putting my research proposal together.

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The Monbusho Research Scholarship appealed to me for a number of reasons when I first heard about it. On a personal level, I love Japan. I had lived there for three years prior to my application for the Monbusho Scholarship, and have a keen interest in the culture, language, art, food and people.

On a professional/academic level, the idea of studying in Japan appealed to me because of its rich history in the realm of comic books. I’ve wanted to be a cartoonist since I was a kid, and have long believed that the medium of comics are just as capable as film or prose of creating powerful work of real artistic value. It is towards this ideal of creating “literary” comics that I aspire, and I felt confident that studying in Japan would help me in that regard.

Add into the mix that a Monbusho Scholarship would allow me to pursue my research without going severely into debt, and that cemented my desire to go for it.

So when I first resolved to apply for the Monbusho Scholarship, that’s where I stood: I had the vague idea that my research would be geared towards improving the quality of my comics, but exactly how I would spend my time was still very much up in the air.

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Welcome to the first in a four part series of entries about my experience applying for a Monbusho Research Scholarship (aka the “Monbukagakusho” or “MEXT” Scholarship). If you don’t know what the Monbusho is, I’ve previously written a couple other entries about it which could serve as an introduction of sorts, which can be found here.

I wanted to write about the application process because of the confusion and uncertainty I encountered when I was applying for one. The process is extremely long (about seven months went by from when I turned in my application until I finally found out I had been accepted), and the application guidelines could be maddeningly vague. Countless times I wished I could have access to a couple successful applications, just to give me some idea if I was on the right track on not. But despite tireless internet searches, I could never seem to find anything like that.

So I decided that if I got a Monbusho Scholarship, that I’d write a detailed account of the application process in the hopes that it might be of some use to future Monbusho applicants. I’m pleased to say that I did get it, and so here is my account.

[Read more →]

Pictured: My Parents (faces skillfully photoshopped to protect their anonymity)

I probably wouldn’t have started this blog in the first place if I hadn’t thought it would be good way to market my comic books. But that isn’t to say that all these entries are just veiled sales pitches; as best I can, I really try to write about my life and my comics in an honest and unpretentious way.

But since this is a public blog, I’m not as always quite as forthcoming as I might be in a more private forum. I avoided the subject of my ankle injury for several weeks, for one. And up until right now, mention of my living arrangements has also been carefully avoided. Only in one brief sentence of one lone blog entry did I elude to the fact that for the whole of 2007, I lived with my parents, in the basement of their suburban home.

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Pictured: A front view of my Screwed-up Right Ankle 

Back at the beginning of January, I temporarily halted my weekly updates of this blog with an unceremonious two sentence entry that cited “extenuating circumstances” as the reason for the suspension. When I resumed weekly updates five weeks later, I made no explanation as to why the blog went on hiatus.

Now, I figure most people that would really care about the “extenuating circumstances” probably know me personally, and therefore have already been informed privately about what happened to me. But just in case there’s anyone else out there that’s curious, here’s what happened.

On January third, I slipped on some ice and broke my right leg in three places. Two of the breaks were in the ankle area, and the other higher up on the leg (caused, apparently, by the stress put on the bone by the unnatural angle of the ankle).

The ankle break required surgery to properly align the bones with screws. The pain just before and just after the surgery was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. The first half of January was a blur, as I was doped up on pain meds. I couldn’t concentrate on anything for longer than five minutes, and never could get my leg into a comfortable position.

[Read more →]

This is the last entry to go up while I’m still on American soil; next Tuesday, I’m boarding a plane and heading off to Japan, to study Calligraphy at Shikoku University for two years!

What’s that you say, Twin Cities residents? You just couldn’t live with yourself if you didn’t see me at least one more time before I go? In that case, why not join me tomorrow, Saturday March 29 from 4pm to 7pm! I’m throwing a joint book release party with fellow graphic novelist Tim Sievert at Big Brain Comics in Minneapolis, to celebrate the release of our respective graphic novels, Tonoharu: Part One and That Salty Air! For more details, see this post.

But in case my imminent departure from the USA isn’t enough to convince the Minnesotans among my readership to come out to my little soirée, then how’s about these reviews/coverage for my book, Tonoharu: Part One?

Reviews
The Daily Crosshatch / Brain Heater
Comics Waiting Room / Marc Mason
Comic Book Bin / Leroy Douresseaux
Read About Comics / Greg McElhatton
The Japan Times / David Cozy
Best Shots / Micheal C Lorah (Review of Tonoharu a little less than halfway down the page)
Booklist also reviewed Tonoharu, but I can’t seem to find a link to that…

Other Coverage
JETAANY / Alexei Esikoff
Roseville Review / George Fairbanks

It’s both bizarre and exciting to have complete strangers comment on my work; it gives me a whole other perspective than friends and family, whose criticisms naturally soften when confronted by my large, puppy dog eyes. I’ve been very happy with the critical response Tonoharu has received thus far. Most of the reviews I’ve seen have been quite positive, and I’m glad that I managed to communicate something successfully with Tonoharu. Thanks to all the reviewers & reporters for taking the time to read and evaluate it.

This entry is pretty short, but I tell ya, this month was exhausting with all the preparations for this trip, the book release party, the book marketing… I’m beat. So I think I’ll end it here. Hope to see you tomorrow at the party, otherwise, sayonara!

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Actually, one more quick note: I figure for my first few weeks in Japan, I probably won’t want to have to worry about updating this blog, so I’ve prepared six blog entries to autopost for the next six Fridays. So continue to stop on by for those, (the first two of which will include shocking revelations that I dared not admit while still on American soil). And to read about my new life in Japan, check back on May 16 when I’ll post an entry about that.

Pictured: The Tools of the Trade 

This is the eighth post in a series describing the creative process behind my graphic novel Tonoharu. This installment deals with my process for inking Tonoharu.

There are two stages to my process for inking: the brush stage and the dip pen stage. Both of these steps require the use of a messy, easy to spill bottle of black india ink. 

The Brush Stage
I never knew this before I started drawing comics myself, but many comics are inked not with a ballpoint pen or felt tip marker, but rather with an old fashioned brush dipped in ink.

Lines created with a brush are vastly superior to lines created via other means, IMHO. Brushes allow for lines that are smoother, livelier, and can achieve a modulated line unlike anything any other writing implement could produce, going from razor thin to a quarter-inch thick in one smooth stroke.

[Read more →]

Pictured: Local Weirdos Lars Martinson and Tim Sievert

Attention Twin Cities Comics Fans–Breaking News!

I’m once again postponing a new installment to the Creating Tonoharu series to make an announcement–at the end of this month, I will be jointly throwing a book release party with my friend Tim Sievert, who is also debuting his first graphic novel in April!

More info about my book can be found by clicking around this website; for more info about Tim’s book, entitled That Salty Air, visit Tim’s blog, or to see a six page preview of his book, click here.

Graphic Novel Release Party Details
What: Graphic Novel Release Party for Tonoharu: Part One and That Salty Air
Who: Cartoonists Lars Martinson and Tim Sievert, respectively
When: Saturday, March 29 2008, 4pm-7pm
Where: Big Brain Comics, 1027 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN [Google Maps]
(I also heard a rumor there will be an “after-party” of some kind too; details about that to follow.)

The timing of this is great, because it will also serve as the closest thing I’ll be having to a going-away party; I’ll be leaving for Japan just three days later, on the morning of April 1st!

Needless to say, there’ll copies aplenty of both Tonoharu: Part One and That Salty Air available for sale, and Tim and I would be delighted to exchange them for your cold hard cash, and sign them for you to boot.

But book purchase is by no means a requisite for attendance; I’d really like to see as many people as possible before I leave for Japan, and this will be my last chance to do so. So mark your calendars and stop on by!

*UPDATE* I just finished designing a flier for the event. It’s a 1.4mb PDF file, and can be found here. Click on it to take a look at it, or right click and select “save target as…” to save it. Feel free to, y’know, print these out and distribute them around town. You have nothing better to do… er… right?

And a new entry to the ever-postponed Creating Tonoharu series will be up next Friday. (Does anyone even care anymore? Probably not, but oh well.)

Pictured: A pencil sketch from work in progress Tonoharu: Part Two 

After a very long, unscheduled delay, this is the seventh post in a series describing the creative process behind my graphic novel Tonoharu. This installment deals with my process for drawing the panels.

Up until now, the entries in this series have consisted of half-baked ruminations on vague subjects such as inspiration, writing, and design. From here on out, entries will be a more concrete, and deal with my actual process of creating the final artwork used in Tonoharu. Whether these entries will be of any interest to non-cartoonists I can’t say, but read on and find out.

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Artwork from Katsushika Hokusai’s Sketchbook

Hey Blog Readers,
Below is a press release I wrote to announce that I got a Monbukagakusho Scholarship, hence the use of the third person. If the editor of the New York Times is among my readers (and I can only assume s/he is), please feel free to run this in your publication.  –Lars

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The Future is in the Past
American Cartoonist finds Inspiration in Traditional Japanese Art

For Immediate Release

In 1833, the great Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai wrote about his artistic development. Although seventy-three years old at the time, his ambitions were far-reaching; he predicted that by the time he was 110, his artistic skills would be so great that “every line will surely have a life of its own.”

Hokusai may have been overly optimistic about his own lifespan (he died at the age of 89), but in the opinion of Minnesota cartoonist Lars Martinson, he achieved the level of mastery to which he aspired. And Lars would like nothing more than to follow in his footsteps, albeit in a medium that didn’t even exist in Hokusai’s time: comic books. [Read more →]

Pictured: My darling little comic book 

I’m happy to report that I now have advance copies of my first graphic novel, Tonoharu: Part One in my hot little hands! Want them in your hot little hands too? Read on:

Tonoharu: Part One
Recipient of the prestigious Xeric Grant!

“A fully realized, engaging tale of international alienation.”  
– Francisca Goldsmith, BOOKLIST Starred Review

Tonoharu is a four-part graphic novel that tells the story of a group of foreigners living in Fukuoka-ken, Japan. It was informed by my three-year experience as an assistant English teacher through the Japanese Government-sponsored JET Program.

From the back cover of Tonoharu: Part One

Daniel Wells begins a new life as an assistant junior high school teacher in the rural Japanese village of Tonoharu.

Isolated from those around him by cultural and language barriers, Dan leads a monastic existence, peppered only by his inept pursuit of the company of a fellow American who lives a couple towns over.

But contrary to appearances, Dan isn’t the only foreigner to call Tonoharu home. Across town, a group of wealthy European eccentrics board in a one-time Buddhist temple, for reasons that remain obscure to their gossiping neighbors.

Sample Artwork
Click on an image to enlarge. Color scheme of final book is different than what is represented here.

Book Details:
Tonoharu: Part One
5.25″x8.25″, 128 pages, Two-color.
Cloth Hardcover w/ full color dust jacket w/ gold highlights.
ISBN Number: 978-0-9801023-2-1
Publisher: Pliant Press
Cover Price: $19.95

Interested parties can get their own copy in one of three ways:

1) Order it directly from me, via Paypal / Credit Card:
Price: $19.95
Minnesota residents pay an additional 6.5% sales tax.
Shipping: $2.13 for shipping to USA and Canada via Media Mail. $8.00 to the rest of the world, via first class mail.
Click this button to order now:

Bonus: Order by March 23, and you can get your copy signed, if you so desire. Just note that you want a signed copy in “Optional Instructions” box as you checkout, and say who you want it made out to, if anyone.

 2) Pick it up at a convention:
My distribution partner, the great alternative comics publisher Top Shelf Productions, will be on hand at a number of conventions and expos across the country this year. For a list of conventions that Top Shelf will be making apperances at, click here.
My book should be available at their booth, along with a bunch of other great books, such as That Salty Air by fellow Minnesota native Tim Sievert.
 

3) Wait a few weeks, and then pick up Tonoharu: Part One at your favorite retail outlet
Tonoharu: Part One should be available at in comic book stores, bookstores, amazon.com, bn.com, etc., around mid-April or May.
To preorder Tonoharu: Part One from amazon.com, click here.

As my loyal readers (all three of you) may recall, several months ago I wrote about my application for a Monbusho Research Scholarship to study in Japan [Link to that entry]. Hoping that the Monbusho would become a big part of my life and that I’d eventually write numerous entries about it, I even gave “Monbusho Scholarship” its own blog category, as you can see to the left of this entry.

For months one lone entry inhibited the “Monbusho” category, because for months I knew nothing new to report. The application process was long and there seemed to be no end in sight. But just this week, I received final confirmation that my bid for a Monbusho Scholarship was successful! Yippie!

I’ll be leaving for Japan in April, for a period of two years. I’ll be living in Tokushima City, studying at Shikoku University. This is an incredible opportunity, and I can’t say how thrilled I am to have been selected.

As I mentioned in the first entry about the Monbusho Scholarship, I intend to write in detail about the application process and my approach to it, in the hopes that such an account might be useful to future applicants. But it’ll probably be at least a couple months or so before I get to that, so interested parties should check back later this year for that.

So now I gotta start getting ready to go to Japan–I’ve only got six weeks to get everything in order. Yikes!

In other news, I’ve just recently gotten copies of Tonoharu: Part One in. An entry about that, as well as details on how to purchase it, will come next week.

Due to extenuating circumstances I won’t be able to update this blog for 2 or 3 weeks.  Please check back the end of this month or early February

Image from Tonoharu: Part One

At the end of 2006, I returned from Japan exhausted, unemployed & heartbroken. It wasn’t a very auspicious start to 2007, but I decided to make the best of my total lack of attachments with an experiment.

For the whole of 2007, I would remain willfully unemployed. I wouldn’t devote the slighted effort to a job hunt, or an apartment search, or anything else that a responsible twenty-nine year old in my situation would do. Instead, I would swallow my pride and hole up in my parents’ basement, and devote myself completely to my calling of drawing comics.

My hope was to somehow turn full-time cartooning a financially self-sustaining endeavor. I wasn’t sure if that was possible, but thought a year would be enough time to at least give me some idea. If things seemed to be going well at the end of 2007, I’d continue pursuing comics. If things looked less promising, I’d consider a different path.

So as 2007 came to a close this week, I took stock of where my little experiment has left me.

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