Cool news! The French version of Tonoharu has been chosen as an official selection for the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Europe’s largest comics festival!

Tonoharu is one of 58 books chosen as an official selection. As I understand it, a few thousand books were eligible, so it’s a pretty big deal and a real honor.

This puts Tonoharu in the running for some of the most prestigious awards in comics. (And no, “prestigious comics award” is not an oxymoron.) Looking over my competition (which includes comics greats like Dan Clowes, Jim Woodring, Craig Thompson, and Joe Sacco, just to name a few) I think its fair to say I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell at the top prize, or even the Angoulême International Comics Festival Essentials prize, which is awarded to five books. But I might have a shot at the best newcomer award or something.

Awards will be announced at the festival in late-January. I’ll keep you posted!

My sincere thanks to my French publisher Le Lezard Noir, (in particular Stéphane Duval and Anne Cavarroc) for producing such a beautiful edition of my book!

Angoulême International Comics Festival Official Selection List (in French)

Progress Bar Key
Script/Story: The Story/Script for the comic
Artwork: The Drawing, Inking, and Computer Work for the comic
Final Edits/Incidentals: Post-Production Edits, Designing the Cover, Preparing for Press, etc.

(More information about Tonoharu can be found here.)

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I haven’t done one yet, so I figured it was high time I put up a progress report for Tonoharu: Part Three.

I’ve been putting it off because I wanted to wait until the artwork was 25% done, because that felt like a worthy enough milestone to document. Or even 20% would’ve been good, since that would have been a nice round number.

But with all the packing and sorting for my move to Japan, I haven’t made any real progress on the book for the past few weeks, and now that I’m in Japan settling into a new life/job here, it’ll probably be a couple weeks before I can get back into work on Part Three. So I thought to heck with it. Rather than wait for a milestone percentage, may as well just update now.

Now that the script is mostly done, I can give you a fairly accurate page count: I’m thinking 115 pages, give or take a couple. This will put the book between Part One and Two lengthwise.

So the million dollar question is: what’s my projection to complete the book? And the unsatisfying answer is: I have no idea. Now that I have a “real” job again, that will take priority, and eat up a big chunk of my day. But on the other hand, I still am committed to working on Tonoharu: Part Three in evenings and weekends, so I hope to continue to make steady progress. I’ll probably have a better idea once I’ve had a chance to settle into my new life here, and can see how much time I’m able to devote to the book during my off hours. Look for that in my next progress report a few months from now.

But if you’re just dying for more frequent updates, I post on my Twitter feed every time I finish a page, so follow me there if you want to follow my progress in excruciating detail:
My Twitter Account

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Next week I plan to blog about my new home in Japan, so stop by next Friday for that!

The following interview ran in the French magazine Standard. It was translated into French (obviously), so the original English version has never been published. The interviewer, Jean-Emmanuel Dubois, was kind enough to allow me to put up the English version here. So here it is:

To what extent Daniel Wells is you?
I share some qualities with the character. Like Dan I’m introverted and somewhat socially awkward. And the situation I put him in—working as an assistant English teacher at a rural Japanese junior high school—was in large part based on my own experience. But I wouldn’t say Dan is an avatar for myself, contrary to what many readers seem to believe. I borrowed from aspects of my own personality in creating the character, but that’s true for all the characters in the book.

To you ever think of going back to Japan? Where do you live now and why?
Right now I live in Minneapolis, USA. It’s where I was raised, and serves as a “home base” of sorts between trips abroad. I’ll be heading back to Japan this July. In the past decade I’ve spent as much time in Japan as I have in the States, and it really feels like a second home now.

Is the town you live in was touched by the earthquake, the Tsunami and the Fukushima disaster? Do you still have contacts in Tonoharu? If so what did they told you?
I lived primarily in central and southern Japan, which was far enough away to escape the devastation. My friends in Japan were distraught over the events (as we all were) but thankfully no one I knew was injured.

Why did you decide not to translate what the Japanese people were saying?
Originally I planned to include translations, but as I looked over the script I realized it worked better without them. Leaving the Japanese untranslated more viscerally expresses the sense of profound isolation you experience when you literally have no idea what everyone around you is saying.

What’s your favorite comics or mangas about expatriate people or about exile or exodus?
One of the main reasons I originally wanted to create Tonoharu was because of the dearth of comics (and movies and tv shows for that matter) that tackled the experience of living abroad in an honest way. I hoped Tonoharu would help fill that gap. Since then I’ve become aware of a few good comics that deal with the expat experience; the work of Joe Sacco and Guy Delisle comes to mind.

Did you suffer during your stay in Japan of anti-American feelings? Did you meet any Japanese expatriate in the USA and did their friends and family blamed them to go to settle down in a historical enemy land?
Other American expats would sometimes complain that old Japanese ladies would glare at them on the train or whatever, but I personally never really noticed a strong anti-American/anti-foreigner sentiment. There was a Japanese guy who worked at my board of education who was always trying to talk to me about American military bases in Japan, but I never sensed hostility from him per se (just a creepy intensity). Likewise, I can’t think of any Japanese friends who’ve lived in the US who got flak about it. I think those xenophobic prejudices are becoming rarer, especially among members of the younger generations. I guess my grandmother was really surprised when I described how well I was treated in Japan. I think her understanding of the country was mostly informed by World War II propaganda, which paints a distorted picture to say the least.

In the first volume the relationship with the Japanese teacher seems a bit awkward and at the same time some American male are quite sexist toward Japanese women-What was in real life your relationship and your love life with Japanese women? What did you learn? What are the main differences between US males & Japanese women in your opinion?
Japanese society is still quite male-centric; the whole “ladies first” idea was never a part of the traditional culture. Japanese men expect a measure of deference from their girlfriends and wives that would be considered unacceptable in the West. So I think Japanese women tend to idealize American and European men, imagining them to be chivalrous romantics. Some Western men take advantage of this rose-colored perception to lascivious ends. I’d like to think that I wasn’t among them, but I’ll admit that it made dating easier. All I had to do was open a door or do the dishes every once in a while, and it was like I was Prince Charming.

What’s your main graphic & storytelling influences?
My influences are probably pretty predicable to anyone who knows even a little about alternative comics and cinema. On the comics side, Chris Ware, Seth and Daniel Clowes have all played a big role. For movies, I’m a big fan of Wong Kar-wai and the Coen Brothers, and their work has probably had some influence on my own. Like I say, pretty predictable.

Your comic is very sophisticated and graphically follow a lot of rules (like all the panels getting the same size, no black borders) what make you follow that path?
My overriding design principle was trying to maximize readability. I try to keep things consistent and straightforward unless there was a good reason for deviation. Readability isn’t sexy, but it’s important for longer books. Some comics have flashy layouts and character designs that look good, but don’t read good. Reading them is actually tedious. For Tonoharu, I didn’t want the format and presentation of the book to take precedent over its content.

What’s your comic projects for the future?
Once Tonoharu is done I want to write a non-fiction comic about East Asian calligraphy. From 2008 to 2010 I studied it at Shikoku University, and was amazed by how deep and unique the discipline was. I’ve come to believe that East Asian calligraphy is the world’s most sophisticated inking tradition, and that cartoonists and illustrators of all stripes could benefit enormously from its study.
There are already a number of informative books about East Asian calligraphy in English, but they tend to be very dry and academic. So I’m hoping to write something that serves as a fun introduction that could be enjoyed by laypeople.

Did some Japanese people read your graphic novel and how did they react?
Most of my acquaintances in Japan aren’t fluent in English, so I haven’t had much of an opportunity to discuss the content of the book with them.
That said, most were surprised by the look and format of the book. Japanese manga is much more standardized than American comics, both in terms of style and presentation. In the US, comics are marginalized enough that creators can seek their own path without needing to worry too much about reader expectations or editorial interference. Because of this, I think you see more diversity in American comics. Since most Japanese people have never read a non-Japanese comic, they were often surprised because Tonoharu doesn’t conform to their expectations for the medium.

Will you agree if i say to you there’s also an influence of European comics in Tonoharu?
I have to admit I’m fairly ignorant when it comes to European comics. As a kid I read some Tintin, and no doubt Hergé’s ligne claire art style has had an effect on my work. I’m also a big fan of the Norwegian cartoonist Jason. His panel transitions are among the most economical and artful that I’ve seen, and I hold them up as an example to be emulated.

Here’s a little video I made about Tonoharu.

Also: this entry will count as my weekly Friday post (have a lot of packing and sorting to do, so don’t have time to put up anything else).

My first attempt at a YouTube video. I’ll post more when I get the chance, but between trying to prepare for my departure to Japan and trying to make headway on Tonoharu, it’ll probably be a while!

If you’ve read this entry, then you know that I’ve been lucky enough to be accepted to participate in the JET Program for a second time. I have just a month until I board that plane, and have a lot of preparations left to do… my departure has sort of snuck up on me. I have to admit it hasn’t completely sunk in yet.

One thing that’s helped to make the experience seem more real is I just found out where in Japan I’m going to be. I’m about 30-60min outside of Kyoto. I still don’t know exactly where I’ll be or what age groups I’ll be teaching, I gotta say I couldn’t be more delighted with the location. So for all your people who offered to buy me a beer, know that I’m coming to collect!

Oh, one more thing related to my departure: if anyone’s interested in getting a signed/inscribed copy of Tonoharu from me, place those orders now! Once I leave the US I won’t be able to do them for obvious reasons.

More updates to follow in the coming weeks!

So I finally got my hands on a copy of the French edition of Tonoharu, and I gotta say it’s a thing of beauty. My French publisher Le Lezard Noir clearly put a great deal of care into the production of the book, and for that they have my gratitude.

I can’t read French so the translation isn’t meaningful to me, but I have enjoyed looking at the way certain sound effects are represented:

(Note: The “Bling” is blurry because of my lousy scanning, not cuz it’s printed that way.)

Just as interesting is seeing what sound effects remain the same: “ha ha”, “clap” and “sniff” don’t change, and “click” just gets the “k” lobbed off. And I never would have suspected that “flush”, “ahem” and “ziiiip” would be the same in French… what can I say, I’m easily amused.

Oh and this is kind of cool: while I was writing this on Thursday afternoon, I hopped on Amazon.fr to look up Tonoharu, and at the time it was the best-selling graphic novel on the site!

At “press time” it’s slid down a few spots, but still; pretty groovy!

Just wanted to mention that I’ll be speaking this upcoming Friday, June 10th, 2011 in Downtown Chicago!

I’ll be there as a part of an author’s panel devoted to experiences teaching English in Japan. The event is sponsored by the Japan American Society of Chicago and the JETAA Chicago Chapter.

This will almost certainly be my last public appearance before I leave for Japan in July, so if you’re in the Chicago area, come out if you can!

Event Details:
What: JETAA Author Panel: Experiences Teaching English in Japan
Who: Me, and authors D.H. Cermeño & James Kennedy
When: Friday, June 10th 2011, 6pm to 8pm
Where: Barnes & Thornburg LLP, 1 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 4400, Chicago, IL 60606 [ Google Maps ]
Admission: $5 JASC & JETAA Members/$10 Non-Members

Space is limited to just 35 attendees, so if you want to go, register now:

http://www.jaschicago.org/en/events/Default.aspx?eventid=184

This is the third entry I’ve written about the French edition of Tonoharu in as many months, which is probably overkill since this blog averages about one French visitor a day.

But the above book trailer my French publisher Le Lezard Noir commisioned is just so cool (and presumably of interest to non-French speakers) I just had to link to it. Many thanks to graphic artist Cindy Bertet for putting it together!

Oh, and if you happen to be that one-a-day French person, you might be interested to know that the French edition of Tonoharu is now available! So pick it up at Amazon.fr or wherever fine comics are sold!

Reviews and more information about the book can be found over at Le Lezard Noir‘s blog (in French, of course).

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Oh, and one last thing: I’ll be at SpringCon this weekend, May 21st and 22nd 2011. Details here. Come out if you can!

Just wanted to write a quick note saying I’ll have a table at SpringCon this Saturday and Sunday (May 21st and 22nd 2011)!

As a convention special, I’ll be selling copies of my graphic novels Tonoharu: Part One and Two at 25% off the cover price! And if you mention that you read about this on my blog, I’ll throw in a copy of my 44-page comic Young Men of a Certain Mind for free with any other purchase! What a deal!

As I wrote last Friday, I’ll be moving to Japan in July. So this *might* be my last public appearance in Minnesota before I go. (Something else might come up, but I don’t have any specific plans right now.) So… er… catch me while you can!

SpringCon 2011 Details
Place: The Grandstand at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds [Parking Info]
Date/Time: Saturday May 21 & Sunday May 22 from 10AM to 5PM
Admission: $11 per adult (good for both days)

More information can be found at: http://midwestcomicbook.com/

It occurred to me that it’s been several months since I’ve actually posted anything original on this blog. Most recent posts have been links to YouTube videos and other filler. So I figured it was high time for an update of sorts:

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For two years beginning in 2008, I received a scholarship that included a monthly living stipend. It was juuust barely enough to get by on, but I gotta say, it was glorious. It confirmed something I’d long suspected. If I have a steady & predictable source of income and am able to do work that I care about, I can be quite happy, even when I’m hovering around the wrong side of the poverty line.

In March 2010 the scholarship ended, and with it went my steady income. The financial concerns I put on hold for two years ago returned to the fore. As I contemplated my cartooning “career”, I realized that one area where I dropped the ball was marketing & promotion. I had done a bunch to market my first graphic novel shortly before it came out, but almost nothing after that.

Many artist/writers/cartoonists eschew marketing, and I’m sympathetic with that point of view. It takes precious time away from the art, and can be a slippery slope. You write a couple press releases and hand out a few business cards, and before you know it you’re a hack that “creates content” that will appeal to the “18-34 demo”.

Okay, maybe that’s overstating the point a bit, but even artists that take marketing seriously probably see it more as a necessary evil than something they’re actually interested in. But having spent the past 18-odd months trying to market my work, I’ve actually sort of come to enjoy it, the networking aspect in particular.

“Networking” is of course just another way of saying “meeting people”, which is something I enjoy, despite the fact that I’m somewhat introverted. So I’m glad that I had the pretense of “networking” to force me to get off my butt and go out there and meet people. This has enriched my life both professionally and personally.

All-in-all, my efforts have been successful… relatively speaking. Unfortunately, “success” in the world of alternative comics rarely reaches the opulent heights of “living wage”. I make money off my comics, it still isn’t enough to sustain me, and my savings are getting pretty meager. So I’ve decided to make a strategic retreat and get a day job again. (Oh, the horror!)

The good news is, I’ve landed a great one: as a JET Program assistant English teacher. This is what I did from 2003-2006, and what served as the framework for the Tonoharu storyline. It’s hands-down the most rewarding “day job” that I’ve ever had, so I’m honored to have the opportunity to do it again (plus, it’ll remind me of the experience as I work on the last half of Tonoharu). I’ll be leaving for Japan late-July.

So what does this mean for my cartooning aspirations? I haven’t given up on them. I’ll continue to work on Tonoharu in the evenings and on weekends. I suppose this will slow my already glacial pace, but what can you do. Once I’ve had the chance to refill the coffers a bit, I’ll probably take another swing at cartooning full-time.

In the meantime, it’ll be great to have money for extravagances again, like replacement computer equipment and dentist visits. That’s how I roll, folks!

With the release of the French edition of Tonoharu just a week away, I recently did an interview with La Fabriquerie. You can read the interview (in French) here:
http://www.lafabriquerie.fr/lars-martinson-linterview-exclusive

Since they didn’t include the English version of the interview, I asked if they’d mind if I post it here, and they said okay. So here it is:

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La Fabriquerie : Can you introduce Daniel, your main character ?
Lars Martinson: Daniel Wells is a painfully shy 23 year old recent college graduate who moves to rural Japan to work as an assistant English teacher in a junior high school.

You have traveled extensively abroad, what makes Japan so unique?
Japan was the first country I went to by myself, when I was sixteen. In many ways, I think it was the perfect introduction to international travel. It felt very exotic & exciting without feeling dangerous or intimidating. This combination of attributes is unique to Japan I think, and really inspired me to want to explore more of the world.

You studied Shodo, Japanese calligraphy at Shikoku University. How does it influence the way you draw?
It’s had a tremendous effect on my inking in particular. East Asian calligraphy is a 3000 year old discipline, and to my mind is the world’s most sophisticated line art tradition. I think cartoonists and illustrators of all stripes could benefit from its study. My next project after Tonoharu is going to be a graphic novel that attempts to explain what makes the art form so unique.

You’re a cartoonist, you love Japan, you lived in japan so you must be a fan of manga, are you ?
Manga and anime are what introduced me to Japanese culture when I was in high school. Ironically, the more time I’ve spent in Japan, the less interested in these art forms I’ve become. Other interests started to vie for my attention, like American alternative comics and Japanese calligraphy. But I still like some anime and manga. Like everyone else I *love* the Studio Ghibli movies. Otherwise the anime I gravitate towards isn’t well known in the West; Poppee the Performer and Oden-kun spring to mind. For manga, I really like the work of Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Sensha Yoshida.

The covers of Tonoharu are tributes to Hokusai. Japaneses prints are a real inspiration for you or just something you like as a viewer?
A little of both, I guess. Japanese prints led me to East Asian calligraphy, so for that I owe them a great debt.

You are deeply indebted to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, can you explain us why ?
There are two reasons. The first is that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the first comic books I ever read in elementary school, so it influenced my thoughts about comics in a fundamental way. The second reason is because one of the creators of TMNT, Peter Laird, gave me a grant to self-publish the first volume of Tonoharu. TMNT was originally a self-published comic, so Peter Laird established a foundation to help other self-publishing cartoonists. I couldn’t have self-published the first book without his help.

Do you know French comics/cartoons ? Have you ever heard of a French comic or an European one?
When I was young I used to read English translations of Tintin comics that belonged to my cousins, and I remember really enjoying them. These days I really love the work of the Norwegian cartoonist Jason, but other than that I have to admit I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to European comics.

Tonoharu is published/will be published in France by Le Lézard Noir. Is it going to be published in other countries ?
I hope to see Tonoharu published in other languages, but haven’t worked out any arrangements with other foreign publishers yet. Here’s hoping!

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By the way, La Fabriquerie said I should let them know if I noticed anything in their translation that didn’t seem accurate. So if any French-speaking readers take a look at both the English and French versions, let me know if you notice any mistakes! Thanks!