For those that missed them:

Part One: Self-Introduction
Part Two: Friends
Part Three: Midwestern Conflict

And here’s Part Four:

I’ve already started the next installment, and should be able to put it up in one or two weeks. So check back, or you can follow me on twitter or subscribe to me on Facebook as I’ll announce any new comics there.

For those that missed them:

Part One: Self-Introduction
Part Two: Friends

And here’s Part Three:

****

Continue on the Part Four

(If you haven’t seen it yet, part one can be found here.)

The e-books in the previous installment didn’t get too many downloads, so I think I’ll skip making those for the time being. Though if people want them lemme know, and if enough people do I’ll put them up. Otherwise maybe once I have a bunch done I could package them as one big e-book and sell that on iBooks for 99 cents or something. We’ll see!

Anyway, without further adieu, here’s the second installment:

Continue on to Part Three

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Below you’ll find my first webcomic in about a year. Hopefully it’ll be the first in a mini-series.

I’m trying to experiment with smart phone-friendly comics, so I formatted this as a couple of e-books. The content is the same for both, but the first one is lower resolution, and should work well on iPhone 3-type screens. The second is higher resolution, and should work well for iPhone 4-type screens.

You’ll need an e-reader app installed to look at these, but there are many free ones available (such as iBooks).

Anyway, here are the files:

The Kameoka Diaries #1 Ebook
File Size: 1.04MB
Panel Size: 252px x 346px

The Kameoka Diaries #1 HD Ebook
File Size: 3.74MB
Panel Size: 504px x 691px

Like I said, this is an experiment. I’d really appreciate any feedback. If these files didn’t work for you or format incorrectly on your device, please let me know what device you were using and what the problem was. No issue is too small or nitpicky. This will help me improve future installments. Thanks!!

Or for those of you who would prefer to view it online, here it is:

Part Two is now up! Read it here.

I have two appearances coming up this month in Japan, if anyone’s interested:

On Sunday, December 11, 2011, I’ll be in Nagoya taking part in a panel discussion/release party for Aftershock: Artists Respond to Disaster in Japan, an anthology to benefit Japan disaster relief. The Facebook event page with all the details can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/events/285808968131016/

Then on Saturday, December 17, 2011, I’ll be at the Tokushima Museum of Literature & Calligraphy ( 徳島県立文学書道館 ). This is in conjunction with a calligraphy show that runs from 12/16 ~ 12/18. Don’t miss your big chance to see a piece of my sub-par calligraphy! I’m not sure what times I’ll be there to and from, but I’ll update with that later.
There doesn’t seem to be an online event page for the show, but  the website for the museum can be found here (Japanese only):
http://www.bungakushodo.jp/index.html

Hope to see you there!

To all the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of people reading this, sorry this entry is so late in coming. Between moving/settling in/getting sick/trying to prepare for lessons, I just never had the energy to do much of anything other than what was strictly demanded of me. Even now after taking the last couple weeks off, I still only really have time to phone in a quick entry. Hopefully once I’ve settled into a routine I’ll be able to devote more time to describing my experience here in this blog, but for now I’ll just write a few paragraphs on borrowed time.

Things have been busy but pleasant (other than getting sick). Classes started a week ago Wednesday. I’m teaching at 11 different schools; two junior highs and a bunch of elementarys. Some of the elementarys are way off in the country; the hour-long commutes though pine-covered mountain valleys will probably be pleasant once I know where I’m going, but I have to admit I’m not looking forward to trying to figure out the routes to each school the first time. I have a few schools within walking/biking distance, but the rest require a complicated series of bus transfers and being picked up by teachers at different times and places. I can’t imagine trying to navigate it without Japanese reading/speaking ability. Again, once I settle in and know where I’m going it’ll be fine, but in the meantime it’ll be a bit stressful.

So far I’ve visited one of the junior highs and one of the elementarys, and have had a bunch of great classes so far. I’m sure eventually I’ll have a few nightmare classes, but so far it’s been great. It’ll probably be a few months before I’m *completely* settled into teaching again, but for the most part I already feel like I’m already back into the groove.

Okay! I’d like to write more, but I’ll have to save it for another time; I’ve got a really busy day tomorrow, so I need to rest up for that. I have two three-day weekends coming up back-to-back, so hopefully I can write more then. Cheers!

Aftershock is a global response to the disasters of March 2011 in northeast Japan. Over 30 contributors from around the world have donated their artwork and stories to this compilation. The project has two purposes, the first of which is to act as an open letter of support and concern to the people of Japan. The second purpose is to offer physical relief in the means of monetary support. 100% of the proceeds from the book will be donated to relief efforts in the disaster struck areas.

The editor of the book, Adam Pasion, has set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of the comic. It’s a very worthy cause, so if you want to help Japan and get some great comics in the process, please consider donating:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/324352192/aftershock-artists-respond-to-disaster-in-japan

My own humble effort to the anthology was a four page comic I wrote about my formative years, and how they related to Japan:
http://aftershockcomic.blogspot.com/2011/07/lars-martinson-i-was-teenage-otaku.html

If you want to read the rest of it, you’ll have to buy the book! :-)

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!

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

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:

*****

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!

The Minnesota Original segment about my work that aired last night is now available online!

You can watch it at:
http://www.mnoriginal.org/art/?p=4275

They also have another shorter clip up that includes other footage:
http://www.mnoriginal.org/art/?p=4237

These videos have a few images from the forthcoming Tonoharu: Part Three,  so check ‘em out!

My thanks to Angie Prindle, Steven Flynn, Joel Zimmerman, and all the other folks at Twin Cities Public Television / Minnesota Original for putting together such a wonderful piece.

Also, thanks to everyone who joined me for the viewing party last night! I appreciate it!

Hey Minnesotans! I’m going to be appearing on an upcoming episode of Minnesota Original, a series about Minnesota artists produced by Twin Cities Public Television!

The episode that includes the segment with me will air on channel 2 this coming Thursday, 4/28/2011, at 7:30PM and on Friday 4/29/2011 at 1:30AM. So, check it out!

**UPDATE** I’ll be having a little viewing party at 3 Monkey’s Pub and Grub starting at 7pm on Thursday; come out if you can! Details here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103773453042761

Otherwise, it will be available online eventually as well (maybe the same day it airs?) at http://mnoriginal.org . I’ll let you know when it’s up.

This is the first time I’ve ever been on tv, so I’m anxious to see how it turned out. I’ll probably come off as a moron. Also, remember the camera adds ten pounds, *cough cough*!

****

Speaking of making an ass of myself, the good folks at the Geek Report were kind enough to have me on their podcast recently. You can listen to it here:
http://theblatshow.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/the-geek-report-04162011/ or on iTunes. My segment comes on at about the 11 minute mark.

Thanks for having me on, guys! I had a blast!