& updating.
Well here I am again...I'm really surprised, and sorry, that I left this so long. But you know, unfortunately, there's a world of monotonous uni work away from the wonderful world of anime, manga, and now, Western comic books.
So, what HAVE I been up to anime and manga wise, and why on earth have I started reading Western comics?
Well, since November, I've obviously been watching Full Metal Alchemist, as everyone knows how much I love that series with an insane passion. My current favourite manga series are Angel Sanctuary, RG Veda, Midori Days, Trigun (as always!) and Ranma 1/2.
It's weird because recently, only like REALLY recently, have I been reading anything other than stuff of Japanese origin. I don't even know where it started from, my sudden and ever-growing passion for Western comics. This whole thing is hilarious because I'm going backwards to the typical order of things. Generally, you start with American comics, Marvel stuff, you know, then you start getting weirder stuff, and indies, then someone tells you about Akira or something and then BAM, you're watching anime and reading manga and telling everyone that your new God is Hayao Miyazaki or Yasuhiro Nightow...or maybe the last bit's just me.
Whereas I started with Spirited Away and Trigun and now I'm at Johnny The Homicidal Maniac stage.
I know that my first American graphic novel was Craig Thompson's Blankets.
Now, all I have is-
x Blankets
x Johnny The Homicidal Maniac (Trade Paperback)
x Kabuki 1- Circle Of Blood
x Kabuki 5- Metamorphosis
x Kissing Chaos 1
x Lenore (Trade paperbacks 1&2)
x Revelations 1-6 (Complete)
x Squee vol. 1
I think that's it.
It's not much, but it'll grow.
I guess this started because...I've been getting back into art. Two of my main loves in the world are art and literature, and like I keep saying to those morons who assume that I'm somehow going through some kind of denial that I'm going to be 20 in April, comic books, Japanese or otherwise, are the perfect combination of those things. If you can combine stunning artwork with equally amazing narratives, then I'll fall in love with your work.
I tried to tell myself that I couldn't get into Western comics, because of money, and because, like a lot of the morons I hate, I thought Western comic books were...somewhat basic? How can I explain without sounding like a snob? Basically, I thought that the narrative would be very much based around the usual good-against-evil and the superhero has a fatal flaw or weakness stuff. I know, it makes me sound like those people who know nothing about comic books and it does make me ashamed.
I just had to sit there and wipe my mind of all its misconceptions, and be open minded. Through that open mindedness, I went to my favourite comic book haunts, and just...looked though the comic books shelves instead of hitting the manga sections. I knew of Lenore already through my friend Lindsay, I knew of Blankets through Jed, and I'd heard of JTHM and Squee from other people and places.
Kabuki, Kissing Chaos and Revelations have very much been my own discoveries, and I can say that they blew all my misconceptions out of the water, especially David Mack's Kabuki. Kabuki, in just an art sense, is phenomenal, fusing so many styles of art and artistic expression into a series. From the actual art to the narrative to the intellectual content, it's an intense read on every level, and is worth every minute and every penny I've spent on it so far. Revelations is...just not what you'd expect it to be. It's...wowies. Yesterday, when I got issue 6, I tried to wait until after seeing Memoirs Of A Geisha, but it just wasn't going to happen. Within about 10 minutes of walking out of Mega City Comics (now my favourite place in London, for sure) it was out of the plastic cover and I was bumping into people down Kentish Town Road reading it ^_^
Also...I don't have a great deal of friends I see all the time. And because the friends I have wouldn't really be interested in a lot of things that go through my mind, I turn to comic books. Anime. Manga. Because they all feed my mind with what I need, and make me connect to my creativity again. Maybe one day I'll get my confidence back in my art ability, and I'll do some comic-book-inspired art, like I said I would at the start of this journal. Maybe then I will go to art school and get an art degree as well. :)
So, what HAVE I been up to anime and manga wise, and why on earth have I started reading Western comics?
Well, since November, I've obviously been watching Full Metal Alchemist, as everyone knows how much I love that series with an insane passion. My current favourite manga series are Angel Sanctuary, RG Veda, Midori Days, Trigun (as always!) and Ranma 1/2.
It's weird because recently, only like REALLY recently, have I been reading anything other than stuff of Japanese origin. I don't even know where it started from, my sudden and ever-growing passion for Western comics. This whole thing is hilarious because I'm going backwards to the typical order of things. Generally, you start with American comics, Marvel stuff, you know, then you start getting weirder stuff, and indies, then someone tells you about Akira or something and then BAM, you're watching anime and reading manga and telling everyone that your new God is Hayao Miyazaki or Yasuhiro Nightow...or maybe the last bit's just me.
Whereas I started with Spirited Away and Trigun and now I'm at Johnny The Homicidal Maniac stage.
I know that my first American graphic novel was Craig Thompson's Blankets.
Now, all I have is-
x Blankets
x Johnny The Homicidal Maniac (Trade Paperback)
x Kabuki 1- Circle Of Blood
x Kabuki 5- Metamorphosis
x Kissing Chaos 1
x Lenore (Trade paperbacks 1&2)
x Revelations 1-6 (Complete)
x Squee vol. 1
I think that's it.
It's not much, but it'll grow.
I guess this started because...I've been getting back into art. Two of my main loves in the world are art and literature, and like I keep saying to those morons who assume that I'm somehow going through some kind of denial that I'm going to be 20 in April, comic books, Japanese or otherwise, are the perfect combination of those things. If you can combine stunning artwork with equally amazing narratives, then I'll fall in love with your work.
I tried to tell myself that I couldn't get into Western comics, because of money, and because, like a lot of the morons I hate, I thought Western comic books were...somewhat basic? How can I explain without sounding like a snob? Basically, I thought that the narrative would be very much based around the usual good-against-evil and the superhero has a fatal flaw or weakness stuff. I know, it makes me sound like those people who know nothing about comic books and it does make me ashamed.
I just had to sit there and wipe my mind of all its misconceptions, and be open minded. Through that open mindedness, I went to my favourite comic book haunts, and just...looked though the comic books shelves instead of hitting the manga sections. I knew of Lenore already through my friend Lindsay, I knew of Blankets through Jed, and I'd heard of JTHM and Squee from other people and places.
Kabuki, Kissing Chaos and Revelations have very much been my own discoveries, and I can say that they blew all my misconceptions out of the water, especially David Mack's Kabuki. Kabuki, in just an art sense, is phenomenal, fusing so many styles of art and artistic expression into a series. From the actual art to the narrative to the intellectual content, it's an intense read on every level, and is worth every minute and every penny I've spent on it so far. Revelations is...just not what you'd expect it to be. It's...wowies. Yesterday, when I got issue 6, I tried to wait until after seeing Memoirs Of A Geisha, but it just wasn't going to happen. Within about 10 minutes of walking out of Mega City Comics (now my favourite place in London, for sure) it was out of the plastic cover and I was bumping into people down Kentish Town Road reading it ^_^
Also...I don't have a great deal of friends I see all the time. And because the friends I have wouldn't really be interested in a lot of things that go through my mind, I turn to comic books. Anime. Manga. Because they all feed my mind with what I need, and make me connect to my creativity again. Maybe one day I'll get my confidence back in my art ability, and I'll do some comic-book-inspired art, like I said I would at the start of this journal. Maybe then I will go to art school and get an art degree as well. :)